Fashion direction: Asburn Eng; Photography: May Lin Le Goff; Hair & Makeup: Chris Ruth; Models: Reny/Mannequin & Alexandra E/Upfront; Layout: Shirley Ong; Outfits: ElOHIM by Sabrina Goh & Nicholas by Nic Wong

Ashburn Eng is a great talent from Singapore city. He is a fashion creative/conceptual fashion stylist and I wanted to ask him something more about his job and his idea of fashion and style.

You are a professional fashion stylist from Singapore. Tell me a little bit of your background…

I’m a night owl, more a voracious reader, in magazines and books of photography and fashion. My distinctive memory was that my first experience related to fashion was bleached hair….
Like everyone in their youth, I was exploring and thought pale blonde hair rocks. Allowing my hair to changing to a different colour every other week, I thought it is just cool.
When I was older, I worked briefly as a visual merchandiser and followed by an apprenticeship with a local brand as an assistant designer. It was during this that I realised that I enjoy fashion styling and hence decided to pursue a career for it.
It has been 6 years now and I am still very much in love with my career! It is this passion that allowed my drive for the birth of TestShoot Gallery (TSG), which was launched in 9th Sept 2009. The newly launched TSG has gathered quite a number of reviews and site hits, of which makes me proud!

What is style for you?

Whenever the term “style” is used, it most commonly refers to one’s fashion or outer appearance. But to me, STYLE is much more than your latest shades in makeup, up to trend clothing, or your Birkin bag.
It is the intelligence of presenting yourself, it is about mixing and not blindly following the main trends. Yet smartly combine the looks to a aesthetically pleasing look.

How do you create your personal style?

I love to express what I am feeling/thinking/emoting/interested in/ value about onto the external. What I wear express what I am feeling or trying to feel for that day.
I’m anti-trend and I like pieces don’t go out of style. It’s is a mish mash of everything I like and need. Whatever I feel (be it dark, pure, happy or sad) it’s there. Masculine and feminine mixture always exist for me.

In your opinion how important is appearance these days?

Personal grooming is definitely important as people do judge (subconsciously) of what you wear and how you look like. Various studies have shown that it is human behaviour to associate what you see outside to who you are inside.
A well preen man or woman will definitely score better comparing to someone who is unkept and looking dirty.

Fashion Direction: Ashburn Eng; Photography: Darren Gabriel Leow; Model: Renata N (Upfront); Makeup: Vivian Tay; Hair: Jong; Outfit: Ega Rismaladewi and Leslie Yong

What is the substantial difference between style and fashion for you?

Style always stays put with the person and they know how to play along with the different trends, and fashion evolve each season with freshly injected ideas, a new play of inspiration and bring forth what a growing percentage of people is wearing.

Is it better for you to work as a freelance or for an agency?

Each have their own benefits.Working freelance allows me to work without the confines of an expectation of a certain amount of magazines/commercial jobs per year. There is of a lesser expectations of what I should do.
Still, having an agency will be beneficial to me too. They manage my contacts, help manage my shoots, does my PR, deal with my invoicing and help manage my accounts.

How you define your job?

Challenging, exciting and thirst to improve. I am always trying to achieve a unique style that differentiates me from others, that’s my biggest push and I think I am going in the right direction.
People have referred to my style as being unique and different but I feel that I have yet a lot to achieve. I am a perfectionist and to me that is positive.
Hence, I started testshootgallery.wordpress.com to collaborate with other creative individuals hoping to create something new every time to instigate me for more spur.

Fashion Direction: Ashburn Eng; Photography: Soon Tong; Model: Rus (Upfront Models); Make-up:Larry Yeo using Shu Uemura cosmetics; Hair: Annie Tay for LaCoco Hair Salon; Fashion: Amot Syamsuri Bachtiar, Veliani Sanjaya (Lasalle College of the Arts) and Shanna Matthew (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts); Styling Assistance: Shanna Matthew

Do you take inspiration from something in particular for your works?

I take my source of all my inspiration from life itself. Shopping for groceries, the cinematic dramatisation in a film, the shapes of a building, lyrics in music, texture of a fabric; anything possibly shape up an idea.
I doodle alot, note down random thoughts and cut up inspirational materials and put them into a scrapbook for future referrals.

Could you give us some advices for being always cool and fashionable?

Be original, and please don’t follow fashion blindly. Sense ya own style, explore if you don’t know it!

Fashion Direction: Ashburn Eng; Photography: Soon Tong; Model: Autumn Kendrick (Ave Management); Make-up and Hair: Chris Ruth; Words: JT; Fashion: Rachel Santhia Edward Perera, Nurhidayah Bte Md ((Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts); Styling Assistance: Shanna Matthew