We're bringing a whole new vibe to our annual fashion event
After a decade of bringing you the Singapore Tatler Fashion Hall of Fame, we are switching gears. We have reimagined, re-engineered and redesigned our annual fashion event, and will be launching the inaugural Singapore Tatler Fashion Awards this April. We are thrilled to reveal a first look at our brand-new awards and our newly minted recipients cosied up in the Lamborghini Huracán Spyder, who share the most memorable milestones in their style journeys to date. Many of these milestones are more personal than sartorial, which isn’t really surprising. After all, fashion is never just skin-deep—it’s a reflection of the choices we’ve made, the experiences that have shaped us, and hard-earned perspectives on how to live your best life. This year’s arbiters of style know well that knowing who you are is the first step to looking good.
Most Stylish Man 2017: Sanveer Gill
As director of his family’s lifestyle group, Gill Capital, fashion is in Sanveer Gill’s blood. He’s been immersed in the retail industry since he was a boy, and that has moulded his sense of style in crucial ways.
What’s your definition of power dressing?
Comfort—if you’re not comfortable and functional, that can take away your confidence. Whether you wear a suit or Speedos, that’s not going to change your intellectual capacity. Look at Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, the founders of Instagram and Snapchat, or Alibaba’s Jack Ma. They’re in jeans, hoodies and T-shirts. My family business deals with retail, so corporate attire for us usually means jeans and T-shirt. We’re on our feet and moving from shop to shop all the time, and you can’t really do that in a suit and dress shoes. Jeans from H&M or Diesel, Tod’s loafers and a fitted T-shirt are probably what I wear most often. I always start with the shoes because comfort for my feet is probably the most important part of my outfit. Then I work my way up. When I was younger, I wore more neutral colours, but now I experiment with bright colours for either my shoes or my trousers. If the occasion calls for it, I’ll throw on a leather jacket or blazer to finish off the look.
Your family business spans many different countries. How have these cultures influenced you?
For me, grooming takes precedence. When I was younger, I didn’t even know what grooming was, I even had a unibrow. In 2008, I moved to Dubai for work, and there were many grooming salons there because Arab men are very particular about their beards and eyebrows. They stick to one style of attire, so they make sure their grooming really pops. That’s what I learned there, and that was a huge change for me. Because of that, I now have a personal barber, and I’m always looking at how people are groomed when I meet them. I also worked in Indonesia for a few years and when I interviewed people for retail positions there, everybody came in with their own sense of style, they took such pride in what they wore. The Indonesians, across the board, are able to mix and match better than I’ve ever seen in any market. They are super creative, and very similar to New Yorkers in the way they let fashion become a reflection of their personalities. That taught me that style is not something determined by your income—with a little, you can make a lot happen.