Barney Cheng
IF YOU TAKE to the skies on Oasis, Hong Kong's new airline, next month, have a closer look at the crew's uniforms. Those practical, preppy-looking chinos and brightly coloured shirts are the work of award-winning fashion designer Barney Cheng. While they may seem like a long-haul departure from the couture evening dresses and bridal gowns that have made him a hit with the ladies who lunch, this 'urban holiday wear', as Cheng calls it, captures his preference for functionality.
Sitting in his slick SoHo studio wearing a fashionably bright Abercrombie & Fitch polo with jeans and trainers, Cheng's personal style exemplifies his belief that you don't have to forsake form for function. 'Just because something is comfortable, it doesn't mean it can't be the best it can be,' he says. 'Take these jeans I am wearing; they may look like ordinary jeans but they are custom finished. I chose the silhouette and where the distressing should be - cool, huh?'
Dressing casually takes confidence if you want to carry it off with style. For Cheng, who is about to turn 40, it is something that has come with age and a reputation for excellence that goes beyond appearances. 'I'm much more casual nowadays, mainly because I'm more comfortable in my own skin and have less to prove to others,' he says.
'I don't need a suit to let clients know that I mean business.'
Cheng's passion for fashion was born out of a desire 'to turn fantasy into something tangible,' he says. 'When I was young, we had a Shanghainese tailor who would come to our house with all this amazing fabric to make cheongsams for my mother - I loved the atmosphere when he arrived, it was like he was a magician transforming our home and everyone in it. When he left, everything would return to normal with everyone arguing. I decided then that I wanted his power to make everyone feel good.'
The decision to specialise in evening- and bridalwear also stemmed from his childhood, growing up as part of a large extended family where get-togethers were a time to shine. 'We'd gather for dinners and there would be 20 tables of Chengs,' he says. 'Everyone would get dressed up and I'd think, 'Why can't we be this pretty and nice all the time?''
You'll find Cheng's couture creations on the society pages and his ready-to-wear collections at high-end stores such as Lane Crawford, Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York and at his recently opened store, Celebrations by Barney Cheng, on Duddell Street in Central. 'Whatever the reason - a new job, a new husband, a new nose - you'll find something to celebrate with,' says Cheng about his shop, which sells his handmade jewellery and homeware alongside his favourite fashion pieces. 'I always want to focus on the happy moments. There are enough worries in life, I don't want to draw people's attention to them.'
When asked who he would most like to dress, Cheng says Isabella Blow, the self-confessed eccentric, stylist and milliner's muse. 'She is so quirky and I normally don't do that [kind of style],' says Cheng. 'My fashion is very classic so it would be an achievement for me to design something she could carry off.'
So nothing outrageous for us lesser style icons then? 'Clothing should flatter the wearer and fit their lifestyle,' Cheng says. 'For me, it's about taking what's now and interpreting that to suit my client's needs. If a bride is having a Forbidden City wedding, then the latest trend for Napoleonic-style dress really isn't going to work for her.'
Cheng didn't always posses such wisdom, and like the rest of us, he confesses to a fashion phase that still makes him cringe. 'Ah, the New Romantic university days,' he laughs.
'I looked like a total dweeb with hair extensions and flat pointy shoes.'
Today, Cheng says he goes less for trends but always for quality, cut and process: 'I'm much more interested in how a garment is made than who has been seen in it.' For Hong Kong women, Cheng says the new masculine/feminine cuts, particularly those influenced by Helmut Lang's slimmer silhouette, are perfect for the coming season: 'I like women in trousers, and they are perfect for Hong Kong women's lifestyle.'
Practising what he preaches, the female cabin crew of Oasis Hong Kong Airlines won't be wearing skirts. 'I've designed 'skorts' [shorts that look like skirts] for the women so they can move around with comfort and style,' says Cheng. Sounds like the start of a new trend.
