In a town where cash comes first, a group of young designers is giving conceptual, socially conscious clothing a go. Like Japanese label Final Home and the mind-over-matter creations of Hussein Chalayan (the brains behind the coffee-table skirt), fashion collective Abode designs with the urban nomad in mind. Its latest collection, called Love Yourself, consists of khaki-coloured basics that play on the 'before' and 'after' pictures of plastic surgery. Using nips, tucks and zips, the clothes transform from deceptively simple skirts, tops and dresses into travel-friendly pillows and sleeping bags. Try them on at Unix (Style House, Great George Street, Causeway Bay), a new shop specialising in up-and-coming designers from Europe, Japan, Korea and, of course, Hong Kong.

Style file

Moving north from Indonesia to China (via Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong), Douglas Bullis's fashion Asia (Thames & Hudson, 2000) attempts to trace a common thread through the fashion of disparate Asian designers. His conclusion: that despite - and perhaps because of - our religious and cultural differences, Asian clothing is first and foremost preoccupied with history and purity. (What would Bullis make of Hong Kong's Henry Lau, whose spring/summer collection is inspired by erotic artist Tom of Finland?) An interesting book, if only to see who's who in Asia; $283.50 from Page One locations.

Star studded

Why buy pre-fab punk when you can do-it-yourself? Shin & Co's star-shaped studs are easy to apply and, at $90 a bottle (the rivet stick is an extra $190), are a lot cheaper than this season's Comme des Garcons studded styles. Get them from ad:hoc, 38 Russell Street, Causeway Bay.