Anniversaries—that one day each year when the need to cram all our appreciation and acknowledgement is high. Also, the pressure to have a grand celebration is even higher. Esquire Singapore celebrated our anniversary just last Thursday at the stunning HighHouse. Having been in Singapore for over 12 years, this was actually our very first anniversary with Heart Media Group. The Townhouse party was quite honestly a whirlwind with a turnout of 320 attendees. But we’re proud to say that it was grand, and there was plenty of appreciation going around.
In the earlier part of the day, we hosted a series of panels and a masterclass that featured creativity, property and whisky. The first panel was moderated by editor-in-chief, Wayne Cheong with guests Toby Tan aka tobyato (@tobyato), Aundraj Jude (@assthrowknot) and Chong Keng How (@birocompany; @aai.online; @masteryatelier). It was a lively discussion as the panellists revealed what it takes to be a creative today and the unique hurdles and possibilities faced by creatives in a landscape that often views the arts as non-essential.
In between panels, there was a mini-tasting session of Sturion Caviar. Guests get to sample some of the creamy goodness as their palate gets to experience the umami-ness that only the privilege gets to experience.
The second panel focused on something that's near and dear to every Singaporean's heart: property ownership. On the panel, we had Alice Tan, head of consultancy at Knight Frank; William Tan, associate division director of SRI Pte Ltd and Prident, and Eugene Lim, marketing manager at ERA. Once more this panel was moderated by Cheong as the discussion unpacked the Singapore property market and delved into the realities and hurdles of purchasing housing in our country.
Brand partner, Auchentoshan, conducted a whisky tasting later in the afternoon. Hosted by Suntory's brand ambassador, Mark Tay, guests for the session were treated to the Three Wood Single Malt Scotch Whisky and other offerings from the distillery’s collection.
If shouting over blaring loud music (shoutout Eden on the decks and Devialet for the audio output) while trying to meet new people is your thing, you'd love this part of the evening. Hosted by Edward Russell, who brought in the evening's first entertainment: comedy. Stand-up comic, Jacky Ng, warmed the crowd up for speeches from Cheong and CEO of Heart Media Group, Olivier Burlot. Tay explained the cocktails in everybody's hands as they toast to the publication's anniversary celebration before we return to the revelry.
When it was time to be set free and easy, guests were treated to caviars and oysters on deck, alongside complimentary drinks courtesy of Auchentoshan. Photo walls and photobooths with Teletubby props (whose idea was that and can we give them a raise?) captured the evening and sent everyone home with a tangible memory of our anniversary. And all this happened at the peak of the highest skyscraper in Downtown Core, overlooking an entrancing view of the surrounding structures across the marina bay. Give it up for HighHouse.
The evening felt a little brighter with the presence of some local personalities in the crowd. Individuals like Benjamin Kheng, Oon Shu Ann, Kirsten Tan, Daisy Mitchell and Josh Makazo took time out of their schedules to grace us with their presence.
No one shined brighter than our best-dressed winners, though. Have a look at these stunning fits.
Good thing it was a competition on smiling or else they wouldn't have won, no?
Anyway, the winners received a Sturion Caviar Deluxe Gift Set and Luminox watch worth SGD1,645 and SGD1,800, respectively. Thanks to our generous sponsors Sturion and Luminox, our winners can shine even brighter with the "glitter" on their wrists.
There was another competition as well. And the best part? Contestants could be rewarded through the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP. By snapping some pics with their friends and tagging @auchentoshansea, three chosen winners bagged a bottle of Auchentoshan. Those who didn't win, chose to post different versions of themselves instead of their friends... and you know what? More power to them.
