Claressa Monteiro

Claressa Monteiro
She has been blessed with the perfect vehicle - her beautiful, soaring voice. - Elle Magazine

A formidable talent and on stage presence which melds subtle glamour and high-octane exuberance, she has emerged as Singapore's most exciting jazz export with the landmark release of her debut album 'Now & Then'. (Universal/EmArcy) The first worldwide jazz release by a South East Asian, on a major label.

‘Now & Then’ is also significant for it being Claressa’s debut as a Producer and Songwriter. Her Producer credits now extend to releases for EMI Singapore, and as music programmer/producer for major events including the Singapore Quality Awards Ceremony (2004) and International Enterprise Forum (2005).

A singing career which begun in 1986, Claressa was introduced to the Singapore music scene as a member of the Polygram stable of talents. She has since performed 'live' and made TV appearances both here in Singapore and internationally from Europe to Australia and Asia.

Taking a four year hiatus to fine hone her craft from 1994, she reemerged in 1998 with a new sound and new maturity to her delivery. Returning to the Singapore entertainment scene in 1998, she spent the next three years establishing herself as the preferred vocalist at the very best nightspots in Singapore which have included The Ritz-Carlton Singapore, The Fullerton Hotel, The Grand Hyatt Singapore and most recently, the Raffles Hotel Singapore.

In July 2001 ELLE magazine named Claressa one of Singapore's hottest music makers and brought the singer to the attention of an even wider audience. The demand for Claressa at private performances has since been phenomenal. She has launched the Cortina Espace store, Vacheron Constantin, Standard Chartered's Platinum Card and has graced events performing for an elite clientele of corporates which include Christian Dior, Chanel, Audemar Piquet, Porche, Jeager LeCoultre, Audi, Lexus and Mont Blanc. Claressa was also presented in performance at the Official Launch Party of Harper's Bazaar Magazine in Singapore.

Claressa was the jazz vocalist of choice to endorse Sennheiser microphones in 2001 becoming its first Asian jazz singer endorsee. She was Singapore's first Ambassador for Swiss luxury watchmaker Ebel. An appointment made by LVMH Watch & Jewelry.

Claressa who has made guest appearances at the Singapore Arts Festival and at the CHIJMES Festival made her debut as band leader at the Heineken Jazz Under The Stars ’01. A performance referred to as outstanding and featured ‘on air’ longer than any other act at that festival on Mediacorp Radio’s Gold90FM. In November ’01, Claressa performed at the Heineken Hanoi Festival in Vietnam with Jeremy Monteiro and closed out that year with two concert performances at the Starhub Lunchtime Concert Series.

In ’02 her relationship with Starhub continued when they presented her first full concert over two nights at the historic Jubilee Hall. That same year, Claressa performed at the Jazz Yatra in Mumbai, India. Asia’s oldest and most established jazz festival.

Her smooth honey-coated vocals enthrall loyal fans and is fast gaining new ones with a modern jazz style that is easy on the ear. In 2002 alone, she performed at the Mont Blanc Business Woman of The Year Awards, Time Magazine's Travel Awards, Mediacorp Radio's Ear Awards and the National Heritage Board's Benefactors Gala.

In ’03, she headlined at the CHIJMES Festival in Singapore reuniting the band from her landmark Universal release. The singer’s unique talent saw her as the only singer presented at the Singapore Quality Awards alongside two other music artistes highlighted for excellence in their chosen genre. So enamored by her stellar performance in ‘03, Claressa was invited back to the SQA in ’04 to present the winner of the Annual SQA Award through a musical tribute.

Her sparkling exuberance and masterful delivery have earned her rave reviews. Channel News Asia has pronounced her Singapore’s most prominent jazz vocalist, Channel 5 featured her in the premier episode of ‘Ladies First’ in its first ‘Women On Top’ segment. In ’04 Claressa was profiled in the successful Mediacorp Channel 5 magazine series “Glam!” featuring Singapore’s 15 most glamorous women.

2003 marked Claressa’s move to a new label, EMI Music and the unveiling of both a new image and a new musical direction. Her new CD release “Words Can’t Describe” was released in November '03. Response to the CD was immediate. It made the HMV Jazz Charts within the first week and became EMI's best selling release by a Singapore based artiste.

From Giorgio Armani’s choice of the singer as the epitome of the ‘Sensi’ woman to her stellar performances in concert and in recordings, Claressa Monteiro remains the chanteuse du jour.

