A night of revelry, celebration and great conversation.

On one of the hottest days of 2018, a young and well-dressed crowd gathered at private members’ club, 1880, to catch the unveiling of Generation T 2018. The reveal of the list would shine the spotlight on a new crop of 50 individuals joining Asia Tatler’s growing Generation T (or Gen.T for short) community, which is currently made up of 450 entrepreneurs, creatives, and professionals from eight different regions including China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Animated conversations and boisterous laughter filled the space the entire night, as guests partook in an al fresco sunset champagne session at 1880’s terrace, a closed-door dinner crafted especially for the Gen.T 2018 listers at the club's restaurant later and then finally, the highlight of the evening, the launch party. 

(Related: Singapore Tatler Generation T 2018: The Arrivals)

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Above Annabelle Kwok
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Above Yu Yah-Leng and Rebekah Lin
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Above Cherin Tan
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Above Larry Tchiou

At dinner, Gen.T 2018 listers mingled over a four-course dinner that comprised a creamy burrata starter, Hokkaido scallop ceviche, Angus beef rib eye, local seabass with fregula and a rich dark chocolate and hazelnut dessert. Prosecco, red and white wines were served as pairings, before drams of Rémy Martin XO neat arrived at each table to ready everyone's mood for the party later. 

Joining the Gen.T 2018 listers here were several industry insiders who had played a role in building up this year's list. This included Foreign Policy Design Group's Yu Yah-Leng, Epigram Books' Edmund Wee and Jigger & Pony's Indra Kantono, who is also a Gen.T 2017 lister.

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Above For starters, La Latteria burrata with honey soused tomatoes and basil was served
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Above Local sea bass with fregula, rouille, tempura of courgettes drizzled in a flavourful shellfish sauce
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Above Chef Colin Buchan of 1880 preparing one of the evening's main courses: Angus beef rib eye paired doused in smoked bone marrow sauce and topped with gnocchi, aubergine and monk's beard
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Above Special Gen.T cognac cocktails infused with Rémy Martin VSOP lubricated the evening's conversations

After main course, the first special segment of the evening rolled out: an insightful 30min panel discussion anchored by two industry veterans—Iqbal Jumabhoy who is a recognised entrepreneur and Teh Hua Fung, the CFO of One Championship—and three Gen.T 2018 listers—Annabelle Kwok, Leon Foo and Grace Sai.

Marc Nicholson, the savvy businessman behind 1880, expertly moderated the discussion, which was centred around an increasingly important topic: "Collaborations and partnerships are good for business, but are they essential for survival today?"

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Above Marc Nicholson (extreme right) introducing the evening's panel of speakers, which comprised of Teh Hua Fung, Iqbal Jumabhoy, Grace Sai, Leon Foo and Annabelle Kwok

Some key points that came out of the discussion included having clarity over your purpose for entering a partnership before actually diving in, and ways to identify the right business partner.

On the latter point, Annabelle, who founded artificial intelligence consultancy NeuralBay, shared her own experience on entering a partnership that didn't end well. "Finding good people is really tough, and with so much research available, it is increasing easy to pick up knowledge, so why not find someone with a good heart, and who can learn fast?" said the 25-year-old. 

Grace, who is the founding CEO of Found, added: "A lot of times, people get into partnerships too quickly and terminate bad partnerships too slow, when it really should be the other way around." 

Opinions also flowed in from the floor, with Asian Food Channel co-founder Hian Goh suggesting that character differences between collaborators or partners could be beneficial. "If both parties are the same, then the partnership would not create an animal that is stronger than themselves." 

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Above Teh Hua Fung and Iqbal Jumabhoy
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Above Guests at the private dinner clinking glasses in celebration of the evening
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Above Dinner guests deep in conversation
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Above A glimpse into this year's Generation T booklet

Dinner concluded at 9.30pm and the Gen.T 2018 listers were ushered to a closed-off space on the other side of 1880, where the big reveal was about to start. They were joined by past years’ Gen.T listers and other Singapore Tatler friends, who applauded and cheered as the night's emcee Hanli Hoefer introduced the 50 new listers. Singer Tabitha Nauser, who was part of the 50 being honoured, then took over the floor to perform her two hits, Bulletproof and Body Language. 

(Related: Generation T 2018: Inside The Party)

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Above Emcee of the launch party, Hanli Hoefer
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Above An 1880 bartender pouring a generous dram of Rémy Martin VSOP
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Above Priscilla Lui and Timo Wong showing off their choice of tipple for the evening, Peroni
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Above Veerappan Swaminathan and Shamir Rahim
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Above Tabitha Nauser performed two of her hit songs that evening, Bulletproof and Body Language
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Above Ivan Brehm and Javier Perez

Off stage, guests flocked to the bar and enjoyed a bottomless flow of cognac cocktails—the Gen.T Side Car Named Desire and Gen.T Milk Punch, both of which were concocted with Rémy Martin VSOP—Rémy Martin Club, Peroni beers, prosecco and wines. At the other end of the room, an elaborate spread of charcuterie, cheese and sweets was laid out to ensure stomachs were lined for what turned out to be a long night of revelry. It was only at 1am when the last of the guests decided to call it a night, leaving with a goody bag that contained some of the best-selling skincare products of Hera and a copy of the Generation T 2018 book. 

(Related: Zynesis Founder Chua U-Zyn On Creating A Digital Ecosystem)

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Above Gen.T 2018 listers Priscilla Liu, Olivia Lee and Timo Wong with Tatler Tribe member Yu Yah-Leng (3rd from left), Hunn Wai (Gen.T 2016 lister) and Tan Szue Hann (Gen.T 2017 lister)
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Above Andre Huber, Alex Chew
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Above Guests took home gifts from Hera, one of the evening's sponsors
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Above Bertrand Peh, Zeena Tan, Melissa Peh and Desiree Peh

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