McQueen and Teochew porridge: Inside one of Singapore's glitziest society balls
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CNA Lifestyle
McQueen and Teochew porridge: Inside one of Singapore's glitziest society balls
What does it have to pull off one of the cardinal highlights of the society calendar? A year and S$250,000. CNA Lifestyle takes a peek inside this year's Singapore Tatler Ball.
Susanna Kang (left) and Peggy Jeffs at the Singapore Tatler Ball 2018. (Photos: Singapore Tatler)
29 Oct 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 04 Jul 2022 09:31PM)
A year of planning. A budget of Due south$250,000 – of which, near S$100,000 went towards the nutrient alone. Over 300 guests. And one Teochew Porridge Bar.
These are just some of the figures behind the Singapore Tatler Brawl, ane of the central highlights of the society calendar every year. Organised by high society magazine Singapore Tatler, it is attended by some of the country's nearly influential families and individuals. The magazine is published by Edipresse Media Singapore.
Every bit Corinne Ng, the firm'southward Managing Director noted, "The Ball costs united states of america well-nigh Due south$250,000 every yr, which is why we're so tight with the guest list. This is not a clemency ball, where you can buy your seat. If you lot're here, you have to be somebody who's doing something for our society."
Among the guests this twelvemonth were Kwek Leng Beng, Executive Chairman of Hong Leong Group Singapore, and his wife Cecilia Quek; Arthur Tay, Chairman and CEO of the SUTL Group; Haresh Sharma, resident playwright of The Necessary Stage; and Saleemah Ismail, social entrepreneur and activist.
This year's Ball historic the publication's 36th ceremony, and was held at the Capella Singapore ballroom in Sentosa on Friday evening (Oct 26).
"Information technology'southward ridiculous, the corporeality of fourth dimension and effort spent on this Ball," Ng told CNA Lifestyle. "We started planning for next twelvemonth'south Ball the moment tonight ends. Okay, maybe we'll requite ourselves a iii-mean solar day intermission. But then it starts after that!"
Each twelvemonth'southward Brawl has a theme. For 2018, it was Maximalism.
"When deciding on the theme for each year's Ball, we try to ensure that it resonates with guests on multiple levels. On ane level, it's quite superficial – inspiring [guests] on the fashion front, making them desire to find something spectacular and dress up," said Ng.
"On a deeper level, we effort to capture the zeitgeist. Maximalism for us is a response to the overly cautious mood of the world right now," she added.
ROCKING THE ROCOCO
Appropriately, the decor was a hat tip to France's Rococo era (1730 to 1770), a flow known for its ornamental, theatrical style.
No expense was spared to evoke a maximalist mood. At the entrance to the ballroom, a crystal chandelier lay on its side, equally if magically transported from the Palace Of Versailles.
The flowers that made up the table centrepieces were carefully chosen to represent blooms that were commonplace during the Rococo: Dusty pinkish roses, amaranthus, and ivy.
On some tables stood Lladro porcelain figurines that the Spanish company particularly flew in for the occasion. "They cost upwardly of S$100,000," said Ng. "Just they exercise add together [to the atmosphere] and our partners were very committed to pulling off a great issue. Lladro did not bat an eyelid when we told them what nosotros required."
All this in an effort to please the 300-odd guests, who are accustomed to the finer – nay, finest – things in life. This is something that Ng was acutely aware of. "We accept to effort our best to at to the lowest degree run into the mark. It actually does challenge u.s.. They enjoy much more the Ball tin maybe offer them.
"Just I think what they ultimately come for is the esprit, the fact that nosotros have an insider infinite, a safe space, where they can permit their hair down with like-minded friends."
MAXIMALIST STYLE
Certainly, this was the case for guests similar socialite Susanna Kang, who told CNA Lifestyle that "information technology'southward an opportunity to meet upwards with fabled friends and [enjoy] the incredible hospitality from Tatler. And the entertainment".
Kang, like many of the other guests, spared no expense at looking her best. Dressed to the nines in a crimson stole, red leather Alexander McQueen bustier and black-and-white printed brim "from a Thai designer", she also engaged celebrity hairstylist Grego Oh and celebrity makeup artist Dily Wang, spending "two hours, all-in" prepping for the evening.
Some other showstopper was Carmen Ow, Director of Clydesbuilt Group, who appeared in an ethereal, mint-light-green, bespoke concoction from Time Taken To Brand A Dress. The local design duo also dressed actress Constance Lau at the Los Angeles premiere of Crazy Rich Asians.
On how she interpreted the theme, Ow said, "Maximalism is [all nearly] more is more than, so for this dress, I decided to work on the book of the shoulders and the train of the skirt. The driver had to help 'pack' me into the motorcar and 'unpack' me afterwards".
For other guests, notwithstanding, at that place wasn't much interpreting to do. "If you know me, you'll know that I always dress maximalist," remarked guild maven Peggy Jeffs. "My daughter told me to simply go as myself."
Jeffs stole the show with a bespoke golden sequinned apparel from Shanghai Silk House – "they normally make Chinese dresses, but I asked them to brand a Western i" – and feathered headgear from Kristine Hakim, an Indonesian milliner based in Singapore.
The feathers were burnt to remove excess cloth until only the central quills remained. These were and so affixed onto a hardened lace mount as a metallic 1 would have been also heavy. "I used a hairband to concur it in place because my pilus is short," said Jeffs, adding that she had to sit with her head tilted for the 45-minute drive to Sentosa.
For gentlemen such as Gaurav Kripalani, getting prepped for the evening was a much less elaborate affair. The Artistic Director of the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) spent all of "30 minutes" getting dressed. Notwithstanding, he cut a dashing figure in an off-white Brioni tuxedo that stood out in a sea of black tuxes.
Subsequently partying the night away to live music from American cover band Liquid Blue – which, said Ng, "cost an arm and a leg" to fly in – guests welcomed a circular of sustenance in the grade of the Teochew Porridge Bar, a Singapore Tatler institution that opened at the stroke of midnight.
"Lots of clemency balls in Singapore have a Teochew Porridge Bar at the end of the evening, simply Tatler was the one that started it," explained Ng. "Y'all think Singaporeans would exist full at the stop of the evening, just no, they tin can still put abroad some Teochew muay!"
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/style/behind-the-scenes-at-the-2018-singapore-tatler-ball-238521
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