The tale of Jing Su and her fashion moments at Maison Gassmann

By |Published On: January 1st, 2017|

Photography Elizabeth D’Allesandro  /  Styling Kathy Patellis-Schmidt

When I meet Jing Su (Sophie for most of her friends in Switzerland) for the first time she reminds me of the exquisite pen-and-watercolor scenes from the Chinese folktale The Shell Woman and the King. Just like the beautiful Shell, Sophie is delicate and graceful, with glowing translucent skin and long silky hair and yet there is an unmistakable practical determination, a clear purpose and courage in everything she does and a bulletproof confidence and charisma.

“Everything can go wrong and the most important thing in life is to learn to let go”, says Sophie when we sit down to talk at her apartment in Au. Sophie is pregnant with her second child but she still commutes to Geneva once a week for a couple of days to oversee her SPA “Above the sky”, which is currently under construction. Teo, who is nearly two years old, is playing hide and seek behind the sofa. The apartment looks a mess as there is construction going on her terrace. Her husband is at work. Sophie started her own business nine years ago.

She left her home in Beijing at the age of 17 when she moved to study Hotel Management in Geneva. She worked as a receptionist for some time, but already knew she wanted to manage her own business, making her own rules.

At the hotel SPA where Sophie was working she developed an interest in beauty and massage. Her aunt in Beijing had a beauty salon too, so the idea started slowly growing in her head. She wasn’t afraid of failure – she was used to hard work and she had clear intentions – there was simply no reason why her plans would fail. Without even looking, she was offered a space and she took the opportunity. “ I used to work 70 hours per week, but after two years of hard work, Sophie felt she needed to do something different, something that would distinguish her from everything in the wellness sector that was available at the moment. She started learning more about traditional Chinese medicine. “It was part of my tradition and culture, so it felt natural to combine Western philosophy massage techniques with natural ingredients and therapies to start helping people with specific problems such as headaches, backpain and indigestion.”

For Sophie the key to success still is in challenging yourself: “If you don’t question yourself, if you are not curious about life, thinking you already know everything, you won’t be able to move on and evolve. If you don’t invest in educating yourself and your team you can’t grow”, says Sophie with one of those contagious smiles that leaves you inspired. “Every day is about making choices and every choice you make takes you closer to your goal. I am not just a sweet girl who likes clothes and expensive face creams. I work hard for my dreams. I want to show my children that everything is possible if you are not afraid of challenge”, she says with a firm tone.

When I ask her about how becoming a mother has changed her, Sophie tells me that she feels like she has achieved everything she’s dreamed of and yet her senses tell her there is more to life beside every goal she had on her wish list.

“I’ve become much more spiritual, much more intuitive, and I want to discover what life is about. I am asking myself questions such as: Why is this baby girl coming to me, why has she chosen me to be her parent?”

Sophie is at a point in her life where she feels she wants to reflect, even finding out more about her passed lives through hypnoses. She has become much more balanced physically and mentally, compared to her younger self and since her mother passed away. Sophie thinks more often of her and how her mother and family culture have influenced her way of thinking and living.

My  mother used to be a military doctor and she never really allowed herself to wear pretty dresses and make up. She was surrounded by men and rough conditions, but because of that, she encouraged me to always be aware of my skin, to honour and own my beauty. For me a beautiful woman is a mix of charm and personality, she has mental health and spirit, she loves herself. I also believe in the steady consistent routine, in hydration and clean skin. Yet at some point women need to think about collagen and elastin and engaging with technology. I love natural products but I am asking myself how much of what is on the market really is natural? That made me curious to research the market and start working on my own line which will be out soon. At the moment at her SPA she works with SOTHYS “I believe beauty is not just about the creams and the treatments we use, it is about a holistic approach: what you eat, the levels of stress, your attitude and the harmony  inside”, says Sophie.

When I ask her how does she achieve the precious balance between family, work and kids, she says she just doesn’t give herself too much pressure to do things perfectly. “I meditate but not every night, I cook but not every night and I accept help from my husband. I am at peace with that, I am not afraid to make compromises and I don’t judge myself or others. Everyone finds their formula and what works best for them”.

Before I leave, I return to my thoughts about the Chinese folktale and the female protagonists in most of the old fairy tales I grew up with, where the woman or girl plays a passive role, waiting to be rescued or, at most, helping her male rescuer by her special knowledge of her captor. In The Shell Woman and the King there’s a beautiful woman with the power to transform herself and outwit an evil king who commands her to abandon her husband and marry him instead. Eventually she defeats the king, destroys his magnificent palace, thus his evil is unequivocally punished, but in contrast to most Western fairy tales the heroine reaps no extraordinary reward for her courage and conjugal loyalty; presumably, defying a rapacious monarch and surviving are enough.

Sophie is wearing

  • Red dress by Costarellos
  • Tiara by Jennifer Behr
  • Jumper and skirt Etro
  • Velvet shoes and socks Euro.
  • The pink skirt Zimmerman
  • Black boots Etro
  • Teo is wearing Burberry jeans and shirt
  • All available at Maison Gassmann

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About the Author: Tsitaliya Mircheva

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Tsitaliya is a writer and fashion journalist for more than 20 years. She founded Mums in Heels 10 years ago and keeps growing and evolving together with her community or fashionable mums and responsible consumers. Fashion and Wellness are her most favourite topics to write about.