---

Claressa supports the efforts of Singapore based children's charities.

Singapore Children's Cancer Foundation
Singapore Children's Society
School Pocket Money Fund

Claressa supports the international efforts of UNICEF in its fight against illiteracy.
_______________________

Wild Creative Women

http://wildlycreativewomen.com/wildcreativity.htm

Blog: http://www.creative.typepad.com/wildlycreativewomen

http://www.babwnews.com

http://www.amma.org

Felicia Chin

COMING INTO HER OWN
Tuesday June 21, 2005
Rising star Felicia Chin: Not a girl, not quite a woman

Joyce Lin
joyce@newstoday.com.sg

"PROVOCATIVELY?" asked MediaCorp starlet Felicia Chin (picture)
hesitantly, as our photographer prepared to shoot. For a fleeting moment,
she looked unsure of what was expected of her.
But the moment the camera was trained on her, the 21-year-old looked at
ease, posing with her hands on her hips, staring right into the camera
lens.
We're not sure why she was so hesitant initially - "sexy" shoots should be
par for the course for Felicia Chin, who's graced the covers of magazines
including Her World and the Singapore edition of FHM.
But look beyond the sensual shots and you realise that, for all her poise
in front of the camera, Felicia's just a baby in celebrity terms: Finding
her feet, learning to fly.
And, not too long ago, in secondary school, she was a self-confessed
tomboy.
Felicia can currently be seen as the wide-eyed fishball seller in
MediaCorp's Channel 8 100-episode drama Portrait Of Home, her third role
since winning 2003's Star Search. The actress is now taking a break before
filming for the drama serial resumes in July.
Felicia stars as the love interest of Pierre Png and Alan Tern.
'I've got a sweet and sexy side'
"I like how my character slowly grows stronger and learns how to handle
relationship problems; she's not as innocent as when she first started,"
she said. "I identify with some of her character traits, many of which I
can see in myself."
While she was one of the four women, clad only in bikinis, to run down
Orchard Road for that famous scene from The Champion, the talk about town
focused on co-star Fiona Xie. But since then, she's been showing a sexier
side of herself, having posed in swimwear shoots for FHM and Her World.
Will she abandon her girl-next-door image for this saucier, more sensual
one?
"Every woman has a sweet and a sexy side. I want to show both sides of
myself and not just restrict myself to a certain image," she said.
However, Felicia said she separates her work from her personal life - the
sexy poses are "for work", she insisted - and admitted that she's still
grappling with adopting different images. "It's too early for a 'fixed'
one," she said.
At the interview, the actress was effervescent, almost bubbling over with
enthusiasm. She talked nineteen to the dozen, a reporter's delight: Feed
her a simple question and she gleefully runs with the thread.
"I started acting when I was only 19, right after I'd returned from
travelling with my friends. Star Search was merely by chance and I
thought, why not?," she said. "In these one-and-a-half years I've learned
quite a lot - things I'd never have learned if I'd enrolled in university
instead.
"It's so much different from just watching the drama serial at home.
There's the positioning, lines to remember - things that even veteran
actors have to keep in mind."
Inspired choice
Felicia attended an inspirational seminar by Anthony Robbins a few years
back, and it was instrumental in her career choice.
"It helped to broaden my perspectives on life and see the bigger picture.
Suddenly all the problems that I face seem smaller when compared to those
of other people," she said.
"Sometimes you may feel lousy when the criticism accumulates - but I don't
let it get me down."
Her sister's advice - to remain positive despite detractors' comments -
has helped her look beyond the critics' barbs.
"She told me that you can never please everyone and there's only so much
that you can do," she said. "I can only try to learn and grow from my
experiences."
Having put her studies on hold, she is now concentrating on her career,
but hopes to carry on where she left off on her studies someday.
"I hope I can study and work at the same time, even though I know it won't
be easy," chirps the bubbly actress.
For now, Felicia said she was looking forward to "more fun-loving,
energetic and vocal roles".

Read: She just wants to be herself.

Felicia Chin
ex-TKGian and VJC (prom queen) Star search winner (Singapore)

Tina Tan-Leo

Fashion stalwarts
Recognised: Tina Tan-Leo (centre) receiving her 'Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World' award in Sydney last month. With her were Marilynne Paspaley, honorary co-chair/executive director of Paspaley Pearls Pty Ltd (left) and Cheryl Womack, president/CEO and chair of the 'Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World'

Business Times Singapore, June 11, 2004
IF the fashion industry in Asia is booming now, it is partly because of gutsy entrepreneurs who made their mark in its nascent stage and are still leaders in the game. CAT ONG speaks to three women who are changing the face of fashion in Asia.

