Qisi Feng Is Harper’s BAZAAR Singapore’s December 2024 Cover Star

This December, I wanted to surprise you readers with something extraordinarily different. So, together with my team, we conceptualised a cover shoot that had a bit of art, a slice of surrealism and turned the traditional ideas of festivity on its head. It’s also the eve of the 20th anniversary of Rob Marshall’s spectacular movie, Memoirs of a Geisha, which was so seismic in its reach, thanks to its audacious cinematography and, of course, the stars. So, we paid homage to the film, added our own take on it, and created a boundary-pushing cover that I hope will make you do a double take.  

This is also a good time to take stock of things and evaluate what the year has given us. I count my blessings that 2024 has been an incredible year for me. I married my partner of 17 years. It was a seven-month-long process of planning that culminated in an intimate celebration of love in Sydney on 3 August. Many of my followers have seen the pictures and videos on my socials, but this is the first I have shared in print. 

Related article: Sydney Might Just Be The Perfect Destination For A Romantic Wedding And A Quick Getaway

The picture above wasn’t the outfit that I took my vows in, but it was what I wore throughout the night. Author and psychologist Roberta Degnore argues on page 56 that fashion is anything but frivolous. She says, “I knew clothing let us express who we are or want to be perceived as—even when it’s risky.” I couldn’t agree more. Wearing this flamboyant cape made by Spanish designer Yolancris, with the yards of silk fringing, embroidered panelling and a matching cream suit was certainly outré! I wanted to challenge the notions of what wedding outfits are and should be. To quote Degnore, “Fashion is crucial in controlling and projecting how we want to be seen.”  

I wanted my wedding outfits to say something about me, my partner and our union together. It was only after I received so many DM’s from other like-minded individuals who saw my wedding as a vision of hope and promise for them that I decided to share more, yet without saying too much. “Fashion speaks. It’s heard by viewers. It makes an impact whether the audience knows it or not. But fashion does more. Even when it’s silent and unlabelled in this trend or that look, we go ahead and react to clothing, and it influences our behaviour,” says Degnore.  

Related article: Lights, Camera, Fashion: How TV And Social Media Has Changed The Way We Shop

For the ceremony, I added a cape to mimic a train on my cream suit from bespoke tailor Marlo. I wanted the feeling of emancipation, of drama, of gliding into a room of people who were there as witnesses. I wanted the feeling a bride gets when she walks down the aisle. But I didn’t want to give up my suit—so I wore both. And that my dear readers, is that one time in your life you can have your cake and eat it too. Treasure the moment—’cos it might spark conversations and reactions beyond the silk fringe.

—Kenneth Goh, Editor-in-Chief 

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Editor-in-Chief: Kenneth Goh
Photographer: Paul McLean
Stylist: Windy Aulia
Fashion: Louis Vuitton
Jewellery: Chaumet
Makeup: Hicham Ababsa
Hair: Fabio Petri/The Wall Group Manicure: Cecilia Abbas
Set Design: Dima Muasses Set Design Assistant: Lola Grivot
Production: Myself Production
Producer: Julien Pegourier
Casting And Production Manager: Zerek Green
Line Producer: Mathieu Fresquet
Production Assistants: Cathy Wong Stylist’s Assistants: Oceana Henrique Tome, Brandy Bikoi