From The Straits Times    |

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VELDA TAN, 28, fashion blogger and founder of Collate The Label

You know her as Instagram star @belluspuera, with more than 120,000 followers. Now, she’s also the founder of Collate The Label – her second fashion business venture after e-store Love, Bonito (which she’s no longer involved with, and which has morphed into a million-dollar business).

Collate The Label debuted at Singapore Fashion Week two months ago – the social-media darling showed alongside designers like Victoria Beckham and Diane von Furstenberg. And the label’s off to a good start with its pre-Fall 2015 collection of jumpsuits that feature sheer panels, and the pencil-dress silhouettes that Velda’s known for wearing.

Celebs like Jeanette Aw and Rosalyn Lee turned up at Singapore Fashion Week in looks from the collection, and a green peplum dress ($239) sold out in two days. The pieces, made of crepe, knit and bonded satin, are sold online at www.collatethelabel. com, starting from $109.

Velda says she decided to start Collate when she realised there was a gap in the market for “quality pieces at affordable prices”. That realisation came after she did holiday courses in fashion design and business management at prestigious schools Central Saint Martins in 2013 and the London College of Fashion last year.

It seems things have come full circle for Velda – she tells us that when she was in secondary school, she would spend her free time playing with HTML codes and creating websites just for fun.

So what’s next for the fashionista? She aims to open a brick-and-mortar store for Collate The Label and give the brand international exposure with her e-store.

Photography: Winston Chuang, Styling: Evon Chng, Hair: Kenneth Ong, using Redken, Makeup: Lolent Lee, using Inglot, Dress: Robinsons

This story was first published in HerWorld Magazine July 2015.

Find out why Velda Tan felt like Collate The Label was a ‘leap of faith’.