Tory Burch x legend100: Home for the holidays

’Tis the season – to reflect, to resolve and to be jolly. We turned to Bonnie Man, Carmina Lo, Ceci Ngan, Ingrid Wong, Charles Lam, Christoffer Cheng, Kayla Wong, Pony Pong and Siuyea Lo to find out what they’re grateful for and what they’re hoping for as they share the joy of giving with Tory Burch

Bonnie Man

As 2021 comes to an end, what are you grateful for and what are your biggest takeaways?

First of all, I would like to thank myself for the last push. During 2021, I began to familiarise myself with the uncomfortable feeling of standing on the edge of my comfort zone, training myself to turn my fear into motivation and, believe me, it brought unexpected rewards.

What comes to mind when you think of Christmas?

Christmas trees, glittering ornaments, Mariah Carey, romance, liveliness, crazy shopping.

What, to you, is the perfect Christmas gift?
Anything I pick myself.

What are your hopes for 2022?
That we can stop wearing masks.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

Continuing and persevering with the courage I gained in 2021.

Carmina Lo

As 2021 comes to an end, what are you grateful for and what are your biggest takeaways?

I’m grateful for the opportunities that I’ve gotten the past year, especially from the STARS Academy competition I joined recently. My biggest takeaway would be getting out of my comfort zone and trying new experiences that I’ve never tried or dared to try before.

What comes to mind when you think of Christmas?

I think of food, a lot of food. But also family gatherings and spending time with loved ones.

What, to you, is the perfect Christmas gift?

Spending quality time with friends and family.

What are your hopes for 2022?

I’m just waiting for new opportunities. I want to see if my work this year can open up more adventures for me next year.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

Work harder on this new side of me that I’m working on right now.

Ceci Ngan

As 2021 comes to an end, what are you grateful for and what are your biggest takeaways?

I’m most grateful for coming to understand that real friends are those who are really there for you when you need them, rather than the amount of time you’ve spent together or those whom you’ve known for a long time. I also learnt to allocate time to learn and better myself.

What comes to mind when you think of Christmas?

I think of gathering with friends at the balcony at my place. It’s a special date that I bookmark that allows me to think back on what I’ve done in a year and at previous Christmases.

What, to you, is the perfect Christmas gift?

The perfect Christmas gift is to be able to spend each and every Christmas with the same group of friends. I feel like the world is ever-changing so it’s nice to know that there are people who are constants in my life.

What are your hopes for 2022?

I hope I will be able to learn more new skills. I find the metaverse a really interesting concept and I believe it’s going to expand and further develop, so I want to pick up more skills in order to create work opportunities in that industry.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

Familiarise myself with the metaverse and pick up new skills I can make use of in that world.

Ingrid Wong

As 2021 comes to an end, what are you grateful for and what are your biggest takeaways?

I’m grateful for the time I could spend with my family and myself, and stay grounded. My biggest takeaway was that you shouldn’t take things for granted because you really never know what could happen the next day. I became more in touch with my internal self.

What comes to mind when you think of Christmas?

I think of snow. I think of everybody, family and friends, getting together and having a really good time. I also think of food, lots and lots of food.

What, to you, is the perfect Christmas gift?

A good time with friends. Maybe seeing snow next Christmas. That would be my wish. And also just having a good time with family and friends and kind of just wrapping up the year. 

What are your hopes for 2022?

I hope the world will slowly heal from Covid, but a more personal goal would be to exercise more, be more health-conscious and make healthier lifestyle choices.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

Working out more and eating healthier.

Charles Lam

As 2021 comes to an end, what are you grateful for and what are your biggest takeaways?

What I’m grateful for is not travelling. 2021 was a reset of pace, mind and soul for me, and I was able to do more that I previously didn’t have time for in Hong Kong, including shoots or creative projects. My biggest takeaways would be the New Age ideas that I learnt through music and films. Concepts like the Law of Attraction and the Law of Assumption have helped me move towards what I want in life.

What comes to mind when you think of Christmas?

I think of a lot of delicious food. I’ve already booked my Christmas dinner at the Singaporean fine-dining restaurant called Whey.

What, to you, is the perfect Christmas gift?

Lots of gadgets. My computer of eight or nine years has broken down and I lost my earphones so they’d be good Christmas gift ideas. In terms of gifting others, my practice is gifting something I also fancy. If the Balenciaga & Gucci The Hacker Project is still in stock, the collection would be another good idea because it’s so cool.

What are your hopes for 2022?

I want to manifest every day in 2022 so that everything will become my reality. On the surface, the idea of believing in something and getting what you want might sound cliché, but there are tricks or practices that I want to share with more people.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I want to get rid of the habit of holding things off. If there’s something I want to do, I want to do it immediately and manifest it in 2022.

Christoffer Cheng

As 2021 comes to an end, what are you grateful for and what are your biggest takeaways?

