TV50 Special: The Hairy Godmother

You might have substance, but if you don’t have style, then you could very well be eternally condemned to playing second fiddle. Sometimes, image is what sets a “celebrity” apart from an “actor”.

And when it comes to looking coiffed and preened, no one can do it all on their own — not even local celebs Fann Wong and Zoe Tay. Fact is that we could all use, oh, a brother who is another mother.

Enter David Gan, the man who started birds’ nest and hair factions.

“I think David’s role is quite unique. He has been instrumental in shaping or creating looks or images for a lot of the stars,” said playwright and former 8 DAYS head honcho Michael Chiang, who, together with other magazine editors, hired Gan to style their celebrity photo shoots before it became a “thing”.

“I think David was one of the few who really made the effort to become friends. He was able to somehow engage and become quite close to a lot of the MediaCorp Channel 8 artistes, and he takes care of them,” Chiang said. “It also helped that he was creating looks for them so they felt they looked like stars. If you wanted to be on the A-list or in that league, it probably helped to say, ‘I’m in his stable’ — you get your photos blown up and hung in Passion (hair salon).

“I think it worked both ways — in the beginning, he wanted to be associated with them; later, it was the other way around: ‘If I’m David’s friend, it gives a boost to my career because he thinks enough of me to spend time making birds’ nest soup for me.’”

Gan is far from the only celebrity hair stylist on the scene. “There’s also Eugene (Ong) from Urban Hair who does hair for Xiang Yun and Edmund Chen, and Addy (Lee, of Monsoon Group) for Michelle Chia. They all have little groups,” Chiang said. “I think, after a while, (artistes) just gravitate towards the ones that work well with them. If I have a major photo shoot, I want to work with someone who has known me from my infant days and knows my quirks and what I can pull off and can’t. It involves a lot of trust. It’s the same in other countries. For example, Kim Robinson in Hong Kong – Sandy Lam will not go anywhere without him.”

Sometimes, your stylist is more than your BFF; he’s also your first love — as in the case of Quan Yi Fong, whose daughter recently decided to take Addy Lee’s surname. Her biggest regret in life, Quan said, is that “Addy Lee doesn’t want to marry me.”

Chortling, she said, “He did my hair when I was 17. He was the first man to buy me hair accessories from Japan.” And, most important of all, “He’s rich”.

“Recently a lot of people have been saying, ‘Get together!’” she said, laughing. “So, I asked him again and he said, ‘Nah. I’ll just have your daughter’. He understands me so well and he doesn’t want to marry — it’s such a waste. He’s really a good man. It’s such a pity that in this life, we can only be brother and sister.”