In 2015 The Rake published a fashion story that was shot over two days at the Capri Palace, the five-star jewel in Capri’s crown. It was a major logistical effort to pull off; I know this because I was the fashion assistant for the shoot, and spent days lugging huge reinforced Rimowa cases bulging with designer suits across Europe to get there. The shoot was the culmination of a nine-day business trip to see magazine clients in Paris, Milan and Naples, and our beneficent leader, Mr. Wei Koh, took me and two stylists along for the ride.
Six years later, I recall that trip with fondness — not only because it was a jet-set ride through some of Europe’s most exciting cities, visiting grand hotels, eating great food and swotting up on talented craftspeople, but also because (like a nincompoop) I forgot my swimming trunks. There was a Vilebrequin store on Capri, of course, and ever the gentleman, Wei kindly bought his hapless fashion assistant a pair of pink-octopus-print Moorea shorts as an emergency poolside solution. I still wear them today, and whenever they come out to play, I think of that trip and what an absolute riot it was.