I’m grateful that we’re finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel coming to the second year since Covid, and that we know more about how to deal with the pandemic and are able to be comfortable enough to live with it.

What comes to mind when you think of Christmas?

Presents, and lots of parties and celebrations. Christmas is my favourite holiday of the year and I’m also born in December, so all the big days are happening in December for me. I’m looking forward to spending this Christmas with my closest ones, with family and friends. And I’m excited to give and receive presents.

What, to you, is the perfect Christmas gift?

To me, the perfect gift is something that comes with a thought in mind. If a friend has given me something practical that I can actually use, that would be perfect no matter what it is.

What are your hopes for 2022?

My hope for the coming year is for Hong Kong to be able to open up to the world so we don’t have to quarantine and can travel again. Maybe Bali or the Maldives, somewhere resort-like and beachy.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I’m making a big move next year – I’m moving to Australia. So I’m very excited and this means a huge challenge for me and a new page that I’m gonna start for my life. So I feel like I just have to get this done and have the courage to go through this eventful year.

Kayla Wong

As 2021 comes to an end, what are you grateful for and what are your biggest takeaways?

I’m most grateful for my family, which has always been super supportive of everything I do, the fact that everybody has stayed healthy during Covid and starting the Wild Lot with my partner Elaine, which has been a great journey for us to create more community events and help boost the creative scene in Hong Kong. For me, health is the biggest takeaway. I also realised the importance of human relationships that kept me going as a person. So I have to put effort into holding those relationships close and showing my friends and family I love and care for them.

What comes to mind when you think of Christmas?

Christmas is one of my favourite holidays because it’s just so warm and fuzzy, and you get to spend time with the people you love. And it’s a time when I feel like everybody kind of forgets all their daily responsibilities and is able to enjoy and have a good time with one another and celebrate the end of a good year.

What, to you, is the perfect Christmas gift?

The perfect Christmas gift to me needs to have heart and soul. I like things that last a long time. If I were to pick, I would say fine jewellery because it’s something you can pass on to the next generation and keep and wear forever. Any handmade gift is also very special.

What are your hopes for 2022?

I hope that quarantine will no longer exist. I hope that we can start travelling freely so people won’t feel like they’re separated from their families. And I hope that everybody stays healthy and happy.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I hope that I’ll be able to see myself in a different light and remind myself of all the things that I’m good at and focus on those things and strive to continue to do better as a person and always be kind.

Pony Pong

As 2021 comes to an end, what are you grateful for and what are your biggest takeaways?

I’m grateful for the fact that both my husband and I are doing really well. I think I’m satisfied and grateful for the simplest things. As long as nothing unexpected, like bad news or anything, happens, I’m already really grateful.

What comes to mind when you think of Christmas?

A lot of food. Decorations, parties, friends, gatherings.

What, to you, is the perfect Christmas gift?

Cliché, but health. Everything is good if we’re healthy. I had an allergic reaction a while ago and the medicines I took made me really tired. I barely had the energy to do anything, so it made me realise how important health is.

What are your hopes for 2022?

I hope to pick up more skills. I really enjoy learning anything and everything, even if it’s random. Maybe something related to art and flower arrangement.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I want to do more charity-related projects because I feel like I’ve been getting so much from society so I want to give something back.

Siuyea Lo

As 2021 comes to an end, what are you grateful for and what are your biggest takeaways?

This year we were all able to handle Covid and re-order our lives to the new way of living and, personally, I was able to learn and grow through the changes. I’m not sure if it’s gratitude, but that was the most important lesson I learnt. A challenge I faced was having a lot fewer opportunities to appear on stage so I started picking up more creative work and even backstage work. My takeaway was that it was vital for me to be able to find a balance.

What comes to mind when you think of Christmas?

When I was younger I went to church for a period of time, so when I think of Christmas I think of Jesus’ birth. I would dine with my family and friends, but we didn’t really exchange gifts unless the meal was set right near Boxing Day.

What, to you, is the perfect Christmas gift?

The last time I was on set was back in 2018 for Twilight’s Kiss, so the perfect gift would be spending my Christmas on set. For friends, I personally like to give gifts that people can keep, nothing perishable.

What are your hopes for 2022?
I hope I’ll be able to better settle into the career path of an actor. I’m also looking forward to playing and getting to know more characters.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I hope I can continue to perfect my skills as an actor. When I ask myself if I could’ve done better, the answer is always going to be yes. I hope I can see progress within myself, and as long as I’m better than the “me” I was yesterday, I’m satisfied. 

CREDITS
Stylist / Zaneta Cheng
Photography / Ricky Lo
Photography assistants / Kelvin Sim, Alston Chan and Chung Sun 
Videography / Lewis Lau
Styling assistants / Gillian Chu, Yuki Cheung
Hair / Jean Tong, Jay Yeung from The Edge Salon & Academy
Makeup / Daniel Ng, Deep Choi