Top executives are getting adventurous with their attire. Nash Chugani, co-founder of butler tailoring service The Black Label, shares his thoughts.

“Executives are getting more fashionable with the design and styling of the shirts they wear. But the exposure to good quality fabric in Singapore is limited and I believe that we should educate them on what they are getting into.

Busy professionals don’t have the time to go shopping or be updated on trends. This is why I started The Black Label, where we go to their homes or offices at their convenience. In fact, we have even been to a bank in Raffles Quay at 1am to do a fitting for a particular banker.

Local executives are becoming more adventurous with colours. Gone are the conventional blues, greys or whites. Now they are wearing pink, lavender and lilac to the office. A lot of them are also asking for slim and tapered fits.

Singaporean men are catching up with their European peers when it comes to style. For example, we just made a purple shirt with red button treads for an information technology executive. They put a lot of emphasis on features like buttons, collars, cuffs and pockets.

The Europeans are more traditional, but they’ll wear a bigger wavelength of colours like a baby pink shirt, which a Singaporean wouldn’t dare. Most people are afraid to put on something loud.”

Not every budding young artist gets a chance to work with luminaries such as seminal musician Brian Eno, Turner Prize-winner Anish Kapoor and art-house director Zhang Yimou. The Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative, established in 2002, works off this very premise, bringing together rising talents in the creative fields with internationally acclaimed names in a year-long mentorship programme. Mentors participating in the programme over the years have included Toni Morrison, Mira Nair, David Hockney and Martin Scorsese. Besides putting proteges in touch with these artistic masters, the initiative also supplies them with a US$25,000 (S$35,263) grant. After the year of mentorship, Rolex continues to support and promote work by the young artists.

The initiative is part of Rolex’s larger philanthropic activity within the sphere of the arts, which includes sponsorship of cultural events such as Operalia and the Verbier Festival and links with music icons Diana Krall and Anoushka Shankar. Rolex chief executive Bruno Meier describes the ultimate aim of the programme as “bringing emerging talents from around the globe into the greater community of remarkable artists and advancing their careers.” Keep an eye out for the next Kubrick or Baryshnikov.

Whether you’re shopping for your new Orchard Road penthouse or simply seeking to lend your existing living room a fresh new look, picking the right sofa should be your top priority. It is an anchor item that sets the tone for the rest of your abode, and there’s no better — and more enduring — choice of material than leather.

On that shopping list should be Cierre, available at Q Square by Marquis. A family-run business in its second generation, Cierre has remained true to its tagline “living in leather” for over 30 years. It belongs to a precious few group of manufacturers who control the entire supply chain from tannery to factory-floor.

“Leather is our philosophy,” explains Stefano Conficconi (left), son of Cierre founders Cesarina and Romano. Building on this know-how, the company produces high-quality sofas in many configurations so as to suit the unique shape of any living room.

It also marries comfort and design — the difficulty of meeting both goals are not immediately obvious. For example, a high-back sofa offers lots of support, but is not particularly attractive, says Conficconi. To enjoy the best of both worlds, Cierre introduced a design with a headrest that folds away when not in use.

For a harmonised look throughout your home, Cierre also offers other pieces of furniture with leather detailing, like small tables, sideboards and consoles.