TINA TAN-LEO
'YOU can never hope to convince anyone that you have either been working hard or working smart, by your simply telling them so.'
So says Tina Tan-Leo, president and chief executive officer of The Link Boutique Pte Ltd, the woman responsible for bringing Vera Wang, Roberto Cavalli, Etro and Miss Sixty - among other leading European brands - to Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. To the local fashion queen who is regularly featured in Asia's best-dressed lists, getting your just rewards is when 'the results of your work are such that others must talk about it and tell you so'.
She is referring to her winning the 'Leading Women Entrepreneur of the World' award in Sydney last month. As the second Singaporean after Jannie Tay of The Hour Glass group to cinch this eight-year-old award, Mrs Tan-Leo joined 20 other women from around the world who hold this title. They include Pamela Ferreira who created Bermuda's largest MarketPlace Ltd supermarket and rent-a-motorcycle chain, Yoko Iwamiya who invented the latest Choetsu-Shi decorative 'super paper' from Japan that looks and feels like paper and yet is flame-resistant, water and crease-proof, and the UK's Janette Faherty whose TNG company achieves an annual turnover of 16.25 million by creating government-funded skills programmes.
Past celebrity recipients of the award include Anita Roddick of The Body Shop, Donna Karan and Sonia Rykiel.
Mrs Tan-Leo told BT that she was voted one of the world's leading female entrepreneurs for opening the first Gianni Versace boutique in the world, outside of Milan, in 1979, and for incorporating the 'total image' lifestyle concept into her Link Group in the '90s - ahead of the competition - with an event-planning, interior styling, and project management arm.
One of the company's coups has been to beat interior giant Hirsch-Bednar Associates of The Fullerton Hotel fame to dress up the high-profile No 1 Ladyhill luxury apartments.
But it is her latest project management division that has seen her, of late, not only creating resort wear under the Link label to sell through top hotels in Paris, the French Riveria and South Pacific, but also acting as an agent to internationalise Asian talents such as Biyan - dubbed the Armani of Indonesia - as well as the first winner of the Mercedes-Benz Asian Fashion Award, Sven Tan.

An outfit from Biyan, The Link Boutique
Now that The Link has successfully extended its range of services, the retail concept with its wide offerings for wardrobe to hearth and home and for almost very occasion is also about to venture into Kuala Lumpur with an inaugural 6,000 sq ft store in the posh new Avenue K luxury shopping centre in three months' time.
If listening to the model-slim marketeer excitedly telling it all today should make her 25 years forging her own way in the fashion industry sound easy, Mrs Tan-Leo is quick to point out that it was anything but.
This is because she reckons that entrepreneurs like herself, unlike executives from corporate companies, all have to start out from 'nothing' when they are 'chasing dreams'.
This is because 'nobody can know what your dream is except you so nothing can be provided for'.
This is so even for the 44-year-old mother of three boys who can be said to have been to the manor born. On her father's side, she is the granddaughter of Tan Lark Sye, a founder of Singapore who built among other landmarks, Nanyang University, while on her mother's side, she is the niece of the late President Ong Teng Cheong.
Hence her property developer father Tan Eng Sing ploughed some of the family funds into her first 600 sq ft Versace boutique, while her artist mother Lillian persuaded her high-society friends to favour the then-unknown Versace.
Still, everything - from the luxe labels to her new lifestyle store concept which provides personalised service with staff trained to be like hostesses - was experimental and could only be taught by 'my own example'.
It means, she says, that she has 'personally done everything from accounting to delivery and this award is the first one to recognise my sheer hard work', which is what makes it the most gratifying.

