Up close with a $380,000 Dior: Icon magazine turns 20 with exhibition of 10 extraordinary gowns

SINGAPORE – Dressed in a sharp black-and-gold blazer, Icon Singapore’s editor-in-chief Sylvester Ng was beaming on opening night.

After four months of planning, curating and coordinating, Iconic Couture: The Art Of Timeless Elegance – an exhibition marking the home-grown Chinese-language luxury lifestyle magazine’s 20th anniversary – finally opened its doors on April 7.

Housed within the Ion Art Gallery at shopping centre Ion Orchard, the exhibition showcases two decades of cultural influence, visual storytelling and fashion as a lived experience – brought to life through the SPH Media publication’s monthly covers, portraits and gowns.

Running till April 20, the exhibition unfolds in three thematic chapters: Inspiration, Individuality and Ingenuity. Each is a reflection of Icon Singapore’s guiding ethos, one that has remained unchanged even as the media landscape has transformed around it.

“Icon’s 20th anniversary is both a professional and personal milestone,” Mr Ng, 45, tells The Straits Times. “Over the years, we’ve continually sought to push boundaries – spotlighting trailblazers across culture, fashion and lifestyle.”

Featuring a wall of past magazine covers, the opening segment serves as a visual homage to celebrity icons past and present – from cinematic divas like Hong Kong’s Carina Lau and China’s Zhang Ziyi to Singapore’s own beloved stars Zoe Tay and Fann Wong.

Meanwhile, the second chapter spotlights 20 socialites who embody Icon Singapore’s philosophy of personal elegance. Shot in timeless black and white by long-time collaborator Mark Law and styled by fashion director Jeremy Tan, each portrait is a celebration of self-expression.

The final and most anticipated chapter showcases 10 exceptional haute couture gowns and bespoke creations loaned by eight of Singapore’s most stylish women – each worn to previous Icon Balls, one of the most important events on the city’s high-society calendar.

“Selecting the gowns for this exhibition was undoubtedly one of the most challenging aspects,” admits Mr Ng.

“We began with a long list of over 50 gowns, each representing a unique moment in time and a particular vision of high fashion. Ultimately, we narrowed it down to just 10 pieces – those we deemed the most iconic and historically significant.”

The Straits Times sits down with three Singaporean Icon Ball regulars whose glamorous garments now take centre stage.

To Dior For: Inside Amanda Toh Steckler’s world of couture

It is the most expensive gown in the room – a $380,000 Christian Dior haute couture creation from the French luxury fashion house’s Autumn/Winter 2022 collection, made in blazing vermilion and edged with delicate gold embroidery that glints softly under the lights.

Sculpted yet fluid, regal yet unmistakably modern, it belongs to F&B entrepreneur Amanda Toh Steckler.

Crafted in the maison’s legendary Paris atelier in 2022, the gown took three trips to France and nearly a year to complete. She wore it to the Icon Ball in 2024 and won best-dressed.

But for the 52-year-old widowed mother of five – three children aged 17 to 33 and two adult stepchildren in their 30s – it is more than just clothing.

“Some might say couture isn’t worth it because you can wear it only once or twice, but to me, it’s about the memories that last forever,” she says.

The clean silhouette echoed the late Parisian fashion designer Christian Dior’s iconic New Look – a post-war design aesthetic that reintroduced glamour to women’s fashion with cinched waists, sculpted bodices and flowing skirts that celebrated the feminine form.

This red-and-gold marvel is just one of several couture pieces Ms Toh Steckler has loaned to Iconic Couture: The Art Of Timeless Elegance. The other is an exquisitely embroidered Fendi mini dress – worn to the Icon Ball in 2023 and lauded as one of the best looks of the night.

Her own foray into couture began when she was planning her 50th birthday. With 200 guests across two events and friends flown in from Denmark, Finland and the US, she decided nothing less than couture would do – opting for Fendi by day and Valentino by night.

That Fendi dress – worn on her birthday and originally seen on Delfina Delettrez Fendi, the Italian brand’s fourth-generation Italian designer – was Ms Toh Steckler’s first couture commission, created during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Travel restrictions meant she could not make it to Paris, so fittings were conducted virtually, with staff at the Takashimaya Shopping Centre boutique in Singapore coordinating closely with the atelier in France. The process took nearly eight months, and the final cost came in at $120,000.

