The Straits Times, 27 Dec 2007

These are the people who defied fashion conventions and created their own styles this year

In the world of fashion where trends come and go swiftly, the element of surprise is a highly prized asset.

The ones who stood out this year turned the rules upside down (a boy wearing make-up became hot, a geek became cool), defied expectations (cute hairstyles transformed near has-beens into trend-setters) and proved that innovation is way more fun than imitation.

The bottomline: Our list of 10 new fashion icons (in no particular order) were those whom you couldn’t stop looking at or talking about.

Rui En (above, right), 26

She may be one of MediaCorp’s Seven Princesses, but froufrou frocks don’t make the cut for this cool customer.

Instead of making high-end designer gowns resemble This Fashion bargain-bin finds like many of her colleagues, the singer-actress stands out for the matter-of-fact way she sticks to what she likes when it comes to style.

That usually means wearing pants rather than dresses, a nonchalant preference for the colour black and high-street brands rather than haute couture.

Just like last year, she chose to wear her own togs to the recent Star Awards (above), pairing a H&M jacket with Aldo shoes and latex tights bought online for $200. The whole outfit probably cost less than one of the gem-encrusted baubles on Fann Wong, but Rui En made it work with her take-me-as-I-am personality.

And fans seem to have no problem with that. While the fortunes of the other princesses rise and fall, she’s made the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes list for three years running. Which just goes to show that you don’t always need David Gan’s magic style wand to make it in this town.

Source: The Straits Times

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