Staying ahead: Malaysia's Pat Liew (above) will launch her latest WH concept store in S'pore soon
PAT LIEW
IF BritishIndia is considered the Malaysian equivalent of the Banana Republic label from the US, then it can be said that Pat Liew, its creator, has come up with the new Gap of Asia in her latest WH concept store.
Now that she has been experimenting with its first two stores in Kuala Lumpur for almost a year, she says she is ready to roll it out to the rest of the world, starting with Singapore first.
She told BT that a new WH store would open in Orchard Road before Christmas this year, though she could not disclose its exact location as details are still being finalised.
According to the 53-year-old award-winning Malaysian designer and retailer, WH is not just an acronym for warehouse; it also stands for who, what, when, where and why - all questions that informed shoppers tend to ask themselves when they buy something.
Now that BritishIndia is 10 years old and serving a more sophisticated, executive crowd, WH - with its cheaper price points starting at $60, democratic basic styles and new 'everyone is beautiful' tag line - is Ms Liew's bid to serve the same on their days off as well as reach that hard-to-pin-down younger crowd.
But serving the savvy shopper is something that the former Metrojaya department store merchandiser has done, since venturing out with her own BritishIndia label in 1994. Its current turnover is more than US$60 million with 60 stores in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.
With her every step becoming textbook case studies of lifestyle retailing in Asia, it is no wonder that publishers of everything from educational texts to the Reader's Digest (last year) are wont to print tomes on Ms Liew's story with the unique brand of colonial chic that she has been perpetrating for the last decade.
This has become the case indeed after it was unexpectedly birthed during a sudden downward spiral in Liew's till-then high-flying career a 'life-time' ago, as she puts it.
After five years of studying in London and selling jeans on Carnaby Street in the 1980s, Ms Liew had returned home to KL to an illustrious 15-year career with Metrojaya, bringing Esprit to Malaysia as well as developing the precursors to today's cult jeans such as Seven and Paper, Cloth and Denim in Cape Cod and Freego and eventually creating the fateful EastIndia Company concept line in 1993.
When an unexpected change of management suddenly threatened to take it the way of Zara in offering cheap trends quick, which Ms Liew bucked, she said it was a 'do or die' situation.
In order to stay alive after quitting Metrojaya, she found herself creating her own BritishIndia by 1994. 'Clothes should never stand for a particular season but represent the spirit of the times.' and 'She wears fashion, fashion doesn't wear her' were mantras she chose to fashion her apparel - an adaptation of the British style attuned to Asia.
By hiring a Queen Elizabeth impersonator from the UK for her BritishIndia launch parties in Asia, among many other clever marketing ploys, she eventually became the reigning maharani of cool safari chic in her signature cottons and linens.
Today, her latest 23,000 sq ft BritishIndia store in the Bandar Utama shopping centre of KL can boast its own Indian bazaar replete with spices and knick knacks including travel mosquito nets of her own invention, while on the second floor is Ms Liew's number two WH store, offering perfect denim minis.
But whether it's the perfect white shirt under WH or a colonial-style sun-dress under BritishIndia that she is selling, Ms Liew says that her distinct DNA of quality with comfort and the little details that count as well as variety that always includes ease of wear and care are all always there.
'One thing I've learnt about this business is that whether I am selling the ultimate T-shirt that everyone's always looking for with WH, or an Indian tunic in this season's hot pink at BritishIndia, it's not just clothes but the power of your ideas that you are promoting,'' she adds.
After one year of experimenting with WH in Malaysia, she is sure that her new one-for-all product and concept along the lines of the iconic Gap brand, is now 'good enough' for the Singapore market.
CHANITA PREECHAWITAYAKUL
Be yourself. So says the creator of the first Thai designer label to be featured recently in Italian Vogue and is currently sold in top shops around the world including Belle Boutique in the Hyatt Hotel.
In fact, according to Chanita Preechawitayakul behind the Senada label now also sold in Ko Samui in London, Fred Segal's in New York and Seibu in Tokyo, it is the secret to her international success.
This is because 12 years ago, when she created her label named after her now 12-year-old daughter Sirinada - meaning good girl in Sanskrit - she was only a young mother trying to pass her baby daughter's nap times with something useful to do with her hands.
The 40-something mother of two who is married to a Bangkok architect says that it was only shortly after her second daughter Janapa was born six years ago that she first got to go to Tokyo under a government-sponsored scheme to learn about Japanese-style department store merchandising and quality manufacturing.
By then, the young entrepreneur - who says she still keeps the hand-embroidered pajamas that she wore at 12 and her wedding gown which took her four months to sew - had run out of wardrobe space to store any more of her own handiwork.
As a result she had begun to supply Central Department Store in Bangkok with all the excess and thus had inadvertently created a commercial label along the lines of the cohorts of her era, Greyhound, Fly Now and Soda.
Today, while they are all household names in Thailand, she is the only one with a sizeable export market especially now that she has an Italian agent which has led to about two dozen important stores in Europe and Asia stocking her brand this year.
In a recent interview, she told BT that basing her business in Bangkok which is so far removed from the fashion world meant that she could only have come to her achievements through circumstance rather than ambition.
In fact, she reports that it was only after she had opened her flea-market style eclectic closet of a signature shop in Gaysorn Plaza in 2002 that she garnered more stores, including Belle, placing orders to stock her brand.
Ms Preechawitayakul believes that it has all added to give her creations its distinct bohemian spirit. According to Belle's fashion buyer Alfrayda Ayob, many of her customers take to the line's exclusively-printed and luxuriously soft Thai cotton and silk fabrics, funky but feminine look and relaxed fit. She adds that many even mistake it for a Japanese brand until they read the label.
However, sales have been slow because Ms Ayob says that Singaporean shoppers either think that they can buy it at a cheaper price on holiday in Bangkok or simply cannot conceive of forking out European designer prices for Thai style. Fortunately for Ms Preechawitayakul, her Japanese and European sales are fast growing because in these markets her style is considered trendy but original, while her Thai customers who know that the Senada Sense and Gold export labels stocked at the likes of Belle are unavailable in Thailand make the effort to buy it overseas when they can. Ms Ayob admits that her company is banking on its exclusivity and uniqueness, when the word gets out, to sell the Senada line in Singapore.
As Ms Preechawitayakul concludes: 'Thai people are free spirits and fusion freaks. We are not Malay, Chinese or Indian - though we have all this in our blood - but we are Thai. Because of this lack of restrictions and borders in my country, as fashion designers, we are lucky to be most free to be ourselves.'

