A Model Face To Watch: Chloe Lau

Singapore’s golden age of supermodels was no doubt the ’80s when the likes of Pat Kraal, Hanis Hussey and Ethel Fong stole the hearts of legendary designers such as Yves Saint Laurent (Hussey), Giorgio Armani (Fong), Hubert de Givenchy (Kraal) and more.

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These glamazons – now all quinquagenarians and older – walked the runways in Milan and Paris, starred in global campaigns and were even handpicked to be muses. In the ’90s, the industry It girl was the elfish Nora Ariffin, who bagged beauty campaigns for Chanel and Cover Girl – easy, breezy, beautiful. And among Generation Zillennial, there’s Layla Ong – a five-time FEMALE cover girl who’s been a favourite of Gucci and Rodarte, having walked their shows and appeared in ads and lookbooks multiple times. 

While this list isn’t exhaustive, here’s a hard fact: local models who have made loud and lasting enough of a splash on the international fashion scene have largely been few and far between. Figuring out why is far from straightforward – there’s the matter of competition, commerce, Covid and the fickle nature of fashion, to name a few factors. Soon, however, another name could join the ranks: Chloe Lau.

Already, the 23-year-old has walked for JW Anderson; scored an Emporio Armani campaign; and – most notably – is signed to Elite Model Management in Paris, Milan, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. The latter is a coup considering how the star-making agency, which counts the likes of Liu Wen, Hoyeon Jung and Devon Aoki on its roster, is notoriously hard to impress. This month, she will head to Milan for placement; come back in July for her graduation ceremony at the National University of Singapore, where she studied computer science; then make Europe her base again a month later, this time with no return date in mind.

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“I’ve always wanted to live overseas and since the tech market is not great at the moment and I happen to have this opportunity to model, I’m just going to have to make sure that I make it and sustain myself,” she says of her plans.

Such is the charm of the Malaysian native who uprooted to Singapore with her family when she was four. (She’s had a pink IC since she was 14.) Yes, she possesses the stature (she’s 1.75m-tall); the look (a beguiling cross between girlish and don’t-mess-with-me with her high cheekbones, almond-shaped eyes and natural cupid’s bow pout); and the moves (she’s got acute body awareness).

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These traits were what convinced her Singapore-based mother agency Mannequin to sign her when she attended an open casting it staged four years ago. What truly sets her apart from other emerging models and suggests that she was born one, though, is her utter lack of affectation about being a model.

Take how she had landed the contract with Elite. “Mannequin arranged for me to meet with Elite while I was on holiday in Europe two years ago without telling me that it was a meeting with Elite,” she says. “I was so nervous when I found out, but everybody at Elite was very nice, and the encounter was over quickly. Soon after, I learned they had decided to sign me. That was really crazy!”

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Or her reply when asked about her X-factor. “The truth is that I’ve always had imposter syndrome being in this industry. I’m neither very pretty, which rules me out for a lot of e-commerce jobs in Singapore, nor exotic-looking enough to be considered typical editorial material. I know my look is on the strong side though, so I would say my RBF (resting b*tch face)?,” she says with sheepish candour.

That “RBF” shines on set. No matter how challenging or uncomfortable a shoot might get, Lau turns on that steely glower that’s become her signature look effortlessly in front of the camera without a flinch or complaint. At heart, this is an easygoing girl who’s enjoying her ride on the fashion highway and seeing where it can take her. (“I don’t need to die a model,” she says. “But I would love to die, which also means live, in Scandinavia!”)

“Chloe is down-to-earth, realistic, knows when she needs to be sensible, and never brings with her drama,” says Raymond Chow, editorial booker at Mannequin. “This means that she’s very professional and this is what makes clients hire her repeatedly: She gains the respect of those she works with.” She’s certainly got ours.

TEXT NOELLE LOH PHOTOGRAPHY STEFAN KHOO STYLING DAMIAN HUANG PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT ALIF STYLING ASSISTANTS DANESSA TONG & EMMA ASHLEE GOH HAIR TAN ENG CHONG, KIZUKI+LIM MAKEUP KEITH BRYANT LEE, USING DIOR BEAUTY MODEL CHLOE LAU/MANNEQUIN LOCATION SPECIAL THANKS TO JAYLEEN 1918 (42 CARPENTER STREET)

This article first appeared in the May 2025 Beauty Edition of FEMALE