Hands up all of you who have no interest whatsoever in yet another fashion programme? How many are bored to death with the vacuous confessions of professional clothes horses? I know I am not the only one, and yet here is another, a new British series called A La Mode (World, 8pm).
To be fair, A La Mode does range a little bit farther than VideoPlanetStyleMagazine 1998, the generic fashion half-hour filler we usually get. A lot of the interviews seem to have been chosen because the subjects have something interesting to say (this really is revolutionary in television fashion journalism), rather than something interesting to wear.
In tonight's opener, Hong Kong's own Greg Derham is featured, as 'the man who singlehandedly turned Hong Kong society on its head'.
Derham is one of the few Hong Kong style merchants who is genuinely original, and more important, amusing.
He is something of a press darling locally for exactly that reason, guaranteed to give a good quote on whatever subject comes up. He came here as a performer with his flamboyant drag act, then set up his own business House of Siren which produces costumes for all kinds of local events.
The makers of A La Mode might feel he turned Hong Kong on its head, but the reality, as Derham is the first to admit, is that Hong Kong gave him a chance to do what he always wanted to do. The handover might have been a disaster for a lot of tourism-related business, but for House of Siren, it was brilliant.
