Willabelle Ong: A woman of her time
From catwalk to contemporary art, style influencer Willabelle Ong knows just how to catch your attention
Helmi Yusof
IF this was the mid-20th century, Willabelle Ong might have been mistaken for an actress. She has that classic fashion sense that recalls the old-school glamour of Hollywood studios. Her flawless makeup, sultry gaze and feline poses are primed for the flashbulbs of paparazzi.
But this is the 2020s, and 28-year-old Ong has a new millennium career that has been invented, improved and perfected by her digital generation – as a fashion influencer with a follower base that’s inching towards a million.
She doesn’t need a studio system, record label or modelling agency to help build her career. She built it largely by herself, first with a blog, then with Instagram, and then with TikTok.
Fashion, as understood by the social media generation, is not just a mode of self-expression and creativity. It’s a weapon of power and influence. It’s a way to reach out to a global audience who will anoint the winners and losers by either liking or ignoring their posts. And Ong seems to have figured out the formulas to a T.
“To engage with today’s audience,” she says, “you have to bring in fresh perspectives and content. Different platforms serve different needs, and you have to tailor the content accordingly.
“For example, my blog (paledivision.com) revolves around lengthier reads and multiple photos. My Instagram (@willamazing) is all about curated, beautiful visuals representing my love for photography. TikTok (@willabelleofficial) is for letting loose and having a laugh at myself with the casual and funny videos I occasionally create.”
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Of course, her impeccable fashion sense plays a part too. Ong is constantly dressed in well-tailored structured suits, full tweed looks, fluffy feather dresses, or big travelling coats and capes matched with riding boots and hats. She’s always carrying an It-bag, from Louis Vuitton’s Capucines to Dior’s Caro.
Two months ago, she and her husband welcomed their first child named Ava Eleanor. But being heavily pregnant before that didn’t stop her from doing photoshoots. One particularly memorable post saw her frolicking alternately in a sheer white gown, a sleek black cape and an elegant bodysuit – each outfit accentuating the fullness of her baby bump. Her followers went wild.
“In the early months of pregnancy, I could work around having my jackets and pants unbuttoned. However, in my last trimester, I thrived on either form-fitting bodysuits matched with wrap coats, or loose sweaters paired with boyfriend jeans.
“Since giving birth, I’m glad to be back to wearing my favourite staples: fitted silhouettes and well-tailored classic forms… However, when it comes to shoes, I find myself now reaching for comfortable shoes like sandals, mules or boots instead of my pre-partum choice of footwear: the high heel.”
Although baby Ava Eleanor has appeared only twice on Ong’s socials, she assures us that the baby is constantly togged out in “the cutest of knits, floral dresses and coordinated sets”.
Ong adds: “When she grows up, I hope she enjoys fashion and dressing up as much as I do, because I really want to share my wardrobe with her.”
Growth & evolution
If you search hard enough, you’ll find a web picture of Ong when she was 16 years old being interviewed by Teen Vogue. Picked by the magazine as the “Best-Dressed Reader of the Day”, the accompanying picture showed her in bangs and minimal make-up, looking like any other shy teenager.
But the clothes hinted at something else – a denim shirt worn over a chic floral romper, finished off with on-trend military boots and bohemian accessories. The magazine quotes her as saying, “I like to experiment with a combination of elements to complement my style. I express this on my blog, Pale Division.”
Anyone who follows her on social media would know these are words she lives by. She has adopted many styles and guises over the years – before arriving at what appears to be her final definitive look: sleek classic silhouettes and bold statement pieces.
“The best thing anyone’s ever said about my fashion sense is that it’s timeless and elegant. The worst thing anyone ever said about my fashion sense is that they hated my choice of footwear, because I used to love chunky boots and flatforms in my early teens.
“Thankfully, I’ve had the opportunities to try different aesthetics via dressing for events, press trips and shoots. And naturally my style has also matured as I grew older. What has always been constant, however, is my love for colours and structural pieces.”
