For the longest time, I wanted to be a fashion journalist. Although I work in data analytics in the tech industry now, I still get to explore my love for fashion in my books! Samantha, my protagonist in THE FRAUD SQUAD, hatches her scheme to infiltrate high society only because she wants to impress the editor-in-chief and score her dream job at Singapore’s poshest magazine. So all my years of working at high fashion and high society magazines like Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Tatler came in very handy! My first-hand experience with this world allowed me to read authentically about the settings, from fashion parties to magazine photoshoots to fancy galas. And many of my book characters were actually inspired by socialites and fashion personnel I’ve met in real life. 😉
Here are a few of the magazines I’ve written for:
(You can view my magazine editorial works here!)
Harper’s Bazaar
I interned at my first fashion magazine when I was 16, as a writer for Harper’s Bazaar in Singapore. Honestly, I was just expecting to fetch coffee, so I was pleasantly surprised when I was trusted with writing entire articles! My very first piece was about luxurious wedding preparation, which is funny because brides-to-be would be taking the advice of a 16-year-old (see image below):
It was at Harper’s Bazaar that I first witnessed a practice I like to call: The Wall. As we put together an issue, very single page is printed out in A6 size and fixed to a wall with tape. The editor then studies this wall and determines where each page should go in the issue (i.e. Should this editorial come before this photospread? Do we have too many moody photos in a row?). And the pages are arranged and rearranged over and over again until finally, the editor lands on a layout they are satisfied with. Of course, I had to write The Wall into THE FRAUD SQUAD. 😉
It was also here where I witnessed the fun and varied dressing styles of people who work in fashion! My coworkers were coming into the office in sports bra under leather overalls; lace elbow-length gloves; men were wearing heeled boots and feathery shirts with cutouts; women were wearing suits even better than the men did. I LOVED IT. I made sure that my characters also had fun with their fashion.
Tatler
During one of my college summers, I interned at Tatler in Singapore. While Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue are fashion magazines at their core, Tatler focuses on high society, so my time there really brought me up close with Singaporean socialites. It gave me insights into what they are like as people, beyond just their glossy magazine photos, and also how they navigate social dynamics with fellow socialites. The amount of tea I overheard about social politics…
Of my three magazine stints, Tatler was where I assisted on the most number of photoshoots. Y’all, don’t be fooled by those glamorous photospreads that make it into the magazines—the photoshoot locations are more grunge than glam, usually in some warehouse in the middle of nowhere. One of my favorite scenes in THE FRAUD SQUAD is a magazine photoshoot, and I was able to apply everything I experienced firsthand to crafting an authentic setting. Think: bodyguards on set, padlocked jewels, and all the hidden, gritty work that goes into producing those stunning shots.
@kylazingaround And now I’ve a novel coming out that’s set in the fashion magazine world 😌 #thefraudsquad #fashion #model #booktok #fyp #foryou #bookstan #bookrecs #bookrec #bookrecommendations #fashiontok #magazine #foryoupage #writer #author #socialite #socialites #model #modeling #models #celebrities #celeb #celebrity #behindthescenes
♬ Chiquita ABBA – Sped up songs
But the biggest impact Tatler had on my book was inspiring a key plot thread. Tatler contains a section where we would report five juicy tidbits we hear about socialites every month—from backstabbing to gossip mongering to scandalous social politics. Although we never named the socialites, this was still my favorite section to read and write because of the peek it gives readers into this exclusive world. Rich people—they’re just like us! They have their own drama too! And that was how I got the idea for As Seen by Argus—the gossip column in my book that anonymously spills the dirt on socialites, causing my protagonist Samantha to live in constant fear that her high society fraud would be exposed.
Vogue
I was a fashion and lifestyle writer at Vogue Singapore last spring and summer. While my book was already completed by then, I can’t deny the impact that Vogue had on my plot. The climax scene takes place at a fancy gala inspired by the Met Gala, which is co-chaired by Vogue US editor Anna Wintour. Even the magazine that Samantha dreams of writing for is based on Vogue. And the editor-in-chief in my book is also inspired by a amalgamation of various Vogue editors.
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