In December 1994, on the first anniversary of ELLE Singapore, editor-in-chief Julie Sherborn wrote that “the ELLE woman wanted to be taken seriously—to be amused, provoked, intrigued, entertained”. That ELLE was “set to continue to capture the spirit of the times with a varied menu—light and intellectual, emotional and visual, always controversial”. At the time of writing, ELLE Singapore was 19 out of 25 global ELLE editions. Today, it is one of 50—but the promise that was written all those years ago still rings true.
In my work as a fashion historian, I consider women’s magazines to be a rich historical resource. This is especially so if they have run for a long time, as ELLE Singapore has, for 31 years. They not only reflect but actively shape women’s attitudes and interests. In short, they are treasure troves for learning about shifts in women’s lives. I see it as a safe—and fun—space for readers to learn about themselves and others like them, to navigate and negotiate their identities. It is striking that ELLE Singapore has remained consistent in its core offerings, from Sherborn as its very first editor-in-chief and now to its current steward, Charmaine Ho. While each voice is unique, the chorus of voices over its history is recognisably ELLE.
The content covers fashion and beauty, health, advice for personal and career development, investigative stories, lifestyle events and travel recommendations, and—my favourites—inspirational stories. Throughout its nearly 350 issues, Singapore is at the foundation of the publication, at times humming in the background and at other times loudly front and centre. The overarching message from the editors is for readers to live their best lives. And together with their teams, month after month, they put together suggestions for how to do so.
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It comes as no surprise that a women’s magazine would report the latest trends in fashion and beauty. I appreciate the depth of reporting, where I get to admire the clothes while learning about the designers who have made them, not only from Singapore or Southeast Asia, but also farther afield. In the March 1995 issue, Sharon Lim, one of the magazine’s founding members, wrote about New York-based Malaysian-born fashion designer Yeohlee Teng, whose clothes were also sold in Asian cities. Another article introduced local fashion designers Heng Juit Leng, Daniel Yam, Sylvia Lian and David Wang, and their musings on dressing Singaporean women.
By the mid-’90s, more than half of the female population in Singapore were in the labour force, and ELLE Singapore often addressed its readers as working women. Enrichment opportunities were advertised, such as a seminar titled “Women and Management”. And mental health was regularly discussed together with career development. In “A Hard Day’s Night” (October 1995), Lim wondered about working day and night as a Singaporean’s way of life, and how hard was “too hard”. To help mitigate the problem, she asked experts about what could be done to improve the situation.
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Apart from practical advice, there was also aspirational content, such as a regular travel column with recommendations for where readers could go, or at least dream about going. The September 1995 issue took readers to the Gold Coast and the Taj Mahal. In the following month, under new editor-in-chief Griselda Fong, there were also stories about Singaporean women not only travelling overseas, but living abroad. They featured interviewees such as Carrie Wong, who founded Carrie Modelling Agency, and had been living in Paris for 14 years. ELLE’s stories were not only about flights of fancy, they were grounded with examples of Singaporean women who have led out-of-the-ordinary lives.
In matters of the heart, the magazine is not prescriptive but distinctly exploratory. There are articles about happiness not being predicated on finding a partner or getting married (“Singles Only”, May 1996), and also how some women actually preferred to stay at home (“In 2 Minds”, June 1996). Where the magazine particularly shines is in discussing the intertwining of personal and career development. In the February 1997 issue, three successive stories demonstrate this twin focus: “A Smart Guide for Working Women” for how to work smart towards success and happiness, “Get A Grip!” for coping with various sources of stress, and “Fast Love” for carving out time out of busy lives for some romance. In this way, the magazine has remained true to addressing its readers as multifaceted women who have challenges to meet, and are intent on using practical tools to live well.
In general, the ELLE Singapore editors remind readers to enjoy life. Fong suggested that readers “forget guilt” and “seriously think about doing something nice” for themselves” (September 1998). She also encouraged them to rally those around them to serve the bigger community, like participating in a walk to help AWARE fund services, such as a helpline for women in crisis, a legal clinic and various support groups (October 1999).