Not surprisingly then, her long-standing fashion crushes are Tilda Swinton, Daphne Guinness, Anna Dello Russo and Lady Gaga, all known for their eclectic and adventurous but always chic and elegant ensembles.
Among designers, her current favourites are Nicolas Ghesquière for his forward-thinking Louis Vuitton designs accented by a modernistic touch, as well as Virginie Viard for her feminine take on Chanel with her rock ’n roll edge.
“I haven’t stopped dreaming of Chanel’s Fall 2022 Couture show that was a showcase of extraordinary elegance and pure savoir-faire in the way the fabrics flowed and moved… Schiaparelli’s haute couture collection this season was also mesmerising with the giddy pouffe silhouettes and remarkable sleeves, often punctuated by Surrealist inspirations.”
Bag-wise, she is obsessed with mini bags, such as those from Dior, Chanel and Hermès. “But my favourite addition to my bag collection this year is a crocodile Birkin in my lucky colour: green.”
Ong credits her own mother for instilling an early appreciation of fashion. “Growing up, my mum had a huge impact on my interest and approach to style. I remember sneakily trotting around in her heels and wearing red lipstick when she wasn’t looking.
“As I discovered my own style over the years, she would remind me to be mindful of what I buy – that is, to invest in quality pieces that will last for seasons, and buy less but buy better.”
Today, Ong still goes on whirlwind Paris shopping trips with her mum. “It’s always a treat to do a round of shopping with a loved one, followed by lunch, sight-seeing, and cafe-hopping. You can also find some exclusive pieces in the brands’ flagship stores that are not carried in Singapore.”
From couture to canvas
Like a child celebrity growing up before her fans over the years, Ong has had a public-facing career which started in her teens and hoisted her eventually into the stratosphere of fashion influencers – much to the delight of her longtime followers. Her top-shelf project partners and collaborators today include Louis Vuitton, Dior, Fendi, Valentino, Tiffany & Co and Vacheron Constantin.
“It’s truly surreal to be hitting almost a million followers on both Instagram and TikTok combined, and it’s been humbling that the likes of Coco Rocha and Jessica Alba follow me on the latter platform.
“I’ll also never forget the time when my High School Musical crush, Vanessa Hudgens, gave me a shout-out on her blog and Twitter when I was just starting out as a teen. That helped propel my audience base into the international sphere.”
Ong is certainly no slouch. Each time a social media platform becomes popular among her followers, she expands her content offerings to meet them there. When TikTok became the most downloaded app among social networks in 2020, she pivoted towards video creation. And because humour is a defining characteristic of TikTok videos, she channelled her surprising screwball instincts into making short and funny fashion clips, generating an even bigger fanbase on TikTok than Instagram.
“I think carefully about what I offer to the audience, whether I’m producing imagery to highlight the latest collections, or videos on how to mix-and-match different looks. I remain selective with the brands I work with, and I always prefer to curate the content to suit my own profile and tone of voice. Occasionally, I will share personal snippets of life and do Q&A sessions on my Instagram stories to engage with my followers.”
As if that wasn’t enough, she is also venturing into contemporary art. Her newest Instagram account (@willabelleart) chronicles her journey into abstract paintings in recent years. Her canvases show strokes of colours vividly swirling around each other, or sometimes startling lines leaping across clouds of paint.
“Some of my favourite artists include Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Willem de Kooning. In particular, I love their unrestrained use of colour and subject matter – something I strive for with my own paintings. Most of my works feature gardens or a body of water, as I find myself turning to nature whenever I am at an impasse. I enjoy putting landscapes from memory onto my canvases in an abstract manner. Oftentimes, I do prefer when things are suggested instead of depicted.”
And though she’s a relatively new artist, she’s already gotten some attention from high-end art enthusiasts. Swiss luxury watchmaker Vacheron Constantin, for one, commissioned her to create a painting inspired by its watches to be hung on its boutique wall. In art, as in fashion, Ong has a knack for seizing eyeballs and opportunities.
CREDITS:
Photography: Darren Gabriel Leow
Fashion direction: CK
Makeup & hair: Jyue Huey, The Make Up Room
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