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Tracey Furniss

Former fashion buyer for Givenchy, Celine and Lane Crawford, Jacqueline Au founded bridal boutique Loft (Lab of Fairy Tales) in Hong Kong four years ago, when she couldn’t find a wedding dress she liked for her own big day. She now sources and offers exceptional one-of-a-kind gowns from design houses such as Alex Perry, Vivienne Westwood Bridal and Toni Maticevski to create fashion moments for brides looking for a statement piece.
In 2021, Loft recently moved to a new 1,600 sq ft space on Hollywood Road, which Au describes as “a minimalist approach with maximum expression”.

“I am at the tail end of fine tuning and unveiling a new space for Loft. It has been quite the journey: the transformation, renovation plus move, from concept to completion, took around six months,” says Au, who also had her second child in February. “I think that in the post-pandemic world, there’s still something irreplaceably powerful about a physical store. It was really important for us that when you walk into our store it wasn’t about clothes being shoved in your face. It was about the experience of walking in, taking in the space, being able to slowly introduce yourself to our signature Cire Trudon x Giambattista Valli Positano scent, and walking through the collections in a space that’s calm and minimal. All created for private one-on-one appointments.”
Inside Jai Anmol and Krisha Shah’s pre-wedding celebrations

With the busyness of a move and staying on top of fashion trends, Au still spends daily quality time with her daughter, Avery. “I spend a good hour or two of my morning to have a long breakfast with my daughter,” she says. “I get into the studio by 10am. We work around the fashion calendar – during fashion weeks, we’re obviously much busier looking at all the collections, doing virtual appointments and calls, and going from brand to brand to curate things we really love. These are my favourite times of the year,” she continues. “I love newness, I love scouring the globe for beautiful things and bringing in a curation that you cannot find everywhere. I think that’s what drives me.”
When it’s not a fashion week, she spends time creating content for their social channels and working with clients on their wedding wardrobes. Au works six days a week.

“Monday is a day when I work while the studio is closed. It’s when I take a minute to look back at the week prior, and set an intention for the upcoming week and look at whether everything I have planned is aligned with what I want to accomplish,” she says. “Monday really is my day to get ahead on life.
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“Sunday is the day when I’m fully offline. I step away from my computer, my phone. I’m present and disconnected from virtual life and as a family, we go out for a long day together – the beach mostly, or swimming, as Avery loves the water.”

Making the most of her time is important. “You only get one chance at life and I want to give it my best in the limited time that I have got. So essentially for me, time management is a priority,” she continues.
“The more I see myself as what I would like to become and achieve, the more driven I am to transform my vision into reality. Time is not a limit – it is just there to remind me to focus, set my intentions, prioritise, and then throw myself deeply into achieving my best work, wholeheartedly.”
Jacqueline Au’s preferred watch – Vintage Patek Philippe Ellipse 3582G

“It’s from my grandfather. It was given to me when he passed. It’s like I am always carrying my history with me – a piece of him that is always with me.”
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From luxury fashion buyer to wedding brand owner: Jacqueline Au worked for Celine, Givenchy and Lane Crawford, then founded bridal boutique Loft in Hong Kong

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XXIV 2021

Jacqueline Au’s watch Vintage Patek Philippe Ellipse 3582G from the 1970s. Photographed at her shop in Sheung Wan.

31AUG21 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Jacqueline Au, owner of bridal shop Loft, at her store in Sheung Wan. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Bridal shop owner Jacqueline Au photographed at her shop in Sheung Wan. Photo: SCMP

Loft Bridal has been called “the style maven for modern brides”. Photo: @theloftbridal/Instagram

Jacqueline Au at work at Loft. Photo: @aujackie/Instagram

Jacqueline Au is serious about fashion and finding the right match for her clients. Photo: @aujackie/Instagram

Jacqueline Au’s vintage Patek Philippe Ellipse 3582G dates from the 1970s. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

5 best luxury Lunar New Year themed watches to start the Year of the Tiger: channel the zodiac sign’s confidence with Chopard, Vacheron Constantin, Harry Winston, Piaget and Breguet

Mood shot of Breguet’s Classique “Année du Tigre”. Photo: Breguet

Chopard’s L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Tiger timepiece. Photo: Chopard

Vacheron Constantin’s Métiers d’Art, The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac – Year of the Tiger in 18-karat pink gold. Photo: Vacheron Constantin 

