Why take over a shophouse for a weekend? Because we wanted to do something that no one else in Singapore had done before. Because we wanted to bring Esquire Singapore to life. Because we're fancy. (But you already know…).
At Esquire Singapore, our aim is to inspire men to build a life that matters—a trusted guide for men who have a head for success, but importantly, who also have a heart for community. With that in mind, we want to be wherever our readers are, and available in various mediums to cater to their different needs.
So whether you’re at home, at a café, or seated at an airport lounge, read our rebranded and redesigned print magazine. On-the-go in a cab? Check out our brand new cutting-edge website. Exercising or walking the dog? Multi-task by listening to our podcast, The Bite. Have a few minutes to spare in-between meetings? Scroll through our social media channels. But want a fully immersive and tangible experience of what it’s like to live, and breathe, the Esquire lifestyle? Visit the #EsquireShophouse pop-up at the top of Duxton Hill.
From morning fitness workouts by UP Fitness Singapore and workshops about public speaking and improvisation, to panel talks unpacking modern day masculinity and whether Singapore should recognise LGBTQ rights, it was a three-day event programmed with education for the day, and fun and entertainment at night—think: BINGO on Saturday night, and Karaoke and Open Mic night (shout out to the awesome talent from Vocalise) on Sunday for our closing party.
To re-live our inaugural shophouse event, scroll through the gallery of images above and watch the video below.
To all our sponsors, partners, collaborators, panelists and attendees: thanks for making the #EsquireShophouse the talk of the town!
To those that didn’t get a chance to make it down for this year’s event, here’s a recap of what went down:
THE FOOD HALL
Esquire Singapore took over a gobsmackingly beautiful (and newly renovated) three-storey shophouse in the heart of the Duxton Hill creative enclave owned by our real estate partners, Arcc. And, because we’re fancy, we even had a bespoke scent wafting throughout the space created in collaboration with AllSense.
On opening night, guests were treated to personalised Magnum ice-creams in the Food Hall (located on the ground floor) as well as butler service of five savoury canapés from our friends at Luxe Catering—all washed down with free-flowing G.H.Mumm champagne, Tiger Beer, and Evian water.
Over the weekend, the Food Hall was the meeting point for our morning HIIT workout classes run by personal trainers from UP Fitness Singapore, with participants treated to healthy meals catered by EatUP after their training session and, as a bonus, given a Uniqlo DRY-EX T-shirt.
In the afternoon, the Food Hall was the go-to space for guests to connect with panelists, speakers and other attendees in-between workshops and classes—fuelled by freshly baked pastries courtesy of Tiong Bahru Bakery and freshly brewed coffee by Sarnies—and was the starting point to discover the shophouse that was enlivened with plants and flowers by Tumbleweed Plants and Beverly’s Blooms.
THE LOUNGE
Enter the shophouse from the Neil Road entrance (yes, the property has two frontages!) and you’ll enter the lounge—a chill-out space decorated by Scene Shang.
On opening night, guests partied to beats by DJ KoFlow (The Analog Vault took over the DJ booth for the weekend) as they checked out the augmented reality photographs on display created by Geoff Ang and YK in partnership with Leica.
We also launched our August ‘Back to Front’ print issue at the Esquire Shophouse—featuring the god of thunder himself, Chris Hemsworth—with issues of the magazine stacked next to a huge canvas print of our August cover (courtesy of Brilliant Prints) in the hallway; while canvas prints of our other covers (since the redesign in April) were scattered throughout the three-storey building.
THE BAR
Head up to level two, and you’ll enter The Bar—boasting an old school charm thanks to Scandinavian vintage furniture by Mobler and soulful sounds powered by the Samsung VL5 bluetooth speakers. Throughout the weekend, Martell served cognac cocktails and hosted ‘how to’ cocktail classes; both of which had queues and waiting lists to rival any Supreme store.
Also on level two, our favourite mirror decal in the bathroom that read, 'Not just a pretty face'. A great place to freshen up, especially with incense and hand wash provided by New Zealand scent company, Ashley & Co.
ESQUIRE TALKS ROOM
Once guests picked up their Martell cognac cocktail at The Bar, they headed into the Esquire Talks room location on the same floor—decked out by Commune, this space was home to our panel talks and debates on hot topics such as: Is Singapore progressing too fast? What does it mean to be a man today? Should you invest in crypto currency? You know, intelligent stuff.
But in the evening, the space was transformed into a BINGO space on Saturday and then an Open Mic and Karaoke venue on Sunday. Oh yesss! To keep attendees going strong, there were paninis by Deliciae Hospitality Management and, for a tasty treat, donuts by Krispy Kreme. Best part of BINGO? Men sweeping the night and winning collagen facials by SkinFitness. Gold.
THE ATTIC
On the top floor, the fashion team—editor-in-chief, Norman Tan, and senior fashion writer and stylist, Asri Jasman—provided personalised style consultations in The Attic. Attendees were shown how to incorporate the latest runway trends into their own wardrobe with recommendations from local menswear labels: Biro Company, Duxton, and Kevin Seah (including their new casual label, Kevin Seah Black).
THE ATELIER
Decorated with modern pieces from Ipse Ipsa Ipsum (how about those golden palm lamps!) The Atelier was packed on opening night as guests made a bee-line to the cornucopia of cheeses, charcuterie and cakes laid out by Jones The Grocer (let me tell you, the brownies were to die for).
On the weekend, the space was home to our intimate masterclasses—think: Inch Chua teaching how to push boundaries; Neil Humphreys teaching creative writing; and Michael Callahan teaching charisma—showing their slides on QLED TVs provided by Samsung, which were also peppered throughout the shophouse showing the BTS videos from our cover shoots.
***
As we all know, it takes a village to run an event like the #EsquireShophouse—all of whom were wearing ‘Unsuitable for the young’ white T-shirts (thanks Yellow Inch T-shirt Printing!) throughout the weekend as a reference to the censorship label pasted on our magazine every time we breach a Media Development Authority guideline (I mean, we’re Esquire, we have to push boundaries).
So, to everyone that made this historic weekend possible: thank you. You are sexier than Emily Ratajkowski in… literally anything, more charming than George Clooney in the Oceans trilogy, and more desirable than a can of Coke at the end of Burning Man. That’s next level thirst, okay.
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