The whole Yesstyle.com is a hotbed of activity for its 1st anniversary. With Asian fashion on the upswing, Yesstyle.com truly deserves a celebration. And could be better than having Fala Chen, Hong Kong's hottest 'it' girl, as our cover model for the PeopleStyle anniversary issue? As Yesstyle.com turns a year old, Fala tells us why the first victories are always sweeter.
As she strides into the YesStyle.com office, her svelte figure and confidence betray her pageant roots but Fala Chen doesn't mouth "world peace" constantly. Quick to smile and disarmingly affable, it's easy to see why she's already considered a beauty pageant veteran even if she's just in her early twenties. Her titles alone are a mouthful: Miss Asian America 2002, 1st runner-up in the Miss Chinatown USA 2003 (Miss Chinese Chamber of Commerce), Miss NY Chinese 2004, and Miss Chinese International 2005 runner-up.
Her pageant career was jumpstarted by a dare from her friends back at university. According to Fala, her college friends stumbled onto the Miss Asian America website and egged her to join. "The website said that successful applicants would get to go to San Francisco for free and that was definitely attractive!" she says with a grin. Needless to say, she found herself flying from Georgia to San Francisco as one of the contenders. The rest is history.
Woman of the World
Having traveled at a very young age with her parents, Fala views the world with an open mind. Moving to the US with her family at age 15 might have been a traumatic experience for other teenagers but not her. "My father lived in Kansas because of his work there and I'd always visit him whenever I could," she explains.
By the time she reached university, she was fluent in English and had developed an interest in Japanese, so much that she joined an exchange program and lived in Japan for a summer. She recalls her stay there with fondness: "Learning to speak Japanese was one thing; speaking it all the time and living the Japanese life was another!" She describes the exchange program as "intensive", and credits her stay there for imbuing her with a love of Japanese food and even picking up a few culinary skills along the way.
Aside from improving her Japanese, Fala got her first taste of the fashion world by doing modeling work for a popular Japanese magazine. "Before, I really had no idea about Asian fashion," she says. "That modeling gig opened doors for me." Nowadays, she finds herself being more dressy and particular about the clothes she wears, especially for public appearances. "It used to be that fashion was just exclusively European - Paris or Milan," she explains. "But now, it's really on a global scale. Western designers are inspired by Japanese and Asian styles and vice versa."
Her modeling experience has taught her what looks good on her and has imbued her with a healthy self-image. While still a tee-and-jeans girl at heart, Fala is just as comfortable in a beautiful designer gown, a pretty summer frock, or a swimsuit. Just like any woman, she loves to dress up.
Today, there is a big demand for her in Hong Kong as a spokesperson or print-ad model. Fala admits that her shoot for YesStyle.com is a first for her. "I've never done any work as a model for online fashion before," she candidly says. "I can't wait to see how this will turn out since the Internet has a bigger reach."
Earning Her Stars
Apart from being a sought-after face for commercials and promotions, Fala has made a smooth transition from beauty queen to rising TV star. Her filmography now includes a growing number of TVB dramas starting from "Forensic Heroes", "Heart of Greed" and the upcoming "The Entire City Dances".
Another hurdle was learning Cantonese. While she has been speaking it since moving here 2 years ago, she admits she still has a long way to go with the language. To help with her fluency, a friend at university helps her go over scripts and works with her on intonation and expressions. Still, her increasing list of acting assignments is proof that people in the industry are taking note of her talent.
Her dancing skills are put to the test in the upcoming drama "The Entire City Dances" where she gets to sway to sultry Latin dances. It also meant setting aside some of her inhibitions and expressing herself more. Her role in this series has also given her a taste for live performance. Would she ever do a Broadway-type role? "Why not? That would be a real thrill - singing, acting and dancing at the same time," she says with a smile. For now, Fala is looking forward to someday working with her idol Maggie Cheung, herself a former beauty queen. She also harbors dreams of making it to Hollywood and starring in a movie with Renee Zellweger. Meanwhile, her mindset is focused on making it in Hong Kong and honing her craft.
Behind the Scenes
The local media's fascination with all aspects of her life may faze any newcomer in the business but Fala takes it in stride. "I feel that the media these days writes those thing to satisfy the audience but that's not really me," she points out. "Right now, I just want to show them a credible performance in terms of the characters that I play; in time, people will get to know the real me." Even though people want to know every tidbit of her life, Fala treasures her privacy and wants to be in control of what she discloses.
Her experiences in the pageant arena have given Fala a healthy view of her body. While most stars may be averse to wearing something daring, she views it differently. "It's simply a question of whether it's professional or unprofessional. If I were asked to appear at a swimsuit show, then it's only practical that I wear one. Sometimes, the media has a tendency to take it out of context," she points out.
The word "sexy" has a different effect on Fala. "I think I'm far from sexy!" she laughs. "Sexy is not just about baring your skin; it's all about presenting yourself in a certain way, like coquettish or flirty and I'm certainly not that," she says seriously. Fala as a femme fatale? In her role in the drama "The Army of Housewives", she had to portray the role of a woman that men found irresistible. It posed a challenge to the actress to step into such a character. "In a way, being sexy is also an acting skill I'm learning to take on," explains.
The media focus on Fala has not escaped her parents' attention but she credits them for keeping an open mind and trusting her implicitly. "They always keep track of the news online and, of course, they're always worried about my safety," she shares. "They call to ask how I am, and if there was a not-so-favorable piece about me, they're always quick to offer comfort and joke about it: 'That's okay; your picture was nice anyway!'" she laughs.
At the end of a busy, working day, Fala is just that: a hardworking young woman pursuing her dreams and ambitions. Having made the leap from pageants to performing, she's ready to explore other avenues for her craft and strengthen her foothold in the business. Gossip and rumors notwithstanding, she intends to make her mark in the fickle world of the Hong Kong entertainment industry. And there are still plenty of "firsts" to be achieved along the way.
谢谢分享，法拉好漂亮啊~~~~~~~~
