LET'S SAY YOU have a genuine interest in fashion design and would like to stitch together a career in the creation of frocks and gowns. What to do in Hong Kong? Study at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU) seems the first option. But what if you don't have the necessary academic requisites to enter post-secondary colleges?
'The city does not have much to offer in that respect,' sighs Hong Kong-based fashion designer Silvio Chan. He has just opened Alternatif, a 24-hour Mongkok workshop that aims to provide personal guidance to students who are interested in fashion design but lack the relevant credentials to get into accredited colleges.
'Most design students have great artistic talent but the creative atmosphere in Hong Kong is so under-developed that it is very difficult to bring such creativity out,' says Chan, who has a background in menswear tailoring. 'It doesn't make things any easier for them when most design schools are hard to get into and don't even provide the necessary facilities and one-on-one support for their students.'
Having graduated from the HKPU and London's Royal College of Art with design degrees in 1990 and 1994 respectively, Chan has become a driving force in the Hong Kong fashion arena.
With a forte in androgynous and geometric designs, Chan's collections have received local and international acclaim and the designer has been a regular participant at Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC)'s fashion events since the launch of his personal label, 37?2 in the morning, in 1995.
'Fashion is just something that I absolutely love,' says Chan. 'And I guess it's my love for design that has kept me going for so many years.'