VESTAL
photos+itw
Photography Kevin Sinclair
Creative direction Audi Umali,
Styling Renata Gar
Makeup Tadyoshi Honda
Hair Gonn Kinoshita
(vestalmag.com)
LING TAN
(The Model CoOp)
Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian. Ling Tan is the first supermodel from southeast Asia to participate in hundreds of fashion shows as well as being photographed by top fashion photographers such as Irving Penn, Mario Testino, Peter Lindbergh, and Richard Avedon. Tan has also worked with various top designers, including Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, and Chanel, and was the first Asian model to walk the runway of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 1996. After such an impressive career, we were curious to know which images mattered to her the most. Below, Ling tells us about her most meaningful moments as a model.
Vestal Magazine __ Your career path by now is legendary but give me a brief overview of how you started and how your career took off.
Ling Tan __ I was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where I grew up watching my mother mend and make clothes as a seamstress. I loved reading fashion magazines which ultimately got me inspired to be a model. When I was very little, I would show my mother pictures of dresses in magazines and she would make them for me. I later trained as a runway model in Kuala Lumpur. During my first week on the job modeling, an American advertising executive looking for a new face for a Tiger Beer TV commercial spotted me in the Shangri-La Hotel lobby. He asked me to go for a casting and this led to my first TV commercial job, which became an award-winning TV commercial. After that, I was in a contest for Asian Model Search 1994 in Kuala Lumpur where I won the 1st runner-up position. That is when a Malaysian fashion designer by the name of Zang Toi came from New York to be one of the five judges. After the contest ended I met Zang Toi backstage and he told me I should go to New York to be a model. A few weeks later I traveled to New York City. I had no model agent, I did not speak English well, and I was late for New York Fashion Week casting. I called Zang Toi, who told me that he had already cast the models and fitted his new collection but invited me to stop by his showroom anyway to say hi. When he saw me, he asked to try on a few clothes from his new collection. He loved how I looked in his designs and decided to change his plan for the show so I could walk down his runway in three of his dresses. I was the only model in his show without an agent. After the fashion show, the next day I signed with IMG Model Agency and that’s how my modeling career took off.
Vestal __ These days, it's all about models using social media to build a platform of their own, which obviously didn't exist in the late '90s and early 2000s. How were you able to build that platform for yourself?
Ling Tan __ In the late 1990s and early 2000s my agencies arranged casting for all the major fashion designers in New York, London, Milan, Rome, and Paris. I modeled their clothes, walked their runways, and was photographed by major fashion photographers and magazines. I did not need to build a platform for myself. With every show, campaign, and magazine spread my name started circulating in the industry. Keep in mind that during that era, it was all about the Supermodels and the covers and campaigns that they appeared in. Today it's more about influencers and celebrities such as the Kardashians or the Hadids.
Vestal __ What are you most proud of in your career so far?
Ling Tan __ I’m most proud of working with talented photographers such as Richard Avedon, Peter Lindbergh, Irving Penn, Steven Meisel and great fashion designers such as Alexander McQueen, Alber Elbaz, Giorgio Armani, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford, Thierry Mugler, Yves Saint Laurent.
Vestal __ How was it to be an Asian model in the industry when you started and how has the perception of diversity shifted in the modeling industry since then?
Ling Tan __ I was one of the first Asian models to work with major European and American fashion designers as well as photographers. They were all very kind, considerate, and respectful to me. Since that time the diversity of models has increased dramatically. Being one of the first Asian models, I'm proud to have helped pave the way for all the other Asian models that followed.
Vestal __ Who would you say is the photographer that changed your career?
Ling Tan __ I would say the photographer that changed my career was Richard Avedon who photographed me for the Pirelli Calendar.
Vestal __ What is the best part about being a model with a sustainable career?
Ling Tan __ The best part about having a sustainable career is that I have remained active, as well as physically and mentally healthy.
Vestal __ Your ultimate tip for good skin?
Ling Tan __ My ultimate tip for good skin is eating rainbow colors of fruits and vegetables. Drink hot water with honey and lemon. No alcohol, coffee, soft drinks, and smoking.
Vestal __ Now that we’ve gone through everything that the pandemic has thrown at us, what are your goals for 2022? How have you been able to find peace after these last tumultuous years?
Ling Tan __ First of all, the pandemic will still not be over in 2021 so we will need to learn how to live with it in 2022. That means we still need to wear masks every day when we go out, wash hands frequently and avoid crowded areas. If we don’t want to get COVID, we will need to continue doing everything we were doing in 2020.
Vestal __ How do you stay physically and mentally healthy?
Ling Tan __ I stay healthy physically by eating healthy, exercising, and staying active. As for my mental health, my garden is my zen oasis. Gardening is my form of meditation. I also find that sleeping well, laughing a lot, and adopting animals from shelters all help me stay healthy.
Vestal __ What advice would you give someone looking to follow in your footsteps?
