Inside the Wardrobe of a Creative Director

After seven years practicing law in Australia, Jiawa Liu was inspired to make a move to Paris in pursuit of a career in fashion. Now, she leads her own boutique production agency, The Beige Pill, while contributing to titles like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar Singapore.

Here, Jiawa offers a closer look at her everyday uniform and shares how her career path has influenced her style.

Can you share a brief bio on yourself and what you do?

I’m a creative director, fashion editor and influencer, and I also have a creative agency called The Beige Pill. With my creative agency, my team imagines and creates innovative visual campaigns for global fashion and lifestyle brands. We are known for our specialty in ‘moving content’, including video, 2D and 3D motion design and augmented reality. As an editor, I cover international fashion weeks for magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, as well as creatively direct and produce editorials and cover stories. I’m very lucky that my job allows me to wear many different hats and to learn new things all the time.

Describe your personal style.

I joke that there’s ‘Daily Jiawa’ and ‘Fashion Week Jiawa’! While anything goes for ‘Fashion Week Jiawa’, ‘Daily Jiawa’ is all about comfort, quality and a great fit. I love tailoring, menswear and sneakers. My daily wardrobe consists mostly of wide-legged pants, men’s shirts and blazers. Sometimes people are surprised to see me in a dress—well that’s just because they haven’t met ‘Island Jiawa’ yet.

How does your job influence your style and what you choose to wear?

Your style is a calling card to tell someone about you professionally, no matter what the industry. In my previous life as a lawyer, I needed to dress sharp and smart to signal expertise and experience. As a creative director in fashion, however, I find that it’s more important to show my personality and creativity. The biggest way my job has influenced my style is by allowing me to explore my own sartorial interests and to seek style inspiration widely. I think it’s much more interesting, for example, to mix pieces stolen from your significant other with vintage flea market finds, rather than to be in head-to-toe designer brands.

What designs are you drawn to when it comes to your wardrobe?

I gravitate towards anything androgynous, boxy and menswear-inspired—trench coats, button-down shirts, straight cut jeans—but it’s not because I don’t want to look feminine. In fact, I think that androgyny is wonderfully attractive, and that a powerful sense of femininity can be expressed through an attitude of confidence and ease. I’m also kind of addicted to linen.

How do accessories play into your looks?

Accessories change everything. And for my daily style it’s often the only thing that changes! I could wear the same amazing pair of wide-legged pants, for example, three days straight, but change up the mood by swapping loafers for strappy mules, or a slouchy carry-all for a structured crossbody. My accessory panacea is the statement earring—of which I have amassed quite a collection—add them to any look, even pyjamas, and it’s just about guaranteed to pull the look together.

Does your ‘professional’ wardrobe differ from your ‘personal’ one?

My work and personal wardrobes are one and the same, and always have been, even in my corporate job. I’ve always built my wardrobe with versatility in mind, if only for space-saving motivations. I would pick a suit that I’d love to wear together for work or as separates off-duty: the pants with a chunky sweater, or the blazer draped over a silk slip. As an entrepreneur, the professional and personal are more blurred than ever. On the one hand, it’s liberating to not be confined to a certain office dress code, but on the other hand, corporate wear has become a novelty for me that I often like to riff on. Ironically, I think I own and wear more full matching suits now, just for the fun of it, than I ever did in my lawyering days.

I stock up in certain accessible colourways like grey, brown and navy, so I can pick out anything from the rack and they will likely go together (which is incidentally how I tend to get dressed most days) and going monochrome is my power move. It might have been a more obvious choice to wear heels with this look, which is exactly why I opted for casual sandals. Sartorial rule to live by: expect the unexpected.

It might be called a ‘dress’, but it doesn’t have to be worn that way. This knitted maxi unbuttons all the way and transforms into a cardigan. I love that the length and weight of this dress gives that swish factor as you’re walking. Pairing it with a high waisted jean, cinched with a chunky belt, anchors this whole look.

Floor grazing wide-legged pants and a trench coat is very much a go-to recipe for me, and for two very important reasons. One, the swish factor. And two, the maximum options for that hand-in-pocket attitude. I added a statement necklace and a contrasting white bag to create a focal point for this look, and I’ve gone all in with slouchiness—everything looks languid and easy, and it feels that way too.