The Enigmatic Lauren Khoo Is Ready To Embrace The Spotlight
Lauren Khoo is a highly private person, rarely photographed or interviewed. She prefers to let her jewellery take centre stage instead. That is, until now.
Lauren Khoo is early. The photographer’s assistant was still setting up the lighting while the stylist thumbed through the clothes selecting looks. The hair and makeup artists hadn’t even arrived yet. Morning traffic is sluggish, if not a complete standstill in that area.
In no way bothered, Khoo waves away apologies before brandishing a bag full snacks from Goodwood Park Hotel. “Try the green vegetable. There’s cream cheese on it. Guess what it is,” she says with a twinkle in her eye.
Vegetables aren’t even considered snacks by the average person. Khoo, however, is unlike any person I have ever met. Effusive and effervescent, she possesses the ability to connect with strangers instantly. But she says it wasn’t always that way and credits her confidence to the Singapore American School, where she enrolled when she turned 13.
Her expansive creative expression, however, was built at home. “Growing up, I was fortunate to have a strong support system. We were encouraged to express ourselves from young, which perhaps explains why many of my family members are such strong-minded individuals,” says Khoo, 36.
Music was a big part of her childhood, too. The songs her mother played in the car made her look forward to car rides because she loved to sing along. This was an era before streaming, so Lisa Stansfield, Marvin Gaye, and Earth, Wind & Fire dominated the CD player.
Khoo also vividly recalls her favourite piece of jewellery—a heart-shaped ring she frequently wore when she was 4.
“It appears in so many of my childhood photos. The heart was made of yellow gold and set with micro pavé diamonds. I would wear it to special occasions, such as my cousins’ birthday parties, and I always got excited when I put it on.”
Her love for jewellery never wavered even as she weaved her way through Brown University, and then Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London, emerging with a postgraduate degree in contemporary art.
Given her tenacity, she could have easily started an art gallery—and probably been wildly successful—but that heart and what it meant called out to her. Consequently, she earned her Graduate Gemologist degree at the Gemological Institute of America and learned goldsmithing at Jewelry Arts Institute.
It also helped that her grandparents appreciated fine jewellery. Growing up, she accompanied her grandmother to different countries as she visited designer ateliers to view their latest collections and gems. Khoo found the experience eye-opening. Her fascination with jewellery designers and dealers, and the glimmer and lustre of precious stones inspired her to launch Lauren X Khoo—the X represents her Chinese name—in 2014.
One of the pieces in her first collection, a rose gold and ruby encrusted heart pendant, priced at US$23,900 and pierced by three removable white gold arrows, was inspired by a three-year relationship. It also had micro pavé diamonds. She named it Delight & Bleed Me. The 4-year-old Khoo would have been delighted with it.
Serendipitously, her jewellery designs, which straddle the divide between edgy and traditional while evoking timeless romantic visions, are inspired by “nostalgic items that transport me back to my childhood days”.
A virtual traipse through her website also reveals a fascination with gummy bears and cola bottles. The pandemic and constant lockdowns unearthed another source of inspiration: nature. “I once took it for granted, but I began noticing even the most minute and banal
details. This influenced my designs profoundly. My pieces took on more organic shapes and forms.”
Nowhere was this evolution more evident than in Oscar de la Renta’s (OLDR’s) recent collections. Khoo designed several bird jewellery pieces to complement the vibrant tropical colours of the spring 2020 runway show. For fall 2022, she explored arachnids, presenting
creations with spiders for a collection influenced by Truman Capote’s famous Black and White Ball of 1966, when 540 of his eclectic friends donned black masks and monochromatic outfits, and downed Taittinger Champagne at the Plaza Hotel Grand Ballroom in New York.
Khoo calls the collaboration with ODLR her proudest moment in her journey so far, but she refuses to let that be the apex of a burgeoning design career. Now that the New York fashion set has taken notice, she wants to build on that momentum. She hopes to make a splash in Los Angeles next.
She hasn’t forgotten her roots though. Khoo has built a loyal following in Asia and recently collaborated with Phillips at Mandala Club in Singapore for the UNTAPP3D FUTURE pop-up exhibition. During Art Week, the event showcased Brett Crawford’s artworks as well as a collection of F.P.Journe timepieces from a single owner.
“Phillips was looking for a local designer to showcase and my dear friend and international jewellery specialist Cristel Tan thought my pieces would complement the rest of the exhibition,” says Khoo.
Although small, her collection perfectly reflected her growth as a jewellery designer. In one piece, aquamarine gummy bears line up like schoolchildren around an eternity band. Alongside them, chestnuts crafted from burnished and blackened gold—one of Khoo’s favourite materials—call out for attention. “The higher silver and copper content in 14K gold gives it an antique-like finish I love using for my contemporary designs.”
The pièce de résistance, however, is the Makarov pearl necklace. For a long time, Khoo dreaded using pearls in her designs. She thought they were far too much trouble. Even the slightest touch of perfume or cream could damage their lustre. “But the connotation that pearls are old-fashioned posed an intriguing challenge I was eager to take on: can jewellery be edgy and timeless at the same time?” says Khoo.
The answer, of course, is a resounding yes.
Beyond ready-to-wear jewellery, Khoo also creates bespoke pieces. Most times, there is a distinct tension between creators and their clients. Many artists grapple with creating something that speaks to their soul while still hewing close to the vision of the customer. Khoo resolves this through patience, honesty, and connecting with clients beyond the surface. The challenge never gets easier, but she relishes it nonetheless.
“I love testing myself. I don’t aspire to be a great designer. On the contrary, I hope to be blessed with a career in which I can learn, explore, and discover continuously.”
Ironically, despite her work with shiny rocks that seek attention, Khoo is notoriously shy of the spotlight, partly due to her family background. Her grandfather is the late banker and hotel owner Khoo Teck Puat, whose legacy lives on in Singapore’s history through the hospital
named after him.
Yes, she may have won the genetic lottery, but she wants her stones to shape her legacy, not her surname. However, she admits that her background provided equal parts motivation and pressure to build Lauren X Khoo into an international business. It was vital to her to prove herself.
“My grandfather’s favourite saying is, ‘You need to have the timing and aptitude’. To me, timing is luck or fate. Not everything in your life goes your way, and that’s perfectly fine.”
The old cliche goes: pressure turns rocks into diamonds. In Khoo’s case, it’s the perfect metaphor. With her incredible aptitude for ornamentation on display, the jeweller is gradually becoming more comfortable in front of the public.
Behind that sultry gaze, however, lurks a woman who is still melancholic about hearts and loves eating suspect veggie snacks flavoured with cream cheese. “It’s kangkong!” she laughs.
Photography: Joel Low
Styling: Chia Wei Choong
Hair: Sean Ang, using Goldwell & Dyson Hair
Makeup: Wee Ming, using Dior Beauty
Photography Assistant: Eddie Teo
All jewellery from Lauren X Khoo
