Celebrate Love In All Its Forms In Our February 2021 Issue

While discussing our February issue, which is dedicated to the exploration of love in all its forms, the idea of self-love was a hot topic of conversation. Self-worth, self-esteem and self-empowerment are such important and positive ideals that people aspire to—and ones that we champion constantly at BAZAAR—that they lent themselves quite naturally as the leitmotifs to an issue on “Love in the New Age”.

From the Style pages that usher in the new season with tie-dye and huge puffy sleeves to fashion with big hearts and L-O-V-E scribbled all over them, our favourite four-letter word is celebrated in all its sartorial glory throughout the magazine. Cast your eye over the latest spring/summer offerings—whether it’s a smart suit for work, bold bright stripes for the weekends or frothy dresses for socially distanced parties, we’ve charted
it all for you in our Trend Report on page 40. If the ’70s love child look is your thing, turn to page 24 and browse through Associate Style Editor Gracia Phang’s updated take on this halcyon era. Then there are the wonders of couture and extravagant fashion, modelled to perfection by the one and only Iman, who spoke to us on diversity, her marriage to David Bowie and the beauty of ageing gracefully on page 106. We’re always about supporting Asian celebrities, and on page 77, you’ll find BAZAAR Man cover star, Lawrence Wong, looking laid-back and chillin’ in some of the season’s cosiest pieces. He chatted with us about the challenges of acting in Singapore and the inspiration behind his skincare line, Grail. Finally, in an ode to the love capital of the world, we went to Paris to bring you some new-season fashion with a little old-school romance thrown in (page 116).

Oh, to be able to travel again! With all of us confined to our own private Idaho, so to speak, I wanted our pages to transport you to far-flung locales, just so you can enjoy a spot of escapism until we can all fly again. Take inspiration from the chic Milano home of fashion designer and writer JJ Martin (page 87) before hopping over to Tuscany to bask in glorious Italian vineyards (page 94).

And finally, on to a pet project of mine: The Harper’s BAZAAR Asia NewGen Fashion Award, which had to take on a new spin last year, with global lockdowns in place and travel severely limited. I still wanted to support and promote our very own BAZAAR NewGen alumni with an outreach programme that would not only help their business, but also give them an opportunity and platform to be seen and celebrated. So we created “A New Slate” and invited past winners Rena Kok (2019) and Silvia Teh (2015) to each design a capsule collection, to be sold exclusively online at oneorchard.store and also in Design Orchard. Pop by the store or check things out online; perhaps you’ll find something for the upcoming Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day that will not just make you look great, but also feel good, for supporting young design talent in Singapore. There’s no better time to do so—self-love does have its perks.

—Kenneth Goh, Editor-in-Chief 

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Stylist: Jiawa Liu
Model: Jade Nguyen/Elite Models
Makeup: Marie Dufresne
Hair: Cyril Lanoir
Production: Beige Pill
Productions Bookings director: Michelle Ngadino
Photographer’s assistant: Ella Bats
Assistant stylist: Jinjiibadam Gankhuu
Fashion assistants: Stefania Barbagallo; Marsalina Tanauma