_____________

Making the link with style

By Lionel Seah

The Straits Times, 2002-09-18

HOMEGROWN fashion retailer Tina Tan-Leo has long been synonymous with Gianni Versace, the most glitzy and flashy Italian fashion label around.

Even though she returned the label recently to the principal after a business partnership lasting 23 years, there is no bitterness in her voice.

'Of course I'm sad because I still think it is one of the best labels in the world,' she says.

On speculation of friction between her and Versace head honcho and bottled blonde, Donatella, she points out that the Versaces are 'family friends'.

'It was an amicable split and I just want to focus my energies now on developing The Link.'

The Italian principal has since appointed listed Singapore retailer C.K. Tang's speciality fashion arm, Gamut Trading, as the local franchise for Versace since Sept 1. Gamut has represented the label in Malaysia for the past 14 years.

Once the cash cow in the Link stable, Versace used to sell more than $12 million a year during the early 1990s, about half of The Link Group's annual revenues.

After clarifying the loss of the Versace franchise, Singapore's best-known style arbiter has another issue to get off her chest.

And it is about Singapore-born, Malaysian-based fashion entrepreneur Farah Khan, who sold The Link boutique to her 20 years ago.

Mrs Tan-Leo, who still drips glamour at the age of 42, says: 'I did buy her boutique, which was then called Link The Designer Salon. But the only label I continued stocking after I took over was Genny. Her other labels like Jean Muir, Krizia and Bruce Oldfield were just not my cup of tea.'

In 1982, her paper merchant and property developer father, Mr Tan Eng Sing, bought over the boutique in Mandarin Hotel from Mrs Khan, a family friend, for an undisclosed sum.

Mrs Khan then moved to Malaysia, where she now runs the successful Aseana boutique in KLCC and its Singapore branch from Kuala Lumpur.

If she feels the need to set the record straight, Mrs Tan-Leo has reason to - if not to celebrate her 20 years in the business, then at the very least to quell catty talk that her Link empire today was given to her on a silver platter.

'Even back then, I had plans to grow the business into a free-standing lifestyle store that sells both men and women's fashion labels,' she says.

And how the business has grown.

Starting with Gianni Versace in 1979 - the first outside Italy - then The Link three years later, the Link Group now comprises The Link, The Link Bridal, The Link Men, The Link Home and Italian label Etro and Etro Home.

While she declines to reveal annual turnover, she says fashion remains her core business, contributing 80 per cent to annual sales.

The remainder comes from her homeware and lifestyle business, which includes interiors styling services and home decoration projects for developers like Capital Development and SC Global.

WORKING ALMOST 24/7

AS THE grand-daughter of rubber tycoon Tan Lark Sye, who set up Nanyang University, and the niece of the late President Ong Teng Cheong, Mrs Tan-Leo is aware that she had a headstart with financial backing.