Harry Winston’s Premier Lunar New Year Automatic 36mm in 18-karat rose gold. Photo: Harry Winston

Piaget Altiplano Watch in cloisonné enamel. Photo: Piaget

Breguet’s Classique Année du Tigre. Photo: Breguet 

Inside Pushpa star Allu Arjun’s crazy rich life – from Rolex watches and a multimillion-dollar Hyderabad mansion, to a private jet, luxury cars and a ‘vanity van’

Star of Pushpa: The Rise, Allu Arjun, spends his money on luxury cars, watches and more. Photos: @alluarjunonline/Instagram; @bharath_tarak9, @AlluArjun/Twitter

Pushpa star Allu Arjun has a watch collection that includes dials from Cartier and Hublot. Photo: @alluarjunonline/Instagram

Allu Arjun, his wife Sneha Reddy, and their children Ayaan and Arha. Photo: @alluarjunonline/Instagram

Indian actor Allu Arjun has his own private jet. Photo: @alluarjunonline/Instagram

Allu Arjun flew to his cousin’s wedding in a private jet. Photo: @alluarjunonline/Instagram

Allu Arjun has a large collection of luxury cars. Photo: @AlluArjun/Twitter

Meet Philip Law, the Hong Kong fashion veteran and collector with a penchant for Kaws and Bearbrick art toys, vintage Porsches and Ferraris, and luxury Panerai watches

Philip Law Yuk-moon, Managing Director of Union Apparel International Ltd, photographed at his company in San Po Kong.

31AUG21 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Philip Law Yuk-moon, Managing Director of Union Apparel International Ltd, photographed at his company in San Po Kong. Photo: SCMP

Philip Law’s office has turned into a small museum of designer collectibles. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

One of Philip Law’s Panerai watches. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Philip Law’s company is one of the few survivors in the denim industry that’s dominated by large fast retailers. Photo: Frame

Philip Law’s favourite watch is a unique, special edition Panerai bought at a charity auction years ago. Photo: Handout

Why are Rolex watches so expensive and hard to find? The Swiss luxury brand is said to make one million timepieces per year, but tracking one down is a challenge

A Rolex Submariner watch paired with blue bracelets. Photo: Shutterstock

A Rolex Datejust displayed at the Baselworld watch and jewellery fair in Basel, Switzerland, in March 2018. Photo: Reuters

Watchmakers at a Rolex restoration atelier in Geneva, doing work that demands absolute concentration. Photo: Rolex

Two customers buying Rolex watches at a Hong Kong outlet. Photo: Dickson Lee

A partnership between Tiffany & Co. and Patek Philippe, a special limited edition run of the famous 5711 with a Tiffany Blue dial and double stamping. Photo: Tiffany & Co.

A gold and steel Rolex Datejust watch. Photo: Shutterstock

STYLE Edit: Van Cleef & Arpels launches dazzling new Extraordinary Dials watches, painstakingly crafted to present bejewelled scenes of its signature fairy in nature

Van Cleef & Arpels’ Charms Papillon Féerique watch from the Extraordinary Dials Collection. Photos: Van Cleef & Arpels

The Charms Coccinelle Féerique watch from Van Cleef & Arpels’ Extraordinary Dials collection with 32mm rose gold case, rose gold bezel, diamonds, pink sapphires, rubies and a rose gold rotating charm.

The all-important fairy is added to the tableau on the dial of a Charms Coccinelle Féerique. 

The Charms Papillon Féerique watch from Van Cleef & Arpels’ Extraordinary Dials collection features a 38mm white gold case, white gold bezel, diamonds, sapphires and a rose and white gold rotating charm.

The Charms Papillon Féerique watch’s white gold butterfly features a marquise-cut diamond, plique-à-jour enamel, white mother-of-pearl, miniature painting and mother-of-pearl glitters.

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XXIV

Au’s eye for style means she can find one-of-a-kind gowns from design houses such as Alex Perry, Vivienne Westwood Bridal and Toni Maticevski
She uses a Cire Trudon x Giambattista Valli Positano fragrance in her new Hollywood Road studio – and prizes her Vintage Patek Philippe Ellipse 3582G


She cultivated an eye for fashion as a buyer for Givenchy, Celine and Lane Crawford, then launched her own business, Lab of Fairy Tales, which in 2021 moved to new premises on Hollywood Road
