FLORA Cheong-Leen has set herself a big task with her autumn/winter '95 fashion collection. 'I want to draw a line that depicts the modern world, the East meets West, the yin and yang of life.' She starts by including every conceivable fabric to represent 'the conglomeration of the world'. The next step is to only include what is useful and necessary and to reject the extra baggage - anything overly fancy, bright or just plain weird. This translates to a pared-down silhouette which is wearable but not without its fun elements. For example, a see-through knit under a fake fur jacket, or silk with leather and Chinese embroidery. A veritable melting pot of fashion influences from different cultures: merry England meets the mysterious Orient. 'I've always done Armani-like things for my stores, but this collection has given me the fun and witty side,' Cheong-Leen said. The individual pieces were still executive-style but, put together, they acquired a more cultivated look, she said. Cheong-Leen said people's clothes should become them and not the other way round and people should dress to suit themselves and not to fit in with a group or image. For her, this amalgam of different influences is the Hong Kong culture look. 'We are always scared to be Hong Kong people, but this is the way we are. Hong Kong people should be proud of who they are instead of always having to wear $20,000 Chanel or Armani or whatever.' She said that, in the modern world, people could not wear cheongsams every day and should not be afraid of being accused of copying the West, as all clothes had the same basics. In her new collection, the silhouette is fitted with small armholes and 'the look is all volume instead of flat. It's a round cut'. Jackets are prolific and come in all lengths, being versatile enough to go with jeans or wear if going out to dinner. Underneath jackets and coats are skirts of all lengths, shorts and trousers, and everything is mix and match. Shorts, for example, can be worn under a short jacket or under a coat. 'I don't want to create a trend for 1995. I'm not a trendy sort of designer,' Cheong-Leen said. 'I like classic basics.' Colours are classic browns, black and white, with the addition of sharp purple. Brocade-type prints are used mostly in jackets. Fabrics are a combination of natural and synthetic, with an emphasis on easy-care materials such as stretch lace and the new polyesters. Cheong-Leen saw her collection appealing to the person on the street, not to glamorous socialites. 'I have diversified my aim more to the world market than to the Hong Kong market,' she said. 'I want the world to see that the Hong Kong culture look is sophisticated.' Perhaps, surprisingly, she is not focusing her sights on Paris and London - where she considers selling is 'a matter of packaging yourself in the social limelight' - but is looking towards Asia and Brazil for the future.
