As she celebrates 10 years in fashion, influencer, entrepreneur and recently minted Friend of Cartier Yoyo Cao reveals what continues to drive her.
Few celebrities would say yes to a major haircut on the very day of a magazine cover shoot for one of the biggest jewellery brands in the world. For Singapore-based, Macau-born fashion influencer and entrepreneur Yoyo Cao, that’s all in a day’s work. Before our cover shoot in Vienna featuring the 35-year-old wearing Cartier’s latest Nature Sauvage high jewellery pieces, she thought nothing of having her bangs cut short when told by the hairstylist they were too long for the shoot’s look.
Between sips of hot tea during our interview, Yoyo, dressed in a Dior denim jumpsuit, recalls the moment. “It was a last-minute thing. Manisa (the hairstylist) was like, ‘Are you sure?’ I said, ‘Yes, cut it.’ I held up a hotel towel because we didn’t want hair to drop on the carpet.”
Elaborating on her willingness to change up her appearance, the elfin-faced style icon says, “For shoots, I try to present a different side of me every time. I don’t want to look the same as I did on the last cover. I want people to see the magazine and go, ‘Hey, that’s Yoyo!’ That’s how you get people’s attention and get them to actually look inside the magazine.” Classic, eclectic, boho, preppy, sophisticated, sweet, and so on: A quick scan of her magazine spreads and innumerable street-style photos over the years demonstrates how easily she steps into a spectrum of styles.
The fashion veteran has had enough years in the limelight to know what works. This month, the Singapore PR marks her 10th year as a style influencer. As if to solidify her status, she was reminded of the milestone by the driver who had been ferrying her around Milan’s fashion shows for the past decade. “He actually remembered that we had first met on a certain date in September 2014, on a Saturday.”
Since then, Yoyo has chalked up 491,000 followers on Instagram, countless shoots and media features (she was the first person from Singapore to be featured in American Vogue for her personal style), and numerous brand partnerships. Not too shabby for someone who never set out to become a fashion influencer.
Her first foray into fashion came about when she and a friend started multi-label store Exhibit in 2010. Within four years, Exhibit became a full-fledged brand with its own collections, characterised by Yoyo’s distinctive girl-about-town aesthetic.
“Some stylists who came to the store to loan clothes for shoots would also ask if they could shoot me for magazine features. So my partner and I started thinking that maybe we should just wear the clothes ourselves to showcase them. It started on Facebook, but then Instagram took off, and that’s how I started posting outfit photos online.”
She closed Exhibit in 2019, the year she was pregnant with her son, due to the challenges of turning out several collections online while fulfilling her social-media commitments as an influencer.
Those commitments have continued unabated. Having been part of several Cartier global campaigns in the past couple of years, Yoyo signed up with Cartier Singapore as a local friend of the maison earlier this year. As someone who is frequently sought by companies for collaborations, Yoyo is, unsurprisingly, careful about whom she chooses to work with.
“I like the history of Cartier and its craftsmanship. Our shoot in Vienna was the first time I was wearing high-jewellery pieces; previously, I had worn fine jewellery for Cartier shoots.”
She is particularly taken by the Panthère Jaillissante, a sinuous, fully articulated ring-bracelet in the form of a panther with a sapphire-flecked diamond coat and emerald eyes, and which appears to be guarding an 8.63-carat Zambian emerald. “The panther, with all its diamonds, seems to follow the flow of your fingers. The way it is designed is amazing.”
Aside from Cartier, Yoyo has also worked with brands ranging from luxury houses such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton, to edgier labels such as Gentle Monster and Onitsuka Tiger. Most recently, she has joined forces with Chinese silk loungewear brand, Silky Miracle, on a capsule collection. Launched in August, the range includes a ribbon-motif lilac pyjama set made from mulberry silk, and a black silk-velvet tracksuit that would look at home at a fashionable restaurant, or well, at home.
As someone who revels in change, it is not surprising that she has embarked on a new chapter in her entrepreneurial journey. Together with her friends Arissa Cheo and Lin Ting, Yoyo launched Romi Beauty in 2022. The concept behind Romi Beauty is a streamlined collection of high-quality, multitasking products that meets the differing needs of its trio of founders: Yoyo is a frequent traveller, Arissa has very sensitive skin and Ting is a busy mum of two. Yoyo enthuses, “We want to help people have better skin and to glow from the inside. It’s not about covering up with a lot of make-up.”
Having brought two bottles of Romi Beauty’s latest product, Skin Oasis Serum Mist, for me to try, Yoyo gushes about them as I open one of the boxes. Her personal investment in the business is apparent. “It’s like a hydrator, toner and a serum,” she says of the product, which contains a multipeptide complex. “When you spray it, you can see the nozzle is super fine. Just choosing this nozzle took months, and we went back and forth with our manufacturer. On average, we take a year to come up with a new product.”
Demonstrating its founders’ commitment to listening to its customers, Romi Beauty products are made in South Korea, following a survey carried out by the brand that showed that the country was the most preferred manufacturing location. Even though communication in a foreign language can be a challenge, the quality and reliability of the products make it all worth it. Yoyo shares, “We went to some of these factories ourselves, and I was really surprised to see that they produce certain products for the world’s top brands. It’s important to us to work with trustworthy companies.”
As she marks a decade in fashion this month, Yoyo and her team plan to create a slew of content while she is at the Spring fashion weeks. She remains enthusiastic about all the aspects of the industry that got her started in the first place. “I still get excited when I see shows and beautiful things,” she says, while acknowledging that longevity does not come easy in the fickle realm of fashion. “There has been quite a bit of change in the industry over the years. I have seen many of my seat mates at the shows change over the years.”
Her greatest challenge at the beginning, she allows, was that of public speaking. It was in the mid-2010s when she first fought her dread to host a collection-presentation session for a designer brand, in front of more than 50 people. She recalls, “I told myself, ‘Oh, I don’t like doing this, I never want to do it again.’ But when I was done, I thought, ‘Maybe I should do it again, just to better myself.’” Now, she says, “I can speak in front of anyone.”
In an industry that thrives on newness, there is little doubt that her clear-eyed tenacity has helped to make her an enduring success. “If something doesn’t work, then do something different and work harder,” she says, with a laugh.
“Obviously, there are moments as an influencer where you see some brand campaigns that you are not part of, or some events that you haven’t been invited to. For me, I don’t feel the FOMO so much. In such instances, I just ask myself, how can I better myself ? How do I work harder?”
Photography: CHUCK REYES
Fashion Styling: JACQUIE ANG
Hair & Make-up: MANISA TAN using KEUNE HAIRCOSMETICS and CLE DE PEAU
Photography Assistance: PHILAÉ ROLLET-BOUCLET
Fashion Assistance: ALEXANDRA LEFÈVRE
Location: PALAIS RASUMOFSKY
Deputy Editor, Singapore
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