LOW-KEY HIGH FASHION
IN THE PRESENT tumultuous political climate and in the aftermath of Sars, you may think fashion - that emblem of frivolity and good times - would be the last thing on most people's minds. But this week our fashion faithful have been doing their very best to raise our spirits.
Indeed, the Trade Development Council of Hong Kong (TDC) managed to surprise everyone by organising two adrenalin-charged presentations for its Spring-Summer 2004 Hong Kong Fashion Week. But, even so, this year's event was more low-key than usual.
'You shouldn't regard the gala as flippant really,' says designer Dorian Ho. 'I do believe that fashion week this year has taken on greater meaning and perhaps we should look at it as a boost in morale for many of us.' The traditional schedule of separate house shows throughout the four-day event, which began on Tuesday and ends tomorrow, has been dropped. This year, the TDC decided to present just two shows, both on Tuesday. The first, featuring the work of budding talent, was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and the second, showcasing the work of local designers and name brands that sum up the city's fashion landscape, was held at Government House. 'With the Sars virus largely contained, we think the Hong Kong fashion industry is now ready to celebrate,' says the TDC's Katherine Chan. And celebrate it certainly did.
The first event was the Hong Kong New Fashion Collection Award, being held for its third consecutive year. The show-cum-contest encouraged local companies to work with promising student designers to dispel the popular image of Hong Kong being a creativity-deprived manufacturing base. This year's contestants were given the option of entering their collections in either the occasional wear or daywear categories. There were prizes for the overall winner, the most creative, most marketable and for the best application of technology.
A total of 12 designers, who worked in tandem with their manufacturer sponsors, were shortlisted for final judging. Kitty Lam Ka-ki took home the overall winner award. The marketability awards went to Karen Cheng Sui-kam (occasional wear) and Cecilia Ma Sze-ki (daywear), while Mo Kwok-wah (daywear) and Winnie Chen (occasional wear) won the creativity honours. The best application of technology award was won by Lavinia Yeung Sze-man.
Hong Kong Fashion Splash, the show that followed the awards presentation, was a cocktail-fuelled fashion gala that featured the eclectic works of Hong Kong's fashion newcomers, established designers and Hong Kong-based fashion brand names.
'The objective of Fashion Splash was to have a party and bring happiness to the audience and that is why we've asked the participating designers to use bright colours to go in line with the joyous mood of the evening,' says Chan.
'We believe Government House has an historical value and was also a beautiful place to present the Spring-Summer 2004 collections.'
Because of time constraints, designers were asked to show only one or two outfits. A total of 50 designers and fashion labels paraded festive ensembles on a 'We Love Hong Kong' theme story in front of guest of honour, Betty Tung. Chow Tan Tan and Otto Tang, among designers representing the city's latest crop of emerging talent, opened the show with an upbeat selection of thirst-quenching colours and hard-edged tailoring. Chow's model strutted down the runway in a beaded green cowl neck strap top paired with a mid-calf A-line skirt. Tang presented a dynamic collection with metallic skin-tight leggings along with a neon pink top dripping with retro-inspired plastic beads.
Established designers such as Ruby Li, Henry Lau, Vivienne Tam and Virginia Lau featured a variety of psychedelic hued outfits. Li showed thigh-baring mini-dresses adorned with gleaming tassels, and Henry Lau, drawing inspiration from the 1970s, had Pucci lookalike prints on his fluid harem trousers.
Members of Hong Kong's Fashion Designer Association chose red as a uniform colour and featured a palette of saturated crimson, maroon and vibrant raspberry. 'We believe that red is symbolic of the heart, passion and charisma,' says veteran designer Walter Ma. 'And I think the colour goes quite well with the We Love Hong Kong theme.'
Drawing heavy references from the punk rock subculture, Ma presented a ruby coloured leather crochet top and spangling beaded fringe skirt, while Lu Lu Cheung steered away from her usual subdued colours and presented a double layered asymmetric fuchsia dress along with a scarlet miniskirt ensemble. 'It's very unlike the signature Lu Lu Cheung style,' says Cheung. 'But I wanted my collection to go with the theme of the evening and convey a certain level of heart-to-heart patriotism with my clothes.'
Inspired by the elements of fire and wood, Bonita Cheung showcased a burgundy tone Grecian dress paired with wooden accessories and Dorian Ho unveiled an elegant number featuring a sensual silk gown with an embroidered French lace floor-length skirt. 'I very rarely use red in my collections but I wanted to adhere to the theme of the night,' says Ho. 'It's a bit like east meets west and I have employed oriental embroideries in my design.'Brands such as Michel Rene, Baboon, Episode and Moiselle were the last to show in the evening, concluding the gala with a technicolour burst of versatile dresses and separates.
The TDC's decision to reduce the scale of this year's fashion shows was unprecedented but given the recent market downturn and the expected low turnout, most participating designers were receptive to the set-up.
According to Chan, many regular participants from South Korea and Southeast Asia were unable to attend the shows this season, In fact the South Korean government, which has regularly sponsored designers who participate in Hong Kong fashion shows, has suspended funding this season because of Sars.
'I think this season's arrangement was actually a good idea,' says Lu Lu Cheung. 'The small scale event has given us lot more time to focus on our business during the market downturn and we did not have to invest so much time and money in creating a comprehensive runway looks.'
Fashion week ends tomorrow. Buyers at the exhibition centre can place Spring-Summer 2004 orders and catch an up-close glimpse of the runway collections.
