This Mother’s Day, BAZAAR speaks to January So on how fashion is bringing her and her two-year-old daughter closer together.
January So (Photographed by Lily Allissa at Fari and Ali’s Kitchen, Bukit Damansara)
Actress and writer January So knows the power of a good story. “I have always cared deeply about narrative, texture, silhouette, and the overall energy a look carries. It was never simply about looking good. It was about whether what I wore could speak accurately to where I was. You could tell exactly which stage of life I was in and what I was going through based on what I was wearing,” she says. But since becoming a mother, the audience to this unique form of storytelling has changed.
Roselle Chin
So believes how a mother dresses can become part of a child’s earliest memories. She has her daughter, Roselle Chin, in her lap as they settle into the quiet corner of a small neighbourhood café, Fari and Ali’s Kitchen. The two-year-old is playing with her mother’s scarf.
Roselle is fascinated by The Little Prince, explains So. On the monochromatic background of British artist Shantell Martin’s drawings on the silk canvas, there is a colourful illustration of the beloved character from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s enduring novella of the same name. Tucked in the crook of the toddler’s arm is a stuffed toy, nicknamed Foxy–another reference to the classic tale.
January So and Roselle Chin
“Before, I was more concerned with whether a look was complete enough, defined enough, dimensional enough. These days, I am more concerned with how beauty can be woven into everyday life, like the way we dress. After Roselle, a new theme entered my self-expression—one that is gentle, dependable, and draws inspiration from fairy tales,” she says.
“But nothing is more precious than simply still being here and being together,” she concludes. So opens up about her near-death experience during childbirth, recounting how she “miraculously” survived losing almost five litres of blood as a whole room of doctors raced to stop the haemorrhaging.
Childbirth brought me closer to death than I had ever been—or ever wished to be. Nothing about the way I understood life remained the same after that.
“Right now, Roselle wants to be like me. She wants to wear what I wear; she wants to have what I have. Comfort and simplicity are the foundation—but within that, there must be room for a story. For something that says: this is her. And I can see her starting to have an opinion, picking out things that she likes. It’s beginning to become something we can share. Our style is evolving together,” says So.
