As the creative mind behind almost every Singaporean woman’s everyday workwear wardrobe, Velda Tan is surprisingly uninterested in grind culture. On paper, the entrepreneur and mother of three seems like the poster child for the kind of do-it-all hustle that has dominated so much of the collective consciousness in recent years. Look deeper, though, and you’ll notice a much rarer and more refreshing approach running through all of Tan’s ventures. She approaches her life and work with a deliberate, measured caution—an intentional commitment to slow living in the midst of an increasingly fast-paced world. As her clothing label Our Second Nature celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, that commitment feels less like a personal philosophy and more like a quiet act of resistance.
If her name hasn’t already rung a bell, take a quick peek in your closet. It’s more than likely that a number of Tan’s breezy, classic designs occupy a permanent space in your wardrobe. For the past two decades, she has been the visionary behind some of Singapore’s most beloved and recognisable clothing labels: in 2005, Love Bonito, which began as an online-only passion project between friends; later, premium occasion wear label Collate; and finally, now going on ten years of operation, Our Second Nature and its sister brand Atlas Kind, a label built around considered basics and mindful design.
It’s an impressive résumé, undoubtedly requiring a delicate balancing act between creative, corporate, and family responsibilities. Unfortunately for me, it’s also one that makes Tan an incredibly difficult woman to pin down. In trying to find a time to speak, we messaged back and forth for the better part of a month, our best intentions thwarted by travel plans, childcare responsibilities, and an unexpected bout of sickness. Eventually, we settled on a virtual interview—but where most subjects would have their quirks and idiosyncrasies flattened by the impenetrable barrier of a screen, Tan’s answers shone with a strength of vision and clarity.
She describes her early entrepreneurial ventures with insouciance, seeming almost surprised at their staying power. Love Bonito, in particular, was an unexpected success, something she stumbled into after seeking out extra pocket money with her sister and friends. When the conversation shifts to Our Second Nature, however, Tan is crystal clear: the label was born of careful intention, shaped by a decade’s worth of successes, failures, and lessons.
“Our Second Nature was shaped by everything I had learnt, but also by who I had become,” Tan shares. When she founded the label in 2016, a decade in the fashion industry had allowed her to hone a keen business acumen. Tan identified a gap in the market for high-quality everyday clothing essentials for women, placing Our Second Nature in a happy medium between fast fashion and high-end designer labels. Perhaps more significantly, though, the experiences under Tan’s belt taught her precisely what she wanted to avoid. “I was very intentional about doing things differently from my previous brands. This time, I wanted to take a slower, more mindful approach in both product and process, while really understanding what the consumer needed, instead of chasing trends.”
This approach was a curious choice at the time, when Singapore was only just getting acquainted with the concepts of mindfulness and slow living—morning matcha runs and meditation sessions were things of rarity. Tan was choosing to go against the grain not only of the fashion industry at large, but also of a city as fast-paced as Singapore. A decade on, it has proven a wise choice, coming to define both the brand and the woman behind it, distinguishing them in an increasingly crowded industry.
When asked whether she still feels the pressure to run the rat race, Tan responds frankly. “Of course, I think that pressure exists for most women,” she confesses. “But I’ve come to realise that ‘doing it all’ doesn’t mean doing everything at once, or perfectly. It’s about knowing what matters in each season and allowing yourself to shift accordingly.” For a founder whose entire brand identity is built on restraint, it is, perhaps, the most revealing thing she says.
Below, GRAZIA speaks to Velda Tan about entrepreneurship, mindfulness, and the challenges of living a creative life in a fast-paced world.
GRAZIA (G): As a founder and creative, what are your responsibilities?
Velda Tan (VT): As a founder, my role is to set the vision for the company and the brands we run. We currently have two labels under our group: Our Second Nature and Atlas Kind. I oversee the creative direction across both, and work closely with our design, product and brand teams to ensure alignment across all touchpoints. I’m also fortunate to work alongside a CEO who leads functions such as finance, culture, and technology. That allows me to stay focused on the creative aspect, which is where I think I do my best work.
G: How does your average week unfold?
VT: Work-from-home Mondays are a gentle start to my week, especially after a full weekend with the kids. I’ll usually get a morning workout in, then map out priorities and intentions for the days ahead. Tuesdays are anchored by our company town hall, which helps everyone realign. The rest of the week tends to be meeting-heavy, with ongoing reviews across collections and campaigns. I keep my weekday evenings free for family time—being home for dinner and bedtime with my kids is something I treasure so much now, especially while they are young.
G: What have been your biggest challenges as an entrepreneur?
VT: Learning to navigate uncertainty, both in business and personally. There are seasons where things move quickly, and others where progress feels less visible. Early on, I found that difficult, but over time, I’ve learnt to trust the seasonality and longer arc of life. Building a business is rarely linear. You just have to keep showing up and refining as you go. Patience and perseverance have proved to be valuable qualities, as well as learning to stay the course even when things don’t immediately make sense. Over time, I’ve also come to value clarity—knowing what matters, and just as importantly, what doesn’t.
G: How do you balance a “mindfulness first” approach with the pressures of the industry?
VT: I’m fairly traditional in that I believe every business should be profitable. Beyond that, though, it should also have a clear purpose and a meaningful place in the market. When those things come together—commercial viability, relevance, and intention—that’s what I consider success. At Our Second Nature, we stay very close to our product and our customer. Our team is constantly learning from data, but also from more qualitative feedback: how pieces are worn, what was loved, and what customers felt was missing. That allows us to be thoughtful, but still responsive. We don’t rush, but we’re also not rigid. There’s a discipline and balance in knowing when to refine and when to let something be.
Our approach is also embedded in our daily working style. We try to be intentional with our time, our output, and how we show up for one another. That means being thoughtful about workloads, creating space for focus, and trying not to operate in a constant state of urgency. There’s also an openness to how we reflect. We review often, but without blame—the goal is always to learn and move forward with more clarity.
G: What can we expect from OSN’s upcoming drops?
VT: We’re continuing to refine what we’re known for—easy, considered silhouettes that move with you through the day. Our prints remain signatures, as it is our unique form of storytelling. Our designs often begin with a feeling or a moment, and from there, things like fabric choice and silhouette follow quite naturally.
This year is also a special one for us as we mark our 10th anniversary. We’re introducing a series of prints that revisit elements from our earlier collections, but reinterpreted through where we are today. It’s a reflection of both the old and the new—familiar, but evolved. A lot of our inspiration continues to come from everyday moments: travel, nature, light, and textures. Simple things that feel familiar but that are still worth noticing.
GS: What’s next for OSN? What are your long-term aspirations for the brand?
VT: We want to continue building OSN with intention: growing, but not at the expense of people or profit. At a group level, we’re focused on scaling both Our Second Nature and Atlas Kind thoughtfully, while laying the foundation for future brands. The vision is to build a modern house of brands, each with its own identity, but anchored in the same values of mindfulness, design integrity, and relevance. In the long term, I hope we become brands that people return to across different seasons of their lives. Something considered, enriching and quietly dependable.
This story first appeared in the March 2026 issue of GRAZIA Singapore.
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