For her next big moment – the upcoming Icon Ball 2025 in Shangri-La Singapore on April 30 – she is doing things a little differently.

Pressed for time and unable to travel for overseas fittings, she decided to turn to veteran Singapore designer Frederick Lee after seeing his custom creations at previous Icon Balls.

“I just said, ‘Make me something different. I want something bright,’” she recalls with a laugh. “I’ve given him full creative rein. I haven’t even seen the gown yet.”

Lee, 59, sent over a sketch – bold, expressive, and completely unexpected. “I looked at it and went, yep, I like it,” she says.

Wearing her truth: Karen Ong-Tan on dressing with purpose and personality

The first time this writer met Ms Karen Ong-Tan in 2023, she was gliding through a hotel in Singapore in sculptural Schiaparelli cuffs and oversized statement rings.

Then at the opening of Iconic Couture: The Art Of Timeless Elegance on April 7, she was carrying a cheeky Butt Bag by Grace Ling, the buzzy New York-based Singaporean designer.

Clearly, with the 45-year-old corporate consultant and ex-lawyer, there is never a dull fashion moment. From avant-garde to irreverent, her looks are always intentional, always memorable – and always very her.

“My choice of fashion in any setting reflects my mindset or mood, and most importantly, visually amplifies one of the many facets of my personality. Not only does this allow me to respect – by acknowledging – how I feel on any given occasion, in doing so, I also get to present myself honestly to the people around me,” she says.

Frequently landing her on best-dressed lists, Ms Ong-Tan’s jaw-droppingly expansive wardrobe is not about trends or spectacle but storytelling and identity.

That relationship with fashion began at a young age.

Inspired by her mother, prominent society maven Lilian Ong, 72, whose couture archive is “the stuff of dreams”, and spans five decades, including brands like Chanel, Dior, Versace, Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent, Ms Ong-Tan began curating her own collection in the early 1990s.

Then a teenager, she was particularly drawn to Chanel’s fresh spin on preppy chic under former creative director Karl Lagerfeld’s bold new vision for the French luxury house.

Her first couture commission? A Chanel piece, naturally.

Made in Paris when she was 14 and fitted during her school holidays, it was a gift from her parents – and the first stitch in what would become a decades-long love affair with fashion houses and their creative visionaries. Estimated to have cost five figures, the dress itself was a standout runway piece, originally debuted by Canadian supermodel Linda Evangelista: an exquisite structured silk design featuring a double-breasted top and a bell-shaped skirt, with a matching hat.

“My mother encouraged me to choose pieces I connect with deeply,” she says. “Thirty years on, I still wear and cherish the first pieces I bought in the 1990s. Their value hasn’t diminished because they still reflect who I am.”

To Ms Ong-Tan, who is married to wealth manager Samuel Tan and has a 13-year-old daughter, collecting couture is both emotional and instinctive.

“If I’m drawn to something, I’ll dive deep – I want to understand the designers’ process, their inspiration. That connection is what makes a piece meaningful,” she says.

Rather than focusing on the price tag, she prefers to consider the deeper value of couture.

“In couture collectors’ circles, the conversation isn’t so much about cost, but about value – and that’s shaped by many things,” she says. “It could be the historical significance of the piece to the maison, its relevance within the wider context of fashion history, the rarity of its production, or the identity of the designer who created it during a particular era.”

To her, these elements transform couture from mere clothing into cultural artefacts.

Some of those cherished pieces are on display at the Icon Singapore exhibition, including two gowns that hold special distinction: they were the first custom orders made immediately after their runway debut.

One of them is a dramatic black dress bought in 2004 and created by American designer Tom Ford during his tenure as creative director at Yves Saint Laurent.

So extraordinary was the design that it was selected for China: Through the Looking Glass, a landmark 2015 exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art that explored the impact of Chinese aesthetics on Western fashion.

Ms Ong-Tan has since lovingly adjusted the 21-year-old masterpiece over time to better fit her changing proportions.

“It’s like catching up with an old friend,” she says. “Every time I wear it, I’m reminded of how well it still reflects me.”

The other piece is a theatrical red Christian Siriano gown which was ordered in 2024 and made its red carpet debut at the Icon Ball that same year. The structured tulle top bears a sculptural form with curvaceous lines that cascade effortlessly into a voluminous skirt.

