Style is not decoration but declaration. In this milestone year for the Lion City, Tatler honours nine audacious visionaries for Asia’s Most Stylish 2025—the ones whose wardrobes reflect not just taste, but the pride and spirit of a nation
BY ADRIEL CHIUN & NAFEESA SAINI- PUBLISHED 01 SEP 2025
This year, as Singapore celebrated her diamond jubilee, reflection turned not only to style, but to what lies beneath it. In a nation so often described as a “little red dot”, greatness has proven time and again to be measured not by size, but by spirit. Style, after all, is a declaration—conviction worn on one’s sleeve, an instinct that binds heritage with modernity and translates the private self into a public statement. Here, where national identity is still being woven, style becomes even more than aesthetics: it is pride made visible, a language of belonging and ambition. The way we dress speaks not only to who we are, but who we aspire to be as a society. To celebrate the most stylish, then, is not frivolous—it is to honour the way culture is shaped in fabric, silhouette and attitude.
It is with great pride that Tatler presents Asia’s Most Stylish 2025—a creative pilgrimage, a ritual of instinct and near-manic logistics, but always a labour of love. More than a best-dressed list, it is a celebration of style as substance, immortalising glamour in all its forms and contexts.
This year’s nine honourees from the Lion City are visionaries, founders, cultural disrupters and creative rebels whose influence extends far beyond the clothes they wear: on screens, in business, in philanthropy, in music and the arts. Their presence is as commanding as their wardrobes, their choices as persuasive as their convictions. Together, they remind us that true style transcends decoration: it is declaration—of pride, of possibility, and of what it means to call Singapore home.
We crossed paths with Samuel Xun at the Lady Dior House exhibition in Singapore last year, where he—one of just three Singapore artists tapped by the French fashion institution for its Lady Dior As Seen By showcase—unveiled You Deserve It, his take on the Lady Dior bag. In homage to his past as a costume maker, he reimagined the iconic accessory into something that is part artefact, part love letter, and all attitude. A visual artist with a flair for drama and a past steeped in sewing machines and subversion, Xun treats style not as trend but as testimony—to selfhood, to storytelling, to survival.
His first fashion memory? Alexander McQueen. “He was my first real introduction to fashion … Even though I couldn’t physically access that world, his work shaped my understanding of drama and the importance of a good narrative,” Xun shares. And this is certainly apparent in his style, which is cool meets chic: black Tabi loafers, ear cuffs stacked to celestial heights, and a wardrobe where accessories do the heavy emotional lifting on lazy days. Even his first purchase—a black Loewe Puzzle bag bought with his first pay cheque as a designer—was a moment marked in leather, silver and triumph.
Xun knows that clothes are the first poem you wear into a room—soft armour, sly invitation, subtle defiance. He dresses not to impress but to imprint, to leave a trace of story behind long after the art is taken down. Polo shirts are history, his bags are heirlooms‑in‑waiting, and style—much like his work—is never just for show; it is ritual, revelation and a reminder that beauty, when worn with intent, can speak louder than words.
Photography: Darren Gabriel Leow
Styling: Adriel Chiun
Hair: Leong using Kevin Murphy
Make-Up: Cheryl Ow using Dior Beauty
Photographer's Assistant: Melvin Leong
Stylist's Assistant: Jettana Tang