The UrbanWire

He’s the owner and managing director of Jonal Chong Hair Couture and SF Savoir Fair – both in Singapore and London.

This Singaporean hairstylist, who was based in London for 7 years, returned to Singapore in 2005 after his 5-year contract as the personal hairstylist for Nicole Kidman ended.

Apart from Kidman, Jonal Chong, 48, has also cut and styled the crowning glories of various celebrities from the hall of fame such as Hugh Grant, Courtney Cox Arquette, Ewan McGregor and Katherine Heigl.

<sup>Jonal with Nicole Kidman

Jonal with Katherine Heigl</sup>

“These people are my regulars in my salon in London. However, my favourite person will always be Nic because she’s the one who gave me my big break and I will forever be grateful towards her,” says Jonal.

During the 5 years that he was working for Nicole Kidman, Jonal said it wasn’t all glamour and fun.

“Being a yellow-skin in Hollywood, I initially felt out of place. I felt like the character E.T. – someone who landed in a totally different world. It took a lot of effort to stay in Hollywood, in the hair industry, because people judged and some were really bitchy. However, I managed to stay and make a name for myself,” says the hair guru, who has been cutting hair since the age of 15.

Jonal describes himself as someone “who loves dressing up, who loves beauty, who believes in fashion” and who feels that it’s his responsibility to make women look beautiful.

He indulged again recently by setting up his second hair salon in Singapore – Jonal Chong Hair Couture in the heart of the shopping district, Orchard Central.

The managing director officially launched his 1, 100 sq ft all white, avant-garde salon on Oct 28.

The twist to his new salon? Prices won’t be sky-high as what most of you would expect. Instead, it’d be mind-bogglingly low.

Cuts start from $13 onwards while other services such as hair treatment or colour and cut are priced from $38 up.

However, the man himself won’t be touching your hair of course. Because if he does, be prepared to pay $250 onwards for a simple haircut.

Jonal strongly believes in 15 of his apprentices that he’s trained personally for about a year to attend to his customers and satisfy them.

^{Jonal Chong (left) cutting the hair of one of his V.I.P customers in the V.I.P room, while coaching one of his apprentices (right) along the way.}

When asked why he’s offering his hair services at “heartland prices”, Jonal says, “I want to give those customers who are not willing to pay a lot of money on hair a chance to enjoy my luxe hair services without spending a bomb. By doing this, I feel that finally, more Singaporean men and women have an equal chance to look good at an affordable price.”

Even before Jonal Chong Hair Couture was officially opened for business, he had already attended to a number of notable customers.

MTV VJ Denise Keller paid him a visit 2 days before the Elle Awards to get her hair done for the opening ceremony. One of the Polo Boys – Channel 5′s new drama series – Paul Foster, also dropped by for a haircut.

These artistes were attended to in the salon’s Very Important Person (V.I.P) room.

The hair maestro also requested for a Very Very Important Person (V.V.I.P.) room to be built for his extra special customers.

When asked who they are, Chong smiled coyly but remained professional and said, “They are prestigious bankers, lawyers and doctors.”

He has yet to go back to London to check on his salon there. According to him, “the salon isn’t doing very well because of the economic downturn”.

However, he’s proud of the fact that he’s still in contact with Nicole Kidman.

A few of his famous works of her include the famous Chanel No.5 advertising campaign in 2004 and the movie – Birth, that Kidman starred in that same year.

Her sudden change in hairstyle, which was cut short by Jonal to suit her character, was a bold statement compared to her usual locks.

He said, “Nic loved her short hair. Although it was a drastic change in hairstyle, she was comfortable in it and pulled it off really well.”

After being in the business for over 30 years, the celebrity coiffeur already has plans to retire soon.

Jonal says, “I can’t go on forever doing this. I definitely have to step down soon and my right-hand man, David Oh, will take over me.”

Dare to change.

If the runaway success of the eccentric, outlandishly bold singer cum fashionista Lady Gaga isn’t enough to make you realise that blending in and sticking to the status quo – be it in fashion, hairstyle or attitude – isn’t cool anymore, I don’t know what is.

Soon, we’ll be counting down to the New Year and if you’re booked for some hot party to ring in 2010, this is a wake-up call that a change is called for.

Hair is everything. For a woman, it’s her crowning glory, the most noticeable feature, and that which reflects her beauty.

Fashionistas know that a look is incomplete without a great hairstyle that’ll make the individual feel good and look good too.

