Becoming Yoyo

Style savant Yoyo Cao has done much to put Singapore on the fashion map and she's only getting started. She tells ELLE Singapore about always looking forward, and celebrating her official decade as @yoyokulala this September.

- CHARMAINE HO

Within seconds of exchanging greetings, it's obvious that this is not going to be the usual Zoom call that I'm used to. For one, Yoyo Cao has her phone (and by extension, me) propped up against something on her passenger seat, and, for a split second, I imagine us bursting into song for a "Carpool Karaoke" session, local edition. There's also the fact that Yoyo is doing remarkably well driving through Singapore's harrowing morning traffic to get to the office while having a thoughtful and insightful chat with me.

"I'm sorry; it really has been back-to-back for me," apologises the fashion influencer and entrepreneur for the unusual circumstances. "I'm constantly travelling; sometimes, it can be six cities in a month. So I make sure to head to the office for regular meetings whenever I can."

Considering she just flew back to Singapore at midnight the night before, and is off again to another part of the world in a couple of days, it's hard to begrudge the fact that we could have started our morning with a nice cup of coffee as initially planned. But this is just how Yoyo rolls.

Known throughout the world by her whimsical Instagram handle @yoyokulala (something she came up with as a teen during the days of ICQ), she's always on the move, always on the lookout for beautiful spots to showcase her style, and always thinking about "what's next". If there is one thing to be said about this style-setter, it's that she has worked hard, and continues to work hard, to get where she is.

SOCIAL MEDIA Darling