But the well-dressed socialite, who has a degree in graphic design from a Florentine college, also stresses: 'I work damn hard for the business. Almost 24/7.

'And I am very hands on and am on top of trends and styles since I travel at least three times a month on work-related trips.'

Her latest move is to shift some of her existing Link boutiques in Palais Renaissance to the Mandarin Hotel.

Set to open in the first week of October, the new Link store will have more than 40 mens and womenswear labels under one roof. These will include Stella McCartney and King of Cling Azzedine Alaia, whom she will host next March for Singapore Fashion Festival.

The two-storey, 3,800-sq ft boutique will occupy the space vacated by Etro. Etro has since relocated to Level 2 at Palais where The Link Men is now.

The existing 5,000-sq ft Link women's boutique on the third floor at Palais will now showcase only bridalwear, formal wear for men and women, and Oriental Wardrobe, which she started 1 1/2 years ago.

Explaining her decision to move stores around like musical chairs, she says: 'Shopping patterns have changed. Men and women shop together and they want greater variety and creative retail environments.

'I believe it's time to move out The Link to the street where it's more visible. And with seven windows, the potential for fabulous display is wonderful.'

Her new shop's decor, she promises, will be a departure from the standard interiors of big-name boutiques.

'The basic idea is to create something a little funky and eclectic. Something which reflects a little of my personality - stylish and versatile.'

Aside from the clothing labels and accessories, the fittings, furniture and even paintings in the boutique are also for sale through special orders.

She declines to comment on renovation costs but jokes that 'the architect is free', referring to her Hongkong architect-cum-property developer husband Lionel Leo. He designed her store as well as all her other stores.

They met in Hongkong 10 years ago and now have three sons, aged between six and eight. All are studying at the United World College.

The Leos live at Ardmore Park. And contrary to popular belief that her daily routine consists of facials, massages and no-limit shopping sprees, she is quick to correct such misconceptions.

'I'm an ordinary working Mum. I work and then I come back at night to help my children with their homework. On weekends, we just go to the park or go watch movies.

'Even my beauty regime has to be quick fixes because I don't have the time. No expensive treatments every week. I just use Clinique eye products and some Clarins.'

GROWTH PLANS

SHE is now focusing her energies on building and expanding her business. These include doubling the size of the bridal section to almost 1,200 sq ft from its current 600-sq ft.

She hopes to grow the current annual growth rate of 10 per cent each year for this business to 30 per cent within the next three years.

In addition, she plans to stock more Asian designers.

'I feel that Asian designers sometimes don't get the recognition they deserve. I would like The Link to be a platform for them to be represented in a stylish environment,' she says.

Come November, her boutiques will stock Indonesian designers Biyan and Ronald Gaghana, Korean Ji Won Park and even Singapore newcomer Sven Tan.

'Asian designers' styles are different. Their followings are different too. We have identified a market that is still untapped. It will open up a wider clientele for us,' she adds.

'It's also my way of giving something back to the industry.'

Coming from someone else, all such plans may sound more spiel than good business. But she has enough fashion nous to smell out designers on the cusp of an international breakthrough.

And she has the track record to prove it.

In the early 1980s, she stocked Prada at her boutique long before the fashion crowd went ra-ra over the black knapsacks in parachute material.

She also stocked Donna Karan, after the American designer left Anne Klein to start her own label. Then there were French labels like Claude Montana and Thierry Mugler, which eventually led her to stock menswear.

'I'm fortunate to have come from a good family but silver spoons can tarnish too,' she says candidly.

'You can't sit around and wait for your inheritance. You must be driven by hunger and passion.'

Judging from her ever-slim figure, which she attributes to 'good genes', it looks like the glamour queen will stay hungry for some time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20 YEARS OF THE LINK

1979: Launched Gianni Versace in Singapore at the Mandarin Hotel, the first GV boutique outside of Italy.

1982: Opened The Link women's store at Mandarin Hotel, stocking labels like Genny, Donna Karan and Callaghan.

1983: Started The Link Men at the Hilton Singapore, selling labels like Verri, Claude Montana, Barbas and Cesare Paciotti.

1987: Moved Gianni Versace store from Mandarin Hotel to Wisma Atria.

1989: Celebrated 10th anniversary of Gianni Versace in Singapore with a charity gala dinner at Goodwood Park Hotel.

1990: Opened Gianni Versace store at Palais Renaissance after closing the Wisma Atria outlet.

