When fashion and accessories designer and illustrator Cecilia Ma was robbed recently in Italy, she handed over everything she had - but fought back fiercely to keep her laptop. “I was going to Milan and Paris Fashion week and hadn’t yet backed up my new design on my computer. I couldn’t give it up!”

It’s a gutsy determination that the Lane Crawford’s The Next New 2016 winner applies to everything she does. Admitting she never takes no for an answer, Ma explains, “If I have a goal, I will do anything to achieve it. If you’re not a person that can relate to those kind of ambitions, you would think I was crazy. I don’t like rules or plans - I like to do things differently and on a whim. Most of the time, I’m living life in the fast lane, without regret.”