5 hours ago5 hr Ethel Fong-Chalopin (Ethel Fong Sau Yee ,b.July 30, 1963) was one of Singapore’s top models in the 80’s-90s.Like Nora Ariffin, Ethel won a one-year contract with Ford Models then had a brilliant career in Europe and US. both in prints and in catwalk shows. modelscomposites
5 hours ago5 hr Author China Silk House ad (Singapore) circa 1986Ethel Fong,Nora Ariffinwarrenista scan
4 hours ago4 hr Author Ethel Fong was the first Singaporean to snag a contract with the world-famous Ford Models in New York, becoming one of the rare Asian faces to front a global Armani campaign in the 1980s. The 53-year-old mother of two has since made a seamless transition from top model to philanthropist.Your beginnings were humble, growing up the sixth of seventh children in a small house in Pasir Panjang. How did you go from kampong girl to glamour queen?In school, I was a head taller than all my peers, but I was so awkward and gawky as a teenager that my elder brother told my mum: “Please do something about her.” My mother gave me $200 to enroll in a three-month grooming course. So at 15, I bought my first pair of heels and made that journey from Pasir Panjang to Cuscaden Road where the school was — it was a big deal for me at the time. And because of my height, the trainers there asked if I was interested in doing some fashion shows. I don’t know what gave me the guts to say yes but I did and the rest is history.What was the toughest piece of criticism you ever received?As I was starting my career as a model, I was told that I was really ugly.You became one of Singapore’s best-known faces in the modeling scene back in the 1980s. What was your recipe for success?Audacity and luck. You need to be daring enough to go for what you want and lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to grab the right opportunities.source: prestigeonline, Mar 10, 2016
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.