1992: Opened The Link, Versus and Verri 5,000-sq ft flagship boutique at Palais Renaissance.

1993: Opened The Link, Versus and a second Gianni Versace boutique at Ngee Ann City.

1994: Opened the world's first Gianni Versace home store called Gianni Versace Home Signature at the Mandarin Hotel.

1995: Started The Link Home boutique in Ngee Ann City, offering wedding and corporate gift registries and other services.

1996: Relocated The Link Men boutique to Suntec City. Also opened Italian label Etro's largest flagship store in Asia at the Mandarin Hotel. It stocked lines for women, men, children, accessories and homeware.

1997: Launched The Link's 5,000-sq ft new concept store at Palais Renaissance. Opened 8,000-sq ft Gianni Versace flagship store in Palais Renaissance, the largest in Asia. The megastore stocked clothes for women, men and children, as well as fragrances and fine jewellery. Also introduced Atelier Versace and Versace cosmetics here.

Staged one of Singapore's grandest charity galas and fashion extravaganzas for the late Gianni Versace at the finale for Fashion Connections (now known as Singapore Fashion Week).

1998: Launched in-house label, The Link, for women. Collection included contemporary classics, evening wear, handbags, shoes and shawls, and was sold in Singapore and the region.

1999: Started Vera Wang Bridal Salon exclusively at The Link. Launched The Perfect Wedding, a complete range of bridal services. Started The Oriental Wardrobe, which focused on cheongsam and kua tailoring, as well as a small selection of Asian designers.

2000: Launched the interior styling service by The Link Home, working with prominent property developers, including SC Global and City Development. Service included global procurement of furnishings and art.

October 2002: The Link celebrates its 20 years in the business with the opening of The Link concept store for women and men at the Mandarin Hotel Shopping Arcade. Launches the new Asian Wardrobe at The Link at Palais Renaissance with designers such as Biyan, Ronald V. Gaghana and Barney Cheng.

Source: BT, 2004 | ST article (2002)

Fiona Xie

Fiona, reluctantly, the sexiest woman in Singapore!
May 19, 2005 >>

Local male readers of stag mag FHM has voted nubile pixie Fiona Xie as the sexiest woman in the world, beating even Angelina Jolie! But please stop asking about her body, Fiona begs. She prefers the attention to be on her soul instead. Kwok Kar PengYou are obviously not small in a certain department.

Is it hereditary or did your mum feed you a lot of tonics during puberty?

My mum doesn’t feed me tonics; we’re not into that. I guess my mum is pretty well-endowed too. It can be a bane to your existence as well… erm… (suddenly changing her mind) Sorry, I retract what I said, I feel every woman should be happy with what they are. While I don’t like the focus or the attention, I feel it should be something I should be happy with because God gave me that. I’m very curvy so sometimes it’s hard for me to carry some clothes off, for example I can’t wear a straight shirt ‘coz it makes me look fat. It’s also difficult to find clothes that fit. I don’t think I’m actually that well-endowed; it’s just maybe because I’m petite and a tiny waist. Which women do you find sexy?The yesteryear sexy icons are of course Marilyn Monroe and Madonna. Then there’s also Angelina Jolie, and in Asia, Shu Qi. All these women have different qualities. Madonna is very creative; besides creating new trends, she also has an erotic side of her. She is a very strong woman as well, so some people see sex equals Madonna. Marilyn is everyone’s icon. In Singapore? I think Tina Tan-Leo (owner of The Link Group) is very sexy because she has a lot of grace, is very confident and carries herself very well. Did your schoolmates used to tease you about your bosom?

Fiona in her best 'Kym Ng' poseYou know how sheer the school shirts (Fiona was in Canossa Convent) were? Girls came up to me and said ‘Whoa, you have a very nice bra!’ or ‘Whoa, you have very nice…’ It gets uncomfortable, especially during the growing-up years. I got conscious about it and I wore sports bras. I played netball and was quite sporty. I wore tight sports bras and it got painful. It was quite funny ‘coz I purposely went to look like a boy. We often went to Raffles Girls’ School and the coach even asked me if I deliberately wanted to look like a ham zim bang (Chinese salty pancake)! Have you ever wanted to have small breasts? (sounding exasperated) I’d like people to focus on my soul rather than anything else. How do you deal with lecherous stares from men? I don’t think I actually get that, because I don’t put myself in that position. I don’t think I go out and try to dress very sluttily. I feel because I’m in entertainment, when people see me, their first reaction is ‘Fiona Xie’ and not ‘chio bu’, you know, that crass kind of things. Do you get picked up in public?

