Every generation thinks they are the best, the truly special, the generation revered for being ingenious, intelligent and successful, the most inspiring generation of all time. It’s hardly ever true—and all generations eventually realise, as they look back, that we all possess flaws and not everything goes according to plan.

But one thing is true as each generation enters adulthood: there is a sense of mobilisation, a chance to choose disruption over complacency, innovation over stagnation and the profound over the trivial. People reading Hong Kong Tatler expect us to nail the zeitgeist across all our platforms and to shift the mix and cast of characters to reflect the changing nature of Hong Kong society.

At no time is this more important as we launch Generation T, our inaugural list of 100 of the city’s brightest and most prevailing young talents. There isn’t a sector they’re not taking on and making their own, from art and retail to philanthropy and tech, making this list a socially revealing reflection of the innovative vision of Hong Kong’s bright young things.

There is a sense of mobilisation, a chance to choose disruption over complacency, innovation over stagnation and the profound over the trivial

Generation T was compiled over six months in a process that involved numerous brainstorming sessions with key Tatler team members, hundreds of conversations with leaders in their fields and more vetting meetings than anyone should ever have to sit through. And we are sure there will be those of you out there who will disagree with our choices. 

But at their most simple, the criteria we’ve used are as follows: we looked at numerous categories to provide a cross-section of people from a variety of industries; the people chosen had to live mainly in Hong Kong; and no one from Hong Kong Tatler was considered. The list is alphabetical; there is no hierarchy or ranking of names. We looked for people who were disrupting their industries, driving trends and creatively innovating. We were joined in this quest by IWC Schaffhausen, which has chosen from our list five outstanding characters it feels best represent its values and with whom it plans to develop long-term relationships.

So, all that said, let the reveal begin: click here to see the full 100 profiles.

Claire Breen Melwani is the Editor-in-Chief of Hong Kong Tatler