Kayantoast

 Through this feature with TikTok personality, Ng Ka Yan, we find out more about her as an individual, her rise to fame and how she redefines the aesthetic, ‘cottagecore’. 

Story by: Kashmira Khiantani

Pictures by: Ka Yan and @benmatchap

Ng Ka Yan, 18, also widely known as @kayantoast on TikTok, is currently a student in Temasek Polytechnic’s Diploma in Communication Design. Ka Yan started her journey towards fame during the Circuit Breaker in March 2020 and has amassed over 200,000 followers thus far.

Since then, she has created several different types of content on her page, such as videos of her hand-making jewellery, photos that she has taken or donning her outfit of the day.  Ka Yan is best known for her handmade jewellery as well as documenting her unique outfits which are mainly inspired by the “cottagecore” fashion aesthetic.

“Cottagecore” is an Internet-created fashion aesthetic which is inspired by a romanticised interpretation of mainly the western agricultural lifestyle. 

However, the fashionista’s view on the aesthetic has a slightly unique edge to it, something she likes to call the “Kawaii twist”. Her fashion sense, though mainly inspired by “cottagecore”, has certain elements that belong to other aesthetics such as “Lolita” and “Sanrio” which originated from Asia. 

“I really liked anime when I was in secondary school. Due to that interest, I tend to have elements of aesthetics that are inspired by Japanese trends as part of my outfits,” Ka Yan elaborates. 

Apart from fashion, the TikToker also has her own handmade jewellery and handicraft business. Some product offerings include: necklaces, rings, earrings, tote bags and trinket trays. 

“Honestly, I used to spend a lot of money on buying jewellery until one of my friends suggested trying to explore DIY jewellery and seeing whether that would be a more financially-healthier decision for me,” recalls Ka Yan as she laughed over it. 

Her jewellery is made from beads, handmade clay charms and resin as well. 

“It’s pretty cool that beads have recently come back into trend. In fact, the beading shop uncle that I frequently patronise in Chinatown even told me how several young people have started buying beads,” Ka Yan says. 

She tends to stick to a pastel palette when designing her pieces and describes her jewellery aesthetic as “cute”. Her jewellery is often designed in collections, with each collection being associated to a certain character. For example her ‘Froggy Cake’ collection, where each accessory incorporates a handmade charm of a frog on a cake.  

Ka Yan gets her inspiration for her designs from the latest trends, other jewellery designers and her own artwork as well. 

“Sometimes, I would randomly doodle on my iPad and it would dawn upon me that maybe this doodle would look nice as a jewellery piece. Then, the whole process of bringing the drawing to life starts,” Ka Yan notes.

Other than her handicraft business, Ka Yan is also a freelance photographer. She has been taking photos ever since the age of 13 and has done photoshoots for businesses, weddings and more.

“Ever since I can remember, photography has always been a part of my life. I love the way a photo captures a beautiful moment and that beautiful moment becomes yours to keep forever,” she mentions. 

Her growing fame on TikTok has definitely contributed to more traffic being directed to her business and photography page. This, in turn, led to an exponential increase in the sales of her jewellery as well as more enquiries regarding her photography services. 

Nevertheless, the 18-year-old is filled with gratitude to have gained such a commendable platform and following. 

“I find it so amazing how people are interested in what I put out there, it is very motivating as a content creator. I am truly thankful to have very supportive people around me,” she shares. 

Since having gained fame, Ka Yan says that one of the biggest changes for her include a stark increase in screen time. The other is getting recognised in public – something she had never expected at all. 

“The first time I got recognised was at an art exhibition, where someone came up to tell me that she watches my content and follows me on TikTok. I was genuinely in shock and did not know how to react but it most definitely is a memorable experience for me,” Ka Yan recounts.

Ka Yan hopes to venture more into experimenting and creating different types of jewellery and continuously work on her branding. This would ensure that she caters to the preferences and likings of her followers all while staying true to her individuality.