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As the baton passed from editor to editor, the core message of the magazine for women to take charge remained steadfast. When Theresa Tan took over from Fong, she galvanised her readers in her first editor’s note with a quote from Rita Mae Brown: “A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for a life of action, not reaction”. In a similar celebration of Singaporean women’s agency, for the 150th issue, in May 2006, Lim, the longest-serving editor, wrote: “ELLE has evolved over the years, even as ELLE itself has remained intrinsically unchanged. The ELLE woman is, as our mantra declares, sexy; stylish and spirited.”
The milestones over the years have marked the steady maturation of the magazine, alongside its readers and its team. The “One ELLE of a Ride” article (October 2008), written on the occasion of the magazine’s 15th birthday noted its loyal readership of women between the ages of 25 and 40. And in November 2013, for the publication’s 20th anniversary, Lim looked back to Hélène Lazareff, who launched ELLE in Paris in 1945, with the mantra of “irony in seriousness, and seriousness in frivolity”.
The magazine came under Caroline Suganda in September 2019. In her sophomore issue, she encouraged readers to “do something you’ve always wanted and start taking the first step out of your comfort zone” because “a low progress is better than no progress”. This is something she emphasised time and again—she put out a consistent message for practise made for progress rather than perfection.
In August 2020, the magazine featured women who were effecting positive change: Faz Gaffa-Marsh, Founder of My Safe Sphere, an online mental health community; June Chua, Co-Founder of The T Project, which serves the LGBT community; and Amanda Chong, a lawyer, poet and advocate for social justice, and Co-Founder of ReadAble, which runs English literacy classes for children and migrant women. These stories bring societal issues to the fore, while inspiring readers to also become “an agent of change” (August 2020). Inspirational stories are a strength of ELLE Singapore, and the “Perspective” section serves to share not only the “triumphant narratives” of successful, influential women, but also “the struggles, challenges and trying times they went through to get where they are”, to borrow the words of Suganda.
Each editor brings her unique stamp on the magazine, and identifies what matters to her the most. In March 2024, in her first letter as editor-in-chief, Charmaine Ho set the tone for ELLE Singapore under her leadership, beginning with a cover featuring actress Chen Yixin and shot by photographer Gan, both Singaporeans. She wrote that she would keep the magazine the same in the grand scheme of things—and to touch every aspect of a woman’s life—from “what to wear anytime and anywhere to the hot-topic issues that affect women both locally and globally”, but declared a more “home-proud” trajectory.
She continues to highlight local talent. Mother and daughter Wendy Jacobs and Iman Fandi were the cover story for the Mother’s Day issue in May 2024. While Korean celebrities remain a fixture, such as the girl group ITZY on the June 2024 cover, this was juxtaposed against the cover line “The Singapore Acts to Listen To”. On the pages of the issue, before we are “Keeping Up with K-Pop”, we also find out about “music that really speaks to the Singapore identity”, a significant multi-page spread featuring the “immense talent to be found on our shores”, from DJ Amanda Keisha Ang to indie band Taledrops.
For the issue accompanying the Paris Olympics 2024, the formula of telling global and local stories was applied. We learn about foreign female gold-medallist contenders, while reading Singaporean powerlifter Farhanna Farid’s essay in which she reminisced her wins, and reflected on her ongoing efforts to bust gender stereotypes. Her theme for the year, “balance and mindfulness” echoed the magazine’s long-time care of its readers’ mental health. It highlights how ELLE Singapore has steadily, gently reminded readers of the important things in life over three decades.
“Dress like the main character you are. We’re all here, cheering you on.” This is the last line in Ho’s October 2024 editor’s letter. As we celebrate the magazine’s 31th anniversary, I am heartened to be part of a community of like-minded women who are the main characters of their own lives, and in the world. Happy birthday, ELLE Singapore! And here’s to all that is to come.