In October 2026, Vogue Singapore celebrated its sixth anniversary with the launch of Vogue Living, an editorial arm dedicated to interrogating the spaces where architecture, interiors and fashion meld and meet. As part of its pilot edition, we held our inaugural Vogue Living Conversations at National Gallery Singapore, a fruitful day of insightful panel discussions that opened the stage to a myriad of veteran industry speakers.
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Moderated by Maya Menon, deputy editor of Vogue Singapore, ‘Designing Identity’ centred the ongoing discussion of design on Southeast Asia’s role in the industry, at home and abroad. Panelists included Budiman Ong, founder and creative director of Ong Cen Kuang and co-founder of Jia Curated; Stephanie Er, founder and creative director of Cream Pie Studio; and Nathan Yong, co-founder of Grafunkt, founder of Nathan Yong Design and NathanHome, and programme leader (BA) of Lasalle College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore.
Menon asked panelists what their one bit of advice for aspiring designers would be. According to Er, social media can only take you so far. Instead, if you want to pursue a career in design, “look at the materiality around you in the region” and seek inspiration by “going out into the world and embracing the analogue.” Yong took this sentiment a step further and encouraged the audience to read broadly and expose themselves to international institutions and publications. That being said, at the end of the day, a designer’s vision is theirs, and theirs alone—Ong doubled down on this by urging the next generation to simply “trust your own instinct.”
Of course, Singapore is a small country, and international recognition is something many creatives aspire to. However, Yong was careful to address designers’ desire to sell products because of their perceived commercial value: “In the long run, you have to ask who you are yourself: do you design another Danish chair because you know it’ll sell?” He also spurred future designers to embrace their emotions: “Anger is important. That means you have the conviction to turn your ideas into something.”