Caring for couture means proper storage is non-negotiable. Most of her collection is housed in London, where the climate is better suited for preserving delicate fabrics. There, the gowns are tended to by two trusted names – Jeeves of Belgravia and Elias – that are experienced in providing bespoke dry-cleaning and maintenance for couture pieces.

“Each piece is cleaned by hand, wrapped or stuffed with acid-free paper, and packed according to its structure and material,” she says. “I try to check and refresh the archive yearly. Some of my older pieces are decades old, and they’re still in impeccable condition.”

For the upcoming Icon Ball, Ms Ong-Tan has been deep in planning mode. True to form, she is currently in conversation with five different maisons – each approached with full transparency.

“I give them all the context – who else I’m speaking with, what I’m looking for, how far along I am in each discussion,” she says. “I’m loyal, but I’m also honest. They know my priority is bringing a specific style vision to life.”

She is looking forward to seeing and trying the creations in person.

“This is what makes collecting couture so magical for me,” she reflects. “When I am able to identify with one or more aspects of the designer’s creation, and make it part of my personal collection, it feels like an interweaving of my own journey with the designer’s, and we have a connection through the piece.”

From scrubs to sequins: How Dr Ho Ching Lin finds freedom in fashion

Few would have guessed Dr Ho Ching Lin had been performing eye surgery barely an hour earlier.

Standing amid a sea of couture gowns at the April 7 launch of Iconic Couture: The Art Of Timeless Elegance, she looked immaculately composed in a sculptural black-and-white Frederick Lee dress.

But this is typical of the 56-year-old ophthalmologist, whose high-pressure days are split between operating theatres, clinics, yoga sessions and evening galas.

“I have to look put together, but be ready for emergencies,” she says. “It’s about comfort and flexibility – pieces I can layer, remove or transform to suit the moment.”

While she does not consider herself a collector in the traditional sense, Dr Ho has been acquiring couture for over two decades. Her fascination lies in the craftsmanship, the detail and the quiet complexity behind each piece.

Her very first couture commission was a blue silk jacket from Brioni, custom-made at the menswear brand’s London boutique in the mid-2000s. The was when the Italian luxury menswear label was just beginning to explore couture for women.

“I was there on vacation, accompanying a friend. I saw the tailoring and was completely taken,” she recalls. “It took about a month for my jacket to be made. I can’t remember the exact cost but it was five figures.

“I usually find time to shop only on vacation, so in the past, most of my purchases were from Europe or the US,” she says. “However, I’ve since discovered incredible local talent in Singapore, like Frederick Lee, whose designs I absolutely adore.”

She is also the proud owner of a powder-blue dress by Chinese couturier Guo Pei that is currently displayed at the Icon exhibition, which she wore to the Icon Ball in 2023.

“I met her during her visit to Singapore, and she invited me to a private sitting,” Dr Ho recalls. “I asked for a piece that honoured my heritage, but still felt modern and flattering.”

Acquired in 2023 for five figures, it features delicate, wing-like extensions that add an ethereal touch to its silhouette. Crafted from layers of fine silk, lace, gold threads and ribbon detailing, the dress balances opulence with restraint. Its dramatic sleeves, sculpted through intricate folding and boning, give the piece both structure and gravitas.

For the single mum, who has a 23-year-old son, couture is not something to be archived and forgotten.

“If I love a piece and it suits the occasion, I’ll absolutely wear it again. Re-wearing should never be embarrassing – in fact, it reflects my values,” she says.

That philosophy extends to caring for her collection. Gowns are dry-cleaned after every use and stored in temperature- and humidity-controlled conditions – some in her home wardrobe, others in a specialised warehouse.

One of her favourite pieces is a fully sequined gold Oscar de la Renta gown – her most expensive to date, and one that stole her heart instantly. “It cost a significant five figures,” she says, “but it was worth it.”

Still, she admits there are extravagant pieces in her wardrobe that have never been worn because the right moment has not come along.

For Dr Ho, fashion is an escape from the high-stakes environment she is in every day. It allows her to express a side of herself that does not wear scrubs or hold a scalpel.

“I don’t confine myself to a single aesthetic,” she explains. “When someone says ‘This isn’t your usual style’, I take it as a compliment – to both myself and the designer – for pushing me out of my comfort zone.”

View it/Iconic Couture: The Art Of Timeless Elegance

Where: Ion Art Gallery, Level 4 Ion Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn
When: Until April 20, 10am to 10pm daily
Admission: Free

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