Nasassistic

By NASA MARIA ENTABAN

Photo by ONIN LORENTE

alltherage@thestar.com.my

AFTER 10 years in the fashion industry, fashion director and Hanger magazine editor Sueann Chong feels like she is right where she should be.

For the past year, she has spent her days doing exactly what she loves – running Hanger, an unconventional bi-annual fashion magazine.

The 30-year-old animation graduate has gone from lugging piles of clothes around malls to use at photo shoots to conceptualising, planning, and directing her own shoots.

“Hanger is different from your regular fashion magazine. It’s not just about street fashion, not just another guide,” says Chong. “It’s youthful, playful, not serious, and I like to think that it gets people thinking when they read it. I like the fact that it doesn’t take fashion too seriously.”

The almost 200-page magazine is a pretty ecclectic mix of fashion categories, and doesn’t quite play by the rules. Almost everything can be found in it, streetwear, high street, avant garde and even couture are thrown into the mix to create unique styles that may be, at first, a little difficult to digest for regular folk.

Chong believes in the idea that fashion and style are very personal, and that the rules of mixing and matching, as well as sticking strictly to current trends – should no longer apply in today’s world, to today’s youth.

“In places like Japan, people can dress and wear whatever they want, no one will think it’s ridiculous or weird, but when someone does something quirky here, it’s a different story,” says Chong, who began her career in fashion as a “fashion assistant”.

Sueann Chong

“Everyone has to start somewhere with fashion, who are you to judge what is wrong or right?”

Having worked at a variety of publications including Cleo, OK! and Prestige magazines as well as style website Tongue In Chic, Chong’s experience includes fashion and beauty writing, styling, directing as well as conceptualising themes for fashion shoots.

The fashion enthusiast has come a long way from the days when she used to walk through malls carrying heavy shopping bags around – none of which belonged to her!

“You learn how to be careful with other people’s things. You have that fear of losing something or getting robbed,” says Chong, laughing. “It’s even quite embarassing to be walking around with all these designer bags but its not your stuff!”

Although she admits to being a bit of a chatterbox from an early age, one of the most valuable lessons Chong has learned over the years was interacting with different people.

“In OK! magazine I was a fashion and beauty writer for three years, and it was different because we had to do photoshoots with more personalities,” she explains. “There was the lookalike page, which was fun to do, because you’re dealing with emulating someone famous’ look.”

“Models are so easy to dress – they’re easy to borrow clothes for, they know how to pose and they instantly feel comfortable in front of the camera.”
Where regular people being featured in the magazine were concerned, a different sort of approach was required, one which Chong mastered almost instantly.

In the makeover sessions, I learned how to talk to people, get them comfortable. There’s a lot more interaction that goes on, they need that coaxing and boost of confidence, but once they start warming up, it’s quite cool to see how they change,” explains Chong, who also judges fashion shows and gives talks to fashion students.

At the moment Chong is putting the finishing touches on the next issue of Hanger, and making sure the rather ecclectic content and concept of the magazine remain balanced.

“You want to include different facets of fashion. You can’t have too much of one thing that would then steer it in a particular direction. You have to keep your people who like streetwear, couture, one of a kind pieces happy.

“We’re sort of like a jack of all trades trying to be master of all,” she says, grinning.

By NASA MARIA ENTABAN
alltherage@thestar.com.my

ONE of the highlights of Tan Yue Lyn’s career as a fashion merchandiser with Vincci+ came in the form of a compliment – from Harry Potter star Emma Watson.

Yue Lyn’s sister, television personality Megan Tan wore a pair of Vincci+ ballerina flats to the London premiere of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows and during her interview with Emma Watson aka Hermione Granger, the actress complimented the shoes she was wearing.

What made that moment so special for Yue Lyn, even though she wasn’t even there, was the fact that she had had a hand in the shoe’s design.

“She absolutely adored them,” said Yue Lyn, 27. “I get a sense of fulfillment when I see people wearing the shoes I’ve helped design.”

A large part of Yue Lyn’s job is improving and refining shoe designs based on market research and consumer needs.

“I’m not technically a designer but what I do is improve and enhance existing designs. It could be changing the shoe’s material to something more suitable or adding sequins, stones and other embellishments, or adding a platform or increasing the height of a heel for example,” she explains.

Most of the time, she spots shoes she has ‘refined’ in malls, but the real reward is seeing them at events.

Vincci + Fashion merchandiser Tan Yue Lyn develops and refines shoe designs based on market research and customer needs.

“It’s getting the brand recognised that gives me a sense of pride and joy,” she adds. “You see your products, your babies, whatever you’ve developed responding in the market, there’s a sense of pride in knowing that your products are selling.”

“Its like I somehow made a difference in a way, people are wearing the shoes we’ve put out there,” she says, noting that she spots Vincci+ shoes on people on the street and at events at least four times a week.

The fashionista, whose sense of style is edgy chic meets retro glam, has always had a passion for fashion.

She started out as an assistant buyer for shoe brand Bata, and over two years ago she landed a job at Vincci +.

A typical day for Yue Lyn involves studying sales reports to see which products are working in the market and which ones aren’t, dealing with suppliers, visiting stores and conducting market surveys.

“When I source for shoes and handbags, I take note of the trends that are out there, such as key colours, shapes, hardware details like materials, embellishments and so on,” explains Yue Lyn, who travels abroad for fashion exhibitions to source for ideas and trends.

“I stick to the key colours of the season, while also taking into account what fits into the Malaysian market. For example, trends that are in line with fall/winter may not always be suitable here,” she adds.

At the end of the day, Yue Lyn explains, it’s all about the customers’ needs and wants.

“What makes a good buyer or merchandiser is being able to study consumers behaviours and catering to their needs,” explains Yue Lyn, whose informal research includes talking to friends and friends of friends about trends they are interested in.

On the other end of the spectrum, she has to have a good relationship with her suppliers while keeping them in check when it comes to prices and delivering orders.

“Dealing with suppliers is the biggest challenge,” she says. “Negotiating prices with them can be pretty tough, I manage cost issues by ensuring they are clear about the current economic conditions.”

“Late deliveries are another issue, as this creates setbacks especially during peak season for example during the festive seasons,” she adds. “One of my responsibilities is always making sure my stores have enough stocks, and ensuring my suppliers follow my order dates strictly.”

Anyone interested in getting into fashion merchandising has to have a keen eye for fashion trends and the ability to study the retail market, according to Yue Lyn.

“Most importantly, they need to be able to understand consumer behaviour and to tailor products to their needs,” she says. “Passion is very important – when you love what you do, everything else like determination, dedication and dilligence will come naturally.”