Fly on the wall
ANNUAL TATLER BALL
Swimmingly S’pore
By Sylvia Toh Paik Choo
November 16, 2009
IT WAS stand up for Singapore at the Tatler ball.
Most of the ladies with men in lounge suits wore Singapore designers, not a casualty of the credit crunch but a definite thumbs up for local talent.
Singapore Tatler held its 27th anniversary shindig at Capella in Sentosa, a sea change from its usual town venues of Raffles Town Club and Shangri-La Hotel.
It was a more ‘intimate affair’, the magazine’s managing director, Mr Gilbert Cheah said. (There were fewer tables.)
The annual must-attend-party has been themed for the last five years. This year’s sent the women out for tails, mermaid ones. It’s Ocean Fantasy – both ecologically correct and Capella-magnificent by the water’s edge.
So for the ladies, it was off to be measured by the head sew-sew men of Heng Nam Nam, Odile and Renee L for the little siren’s tails in the azure colours of the Mediterranean.
One jade melded into another’s emerald into another’s turquoise. The lobby was swimming with lapis lazuli creatures from the deep – well, socialites and tai-tais, thanks to their stylists.
Monica Marthen and her mother, Madam Rosnah, were in Heng Nam Nam – quelle surprise. The duo are known for flying visits to Paris for that Dior gown.
Kelly Sia, another fine figure at couture catwalk shows abroad, was in an Ashley Isham – it was an AI Couture though.
The kampung boy – how that moniker sticks – has done good and the Merlion proud.
On one of his whistle-stop visits home from his London base, Ashley did say: ‘Oh about 10 to 12 women are wearing my clothes tonight.’
Celeste Basapa was in Odile (from the house of FJBenjamin) and Grace Yeh in a Renee L.
The men were in their uniforms of black tie, and only Dr Bernard Cheong can tell one man’s Boss from another man’s Prada, as the watch collector himself favours Kitone (the best suits in the world, bit of a schlep from Naples though).
A signature of Tatler balls is its leadership awards and this year Lieutenant-General (Ret) Winston Choo was honoured for lifetime achievement, Mr Ron Sim (he of Osim) for business, Singapore Environment Council executive director Howard Shaw for environment, local music conductor Darrell Ang for culture, socialite Tan Khar Nai and her husband Kong King for being gracious hosts and DeFred Jewellers managing director Sharel Ho for style.
Sharel wore a stunning Vera Wang New York.
Sharel, how could you?!
The NewPaper