Dr. Hayden Kho Has Grown Into His Own Sense of Style
Through decades in fashion, medicine, and the beauty industry, renowned aesthetic physician Dr. Hayden Kho has refined a discerning style suited to him
For Dr. Hayden Kho, fashionFashionThe art and industry of designing, producing, and styling clothing, footwear, accessories, and beauty trends. It reflects cultural influences, personal expression, and evolving styles across seasons and markets.Go to Fashion Glossary has remained a constant alongside a career built around medicine and aesthetics. An aesthetic physician with more than two decades of experience, he also began modeling at 16 and has since maintained a close relationship with the fashion world.
His place in the Southeast Asia Best-Dressed Hall of Fame reflects that enduring connection to style. Between his medical practice, modeling background, and understanding of aesthetics, Hayden approaches personal style from a perspective shaped by years of experience both in and out of the clinic.
A style built over time
Through modeling, Hayden was able to wear pieces by some of the country’s top designers even when designer fashion was still beyond what he could afford. Finding his own style, however, took years of experimentation.
He moved through brighter colors, edgier looks, dramatic silhouettes, and the trends of different eras. Looking back, he can now identify where the proportions, colors, or materials simply did not work.
Those missteps were part of developing his eye. After years of seeing clothes up close and wearing them in different settings, Hayden has arrived at his own wardrobe built around pieces that can outlast a single season.
“I’ve settled into a more classic sensibility. I invest in enduring pieces that are versatile and easy to mix and match.”
There is confidence in his style. At 46, Hayden no longer feels compelled to use loud colors or exaggerated silhouettes to command attention.
His choices have become more deliberate, as he settles into the idea that good style does not always need to announce itself. His wardrobe now feels like an extension of who he is, rather than an attempt to prove anything at all.
Knowing what works and what doesn’t
That evolution has also given Hayden a clear philosophy about how clothes should be worn. For him, personal style works best when the wearer remains more interesting than the clothes themselves.
“I wear the clothes; the clothes do not wear me.”
It is an idea reinforced by his mother, who remains one of his sharpest critics. Looking at photos from events such as Milan Fashion Week, she would sometimes tell him that an outfit looked good but that he appeared to be trying too hard.
The observation stayed with him. For Hayden, even the most striking piece loses its effect when the person wearing it feels like they are performing rather than simply being themselves.
“A garment can be visually striking and avant-garde, but if it doesn’t move naturally with you, you end up having to play a character,” he says. Fashion, in his view, should complement personality rather than dictate it.
His own capsule wardrobeCapsule WardrobeA small, curated collection of versatile, high-quality pieces that mix and match easily across occasions and seasons. For men, a capsule wardrobe might include a navy blazer, white shirts, tailoredGo to Capsule Wardrobe Glossary mirrors his beliefs: “a well-washed, perfectly fitting pair of jeans, clean white shoes, and a classic pullover in a versatile neutral tone,” letting the simplicity stand out as well as keep the person in focus.
The discipline behind looking good
Hayden’s understanding of presentation extends beyond clothing. His work in medicine and aesthetics has given him a measured appreciation of the physical foundation behind a well-put-together look.
“No matter how tailored or beautiful your clothes are, if your health, physique, and skin aren’t cared for, it compromises the entire look.”
He is intentional about his hair, teeth, skin, and physique. That same eye for balance informs his medical practice, where he identifies symmetry, harmony, radiant color, and clarity as the four essentials of tenets of beauty.
After more than two decades in aesthetics, Hayden has also learned to separate meaningful innovation from marketing dressed up as science. At Belo, he says, technologies and treatments are assessed according to clinical efficacy and patient safety rather than their popularity online.
That measured approach extends to his view of anti-aging. Quality sleep, regular exercise, and proper nutrition remain the foundation, while aesthetic treatments can only complement those habits.
For Hayden, aesthetic medicine is therefore a collaboration rather than a quick fix. It reflects the same philosophy that now guides his approach to fashionFashionThe art and industry of designing, producing, and styling clothing, footwear, accessories, and beauty trends. It reflects cultural influences, personal expression, and evolving styles across seasons and markets.Go to Fashion Glossary: looking better should not require becoming someone else.
His personal fashion milestone
His appearance at Paris Fashion WeekFashion WeekA multi-day event held in major cities such as Milan, Paris, London, and New York, where designers present upcoming collections to buyers, press, and celebrities. Menswear fashion weeks set trendsGo to Fashion Week Glossary for Michael Cinco offered a fitting milestone in a relationship with fashion that began when he was a teenager. Walking for a globally recognized Filipino designer in Paris connected his earliest experience in modeling with an international fashion setting he had long admired.
Walking alongside personalities such as Pia Wurtzbach made the presentation even more memorable for Hayden. Yet the experience also reminded him of a larger ambition: eventually walking for one of the legacy houses like Zegna or Prada, whose clothes he regularly wears.
“Walking for an international heritage house remains on my bucket list, but the Paris presentation with Michael was truly a wonderful milestone.”
For someone who has spent decades around fashion, the milestone is less about arriving at a final destination than continuing to explore an industry that first captured his attention as a teenager. His style may have become quieter, but his interest in fashion remains firmly intact.
Photography Jharwin Castañeda
Art direction Mike Miguel
Editor Dayne Aduna
GroomingGroomingThe care and maintenance of hair, skin, beard, and nails, including cleansing, shaving, styling, and scent. Once niche, men's grooming has grown into a major lifestyle category, and VMAN's VanityGo to Grooming Glossary Marianne Malayo of Nix Institute of Beauty
Photography assistants Joshua Navato and Aljon Celis
Special thanks Jaymee Librada and Sam Arzadon
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