Ho Ching Lin

It was a Sunday morning. Ion Orchard was so still at 8am, we swore we could hear a pin if it dropped. Mall lights were scarce. The escalators haven’t been powered yet. But no matter — this crew of eight was fuelled up on hot coffee and mini croissants, thanks to our gracious hosts at Dior.

As Ho Ching Lin, one of the inductees for this year’s Singapore Tatler Fashion Hall of Fame, sat down for hair and make-up, she told us about her long night at a ball the evening before. We couldn’t tell. She greeted everyone with the same bubbliness most of us would have after an energy bar. “Good morning, gorgeous!” hair and make-up expert GregO reverberated with air kisses. The glitter and glamour were officially underway.

Karen Ong-Tan

The photo shoot continued two days later with our other two inductees Karen Ong-Tan and Rosalynn Tay. Shoot locations spanned the recently renovated Louis Vuitton concept store and luxury furniture store Proof Living in Ion Orchard, to the pop-up photo studio the crew set up in the mall’s 56th level Ion Sky observation deck 218m heavenward, where stunning 360-degree views of the surrounds played backdrop.

Karen’s freshly delivered Delpozo gown made it all the way from Madrid just hours before, while colour-loving Rosalynn’s impressive array of Bottega Veneta clutches made our knees weak.

We shared a suspicion that Karen was a model in her past life. “Bend slightly forward, but keep your left shoulder where it is. Don’t forget to keep pointing your right foot,” our fashion director Desmond instructed. “Like this?” Karen asked, just as she delivered the exact pose we needed to accent the curves of her dress. Easy. 

Rosalynn Tay

Rosalynn, the dancer that she is, was no different. So full of oomph and enthusiasm was she that Desmond gave up on trying to get a smouldering smile out of her — beaming grins it was. Good thing too — the world of fashion takes itself too seriously sometimes.