Yes, but I believe how you carry yourself tells others if they can actually approach you, or whether your body language says ‘Don’t mess with me’. I think when you respect yourself, people respect you. Similarly, if you respect others, people respect you as well. It doesn’t have to be said, it’s just that thing emanating from you. I think it’s important for women to have this aura of ‘please respect me as a woman and a person.’

What are the funniest pick-up lines used on you?
A guy in Singapore gave me his handphone and said ‘Please take this so that I can call you.’ I was like, ‘What? I don’t want to take your mobile phone!’ A year or two ago, I was overseas and this American Chinese came up and gave me his driving license! He said he felt a connection with me and wants me to have something of his so that I’ll return it to him. I told him, ‘I don’t want it and I’m not going to return it to you.’ And he replied ‘Then you’ll have something of mine’ and turned around and left! Maybe American-born Chinese are brazenly so not shy. My guy friends with me were so appalled and they took care of the license for me. That was very amusing but I had very weird propositions too, things like ‘Oh, I know you are going to be the mother of my children!’ Some guys just plonk themselves next to me and look me in the eye, in a ‘you’re mine’ kind of way. How do you turn these men away?

I think you’d have to do it in a very polite manner. I’d just say ‘No, thank you’, or ‘Thank you but I suppose some other woman would prefer your attention.’ It’s situational depending on what he said and how he said it. I don’t indulge like smile, and I’m very firm and I put my foot down. I once asked you who you’d want to protect if you were a guardian angel, and you said this male fixture in your life. Is he The One that you are looking for? If I were a guardian angel, I’d protect two male fixtures in my life, the other guy being my younger brother. Erh… erm… the search for The One will always be a perpetual one… of course I would LOVE to think he is, but I don’t want to say he is as well because I feel like many people will be special in my life in different ways. For now, yes, I do have an individual in my life who I respect a lot but I do have my own life and I want to work on growing as a person, hopefully spurring someone on and the person spurring me on in return, but I’m not saying it’s romantically linked. Do you hope it’ll go romantic? How did you meet him? I don’t know; I’ll just go with the flow. We are friends... (pausing and being exasperated again) You guys very bad again! I have to repeat myself in every interview, sigh, I don’t know how to explain myself either. He’s just my friend whom I appreciate a lot and who spurs me on and I hope I spur him on. Nothing beyond that. So you don’t wish to talk about him? Not now, but if I get married, I’ll let you guys know. But I’m not marrying him, no no no. I’m still too young to talk about such things.

But you are 23 years old, not too young to have a relationship.

There are so many things in my life; that’s not my priority. It’s good to have a soul mate, but to have a good friend who spurs you on in the right direction, makes you a better person and who respects you and whom you respect is more important to me. It doesn’t have to be romantic. It’s more long-term. Fiona the babe brings Fiona the host to Coffee Talk and Hawker Woks!

Think of Fiona’s first Channel 5 variety show Coffee Talk and Hawker Woks as a talk show with any artiste with a food addiction. Stars the likes of Patricia Mok, Kumar, Mark Lee, Michelle Chia, Celest Chong, Suhaimi Yusof, Taufik Batisah and Sylvester Sim has gone on the show, introducing makan places they went to during childhood and in pre-fame days. While exalting the mouth-watering food, the artistes also reveal bits of their juicy past. If Fiona Xie the host was to bring Fiona Xie the sexiest woman in Singapore onto the show, where would she go? “I kinda grew up in the Old Airport Road market because my grandmother used to go there a lot and she would bring me there. My mum would tabao the food and the liang teh there. There’s a lot of other stalls with good food that later moved into the market too, like kway chap and prawn mee. There’s one really good zi char place in Serangoon as well that Zoe Tay always go to. And there used to be a lot of Teochew muay in Gay World. There was an old market near New Otani Hotel and one stall there sold laksa. My father loved the laksa there ‘coz it had chicken pieces instead. The stall moved but I’m not sure where to. “I was almost born in Malaysia, and my early childhood was spent in Malaysia. I remember the lou shee fun (short and thick rice noodles), the black noodles, fishball noodles with really long fishcakes, nasi lemak, nasi briyani… I ate a lot of Italian food when I was young as well, ‘coz my neighbour in Malaysia was Italian and my mum would make lasagna. ” Fiona reminisced happily.