So, to inspire and to motivate you in your change for 2010, UrbanWire sent 4 of its writers, representing the different facial shapes of most readers, for a temporary makeover at the recently launched salon – Jonal Chong Hair Couture, owned by the successful celebrity Singaporean hairstylist who has styled the manes of various Hollywood A-listers including Nicole Kidman.

The girls were treated to an out-of-this-world experience as the salon manager Mike Loh, styled their hair based on the shape of their faces, with a surprising twist to make them stand out. But isn’t Lady Gaga, who’s one of the most popular, crazed and successful artistes today, the epitome of unique?

Check out our writers who had their hair done and just how to achieve that look!

Amanda
Geraldine
Diyana
Adrianna

(Read more)

^{(All images credits to Kunsthistorisches Museum)}

This is about as close as you can ever get to a mummy.

Flown from Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) in Vienna, Sydney, all the way to the National Museum of Singapore, 5 mummies – all of which still very much preserved and securely wrapped by linen bandages, will be the main attraction of the exhibition.

230 ancient Egypt artifacts, including the mummified bodies, spanning from 4000 BCE to 950 CE, are currently being exhibited at the Quest for Immortality – The World of Ancient Egypt, which is an exhibition that elucidates the ancient Egyptians’ attitude towards life and the afterlife.

The artifacts include ancient Egyptians statues, pieces of writings, jewellery, and burial relics such as the canopic jars that were used to keep the internal organs of the mummies.

Ms Haraini Hassan, curator of the National Museum of Singapore says, “Ancient Egypt is a glorious civilization and through this exhibition we hope to change people’s perception that the ancient Egyptians are obsessed with death. On the contrary, it is their obsession with life that caused them to pursue all means to ensure the attainment of immortality.”

This joint collaboration by National Museum of Singapore and Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, took 2 years to plan as they faced various challenges – the main being the transportation of the fragile mummies, which are easily susceptible to damage due to climate change.

Ms Michaela Huettner, curator of KHM joked, “We have to keep in mind that these are bodies that doesn’t want to be displayed. They want to stay in their tombs and depart to the other world. Although they are here in Singapore, which is not too bad, still, who would like their bodies to be moved around?”

Being known as a culture that consists of countless taboos, alongside stories of objects from Egypt being inscribed with curses, the team felt that it would be fitting to pay their respects before they started shifting the artifacts from its original home.

They had a simple prayer session before they carried the coffins and objects out of the crates and into the display cases at the museum. According to Ms Hassan, a poll was also conducted to excuse those who weren’t comfortable with touching the bodies.

Apart from the mummies, some of the other highlights of the exhibition include the massive statues of the ancient Egyptian gods and goddess, scripts containing passages from The Book of the Dead, and the figurines that date back thousands of years – the oldest being the female ivory figurine that’s believed to be over 6,000 years old.

The first artifact that will greet you as you enter the exhibition would be the Statue of goddess Sekhmet from the 18^th Dynasty. Its origin is Karnak, Thebes from the Upper Egypt.

Weighing 1, 400kg, this statue is the biggest and heaviest artifact in the exhibition, which required 6 men and 2 forklifts to transport it to its display area.

If you’ve watched the 1999 movie – The Mummy, it would’ve come across to you that The Book of the Dead was just an ingenious prop to make the movie more horrifying.

However, Egyptologists and researchers have found many pieces of writings that link to The Book, proving that it does exist.

In this exhibition, you’ll get to see a long piece of papyrus from the 21^st Dynasty, which contains essential passages from The Book of the Dead.

This is the longest piece of artifact from the Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection of KHM that’s here for Singaporeans to view.

Taken out of its intricately designed coffin, is the Mummy of Nekhet-iset-aru, from the 25^th Dynasty, around 747 – 656 BCE.

This mummy’s layers of pink linen bandaging have been almost fully preserved. As you look at it through the glass pane of the display case, the feeling is overwhelming as you realise you’re looking at the body of a person who lived thousands of years ago.

X-rays and CT scans have revealed that 2 other bodies are contained within the cartonnage cover (painted plastered papyrus or linen) of the Mummy of Nes-Khons, who is from the 25^th Dynasty, about 760 – 656 BCE.

The scans showed that these 2 bodies, which were placed in between the woman’s legs, were infants who died just before or after birth. They could’ve been twins too.

Quest for Immortality – The World of Ancient Egypt will take place from Dec 22, 2009 to Apr 4, 2010 at the Exhibition Galleries of National Museum of Singapore. It is opened from 10am to 6pm daily. Tickets are available at all SISTIC outlets for $15 (excluding SISTIC fee).