Ling Tan __ The advice I would give is to take great care of your skin, teeth, and hair. Learn English. Be on time. Be professional.
photos+itw
Photography Kevin Sinclair
Creative direction Audi Umali,
Styling Renata Gar
Makeup Tadyoshi Honda
Hair Gonn Kinoshita
(vestalmag.com)
LING TAN
(The Model CoOp)
Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian. Ling Tan is the first supermodel from southeast Asia to participate in hundreds of fashion shows as well as being photographed by top fashion photographers such as Irving Penn, Mario Testino, Peter Lindbergh, and Richard Avedon. Tan has also worked with various top designers, including Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, and Chanel, and was the first Asian model to walk the runway of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 1996. After such an impressive career, we were curious to know which images mattered to her the most. Below, Ling tells us about her most meaningful moments as a model.
Vestal Magazine __ Your career path by now is legendary but give me a brief overview of how you started and how your career took off.
Ling Tan __ I was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where I grew up watching my mother mend and make clothes as a seamstress. I loved reading fashion magazines which ultimately got me inspired to be a model. When I was very little, I would show my mother pictures of dresses in magazines and she would make them for me. I later trained as a runway model in Kuala Lumpur. During my first week on the job modeling, an American advertising executive looking for a new face for a Tiger Beer TV commercial spotted me in the Shangri-La Hotel lobby. He asked me to go for a casting and this led to my first TV commercial job, which became an award-winning TV commercial. After that, I was in a contest for Asian Model Search 1994 in Kuala Lumpur where I won the 1st runner-up position. That is when a Malaysian fashion designer by the name of Zang Toi came from New York to be one of the five judges. After the contest ended I met Zang Toi backstage and he told me I should go to New York to be a model. A few weeks later I traveled to New York City. I had no model agent, I did not speak English well, and I was late for New York Fashion Week casting. I called Zang Toi, who told me that he had already cast the models and fitted his new collection but invited me to stop by his showroom anyway to say hi. When he saw me, he asked to try on a few clothes from his new collection. He loved how I looked in his designs and decided to change his plan for the show so I could walk down his runway in three of his dresses. I was the only model in his show without an agent. After the fashion show, the next day I signed with IMG Model Agency and that’s how my modeling career took off.
Vestal __ These days, it's all about models using social media to build a platform of their own, which obviously didn't exist in the late '90s and early 2000s. How were you able to build that platform for yourself?
Ling Tan __ In the late 1990s and early 2000s my agencies arranged casting for all the major fashion designers in New York, London, Milan, Rome, and Paris. I modeled their clothes, walked their runways, and was photographed by major fashion photographers and magazines. I did not need to build a platform for myself. With every show, campaign, and magazine spread my name started circulating in the industry. Keep in mind that during that era, it was all about the Supermodels and the covers and campaigns that they appeared in. Today it's more about influencers and celebrities such as the Kardashians or the Hadids.
Vestal __ What are you most proud of in your career so far?
Ling Tan __ I’m most proud of working with talented photographers such as Richard Avedon, Peter Lindbergh, Irving Penn, Steven Meisel and great fashion designers such as Alexander McQueen, Alber Elbaz, Giorgio Armani, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford, Thierry Mugler, Yves Saint Laurent.
Vestal __ How was it to be an Asian model in the industry when you started and how has the perception of diversity shifted in the modeling industry since then?
Ling Tan __ I was one of the first Asian models to work with major European and American fashion designers as well as photographers. They were all very kind, considerate, and respectful to me. Since that time the diversity of models has increased dramatically. Being one of the first Asian models, I'm proud to have helped pave the way for all the other Asian models that followed.
Vestal __ Who would you say is the photographer that changed your career?
Ling Tan __ I would say the photographer that changed my career was Richard Avedon who photographed me for the Pirelli Calendar.
Vestal __ What is the best part about being a model with a sustainable career?
Ling Tan __ The best part about having a sustainable career is that I have remained active, as well as physically and mentally healthy.
Vestal __ Your ultimate tip for good skin?
Ling Tan __ My ultimate tip for good skin is eating rainbow colors of fruits and vegetables. Drink hot water with honey and lemon. No alcohol, coffee, soft drinks, and smoking.
Vestal __ Now that we’ve gone through everything that the pandemic has thrown at us, what are your goals for 2022? How have you been able to find peace after these last tumultuous years?
Ling Tan __ First of all, the pandemic will still not be over in 2021 so we will need to learn how to live with it in 2022. That means we still need to wear masks every day when we go out, wash hands frequently and avoid crowded areas. If we don’t want to get COVID, we will need to continue doing everything we were doing in 2020.
Vestal __ How do you stay physically and mentally healthy?
Ling Tan __ I stay healthy physically by eating healthy, exercising, and staying active. As for my mental health, my garden is my zen oasis. Gardening is my form of meditation. I also find that sleeping well, laughing a lot, and adopting animals from shelters all help me stay healthy.
Vestal __ What advice would you give someone looking to follow in your footsteps?
Ling Tan __ The advice I would give is to take great care of your skin, teeth, and hair. Learn English. Be on time. Be professional.
