Thai Model Jan Baiboon Covers Harper’s BAZAAR Singapore’s November 2023 Issue

Put your hands up if you haven’t travelled this year. I would guesstimate that very few hands shot up. Almost everyone I know that’s healthy, mobile and in a decent financial state has travelled this year. Revenge travel has taken off in ways never seen before and it’s shocking how many of us hopped on a plane, boat or car and zipped out of this little red dot. The freedom that comes with being able to just leave at a moment’s notice, or on a whim, is very liberating.

I’m not one of those people. I’m a planner with the when, where, how, and why down pat. I don’t like surprises, so when I’m in Paris for Fashion Week, I try to stay in the same hotel and in the same room. I like to be on familiar ground. It’s like having a home away from home. I like making breakfasts that work for my complex diet and stocking the fridge with food that I know is good for me. With gym workouts, rest and diets—I am routine-driven. It sounds terribly boring, but it was my way of coping throughout the lockdown, and I gained so much in health, fitness and mental clarity that I don’t want to ever give it up. 

Perhaps my most memorable trip this year was something so simple, yet so rewarding. I went Down Under to see my folks on my birthday in July. This is the best time to visit Sydney as the weather is beautifully cool, the brilliant blue skies bathed in magical, orangey-yellow hues, and the food—fresh produce!—is just divine. This city, with its beautiful mix of buzzy and chill, is my second home away from home. Read what I have to say about this harbour city on page 106. But truly, what stood out for me on this trip was that for the first time in three years I was able to sit down with my folks and my partner at home to have a meal together—something so simple took this long. Yet, I am not alone, as many traipsed across the globe to reconnect with family and friends, and will continue to do so in the months to come.

On the work front, travel has gifted some magical experiences to the team and we have so much to share. In our extensive Cruise Report on page 52, the BAZAAR fashion team travelled to LA for Chanel, Seoul for Gucci and Isola Bella for Louis Vuitton. Each city has a different sartorial narrative from these major houses. From palazzos and palaces to hallowed movie lots and art institutes, the biggest destination shows reminded the world of the dream-making powers of fashion. Just take a look at our magnificent cover and accompanying spread (page 120), shot on the shores of upstate New York. Like a phoenix rising out of the water in pleated Balenciaga, our cover of Thai supermodel Jan Baiboon speaks a thousand words on the power of image-making. So come journey with us—in the pages of our dreamscape.

—Kenneth Goh, Editor-in-Chief 

Download the digital edition from the App Store, Google Play or Magzter. 

Editor-in-Chief: Kenneth Goh
Photographer: Alvin Kean Wong
Creative Director: Windy Aulia
Stylist: David Taveras
Fashion: Balenciaga, Falke, Thom Browne
Director of Photography: Nick Sgaglione
Executive Production: May Lin Le Goff for Aries Rising Projects
Production Manager: Nikki Cardona
Hair: Dale Delaporte
Makeup: Chi Chi Saito
Casting Director: Alexander Torres
Talent: Jan Baiboon at Supreme Management
Photo Assistants: Naoki Fukuda, Takeki Yasuda
Styling Assistant: Natalie Stevenson