'I don't really think there is just one Hong Kong style,' fashion designer Derek Lam says. 'It's an international place with many people who have travelled and experienced other cities, so the style is very international and mixed.' Best known for his contemporary take on feminine luxury, one that is neither precious nor pneumatic, New York-based Lam remains diplomatic about Hong Kong fashion.
His forte is the modern adaptation of classic and even vintage styles, by shifting the focus of sophisticated tailoring with whimsical use of colour, print and texture. With a growing international fan base, Lam, an alumnus of New York's prestigious Parsons design school, believes that 'good designs sell well internationally'.
Since 2006, Lam's homage to craftsmanship as creative director of Italian luxury brand Tod's (which is very popular in Asia) has shown him that 'there definitely is a market for more sophisticated fashion [in Asia], but maybe the people who are buying it are a little less obvious'.
When Lam first launched his label at New York Fashion Week in 2003, after 12 years at Michael Kors, the show created such a buzz that the city's biggest retailers, Barneys, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, rushed to place orders. He had captured the essence of luxurious womenswear without the stiffness and fuss.
In 2005, he won the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CDFA) Perry Ellis-Swarovski Award for emerging talent in womenswear and the Vogue/CDFA Fashion Fund Prize, and in 2007 he earned another CDFA award, for accessory designer of the year.
Now, after seven years of designing refined, urbane, playful fashion, he has exhibited at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Washington's Kennedy Centre, New York's Fashion Institute of Technology Museum and opened a second New York boutique.