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THE fair-haired young Englishman who buzzed around the booths at Hong Kong Fashion Week 94 in January collecting business cards and brochures wouldn't have rated a second glance.

  Not a buyer; more likely a student, exhibitors probably thought, cursorily noting his youth and keen interest.

  Ex-student, if you please. At the ripe age of 24, Rory Wykes, fashion graduate of the University of Central Lancashire, is an up-and-coming designer of unusual tenacity.

  He proved it in London by landing two challenging positions in the garment trade at the height of the recession. Not content with that, he came to Hong Kong and almost immediately hit pay dirt.

  With his new job, he has also broken fresh ground in a most unlikely territory: the first menswear designer - and indeed the first European - ever hired by Chinese Arts & Crafts (HK) Ltd (CAC), the department store chain best known for its traditional wares from the mainland, though recent years have seen the addition of luxury goods from the West.

  ''Sheer luck. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,'' said Wykes this week at CAC's garment headquarters in Hunghom as he worked on the finishing touches for his debut collection.

  The smart-casual range for autumn-winter 1994-95 is scheduled for release in CAC's six local branches in September - there are also plans to market it in Harbin, northern China - and will bear the label Giuliano.

  ''It has been in existence for a while, though till now it has been used as stock merchandise for men,'' says design boss for CAC, Patdring Wong. ''We hope Rory's clothes do well. We'll be selling them alongside major labels like Pierre Cardin.''   The decision to take on a menswear designer was made at the beginning of the year. Advertisements were placed in the local press, but drew no suitable candidate. Then Ms Wong found herself chatting to the eager young Briton who had lingered at CAC's stand during Fashion Week and decided to test him out.

  ''Have a good look at our shops, then come back and we'll talk again,'' she said. Mission accomplished, Wykes re-presented himself and was offered the job.

  It wasn't just luck. Trained in London where she spent five years, Pat Wong knew all about the competition Rory Wykes had faced after graduation and was impressed. She also warmed to his sense of adventure. An adaptable young man, felt Ms Wong. She was right.

  ''Until I was seven, I lived in Venezuela and Brazil where my father farmed beef cattle,'' says Wykes. ''He's now retired to Yorkshire, but still has a small holding.

  ''I was sent to school in Cambridge, but moved back to South America at 16, so I had plenty of overseas experience both as a child and as a teenager.

  ''No one else in the family has any interest in farming. Like me, my sister Kate is in fashion. She designs hats in Cambridge and has done very well. Lots of ladies who lunch over there.''   Fashion degree secured - ''I did a four-year course which included a year in industry'' - Rory Wykes headed for London where, like many a fledgling designer, he found himself having to compromise.

  ''My first job was with a fashion public relations firm where I dealt mainly with the commercial side of the garment industry, then was taken on as an assistant menswear designer by John McKittrick.

  ''He started the clothes line for Red Or Dead back in the 80s - until then, they had done accessories - then after he split from them, launched his own label.

  ''It's still quite a small company, but doing well. I enjoyed working there.''   It's been a quantum leap from McKittrick's laid-back casuals (a bit like John Richmond's) to CAC. Relaxed, but classic, was the brief. Wykes' solution has been a collection which wouldn't threaten even the most conservative male, though he hasn't been entirely tame.

  For day, the range includes some of the major trends currently hitting Europe including moleskin pants, grandad shirts, fishing jackets and big check wool toppers. Dressier wear is mostly classic, though glamour boys will love Wykes' luxurious Italian velvet jacket in subtle checks of green and red.

  Prices have been kept deliberately reasonable in order to test the market, though the often modest tags are no reflection of styling or fabrics.

  ''All our suitings are from Europe and other materials, like the Japanese waxed cotton and Chinese silks, are top quality,'' assures Wykes. ''The colours - lots of greens and browns - have been inspired by the English countryside. I thought it was kind of appropriate to use something of my own heritage for my first collection in Hong Kong.''   There has been some culture shock, starting with Hong Kong Fashion Week. ''What struck me immediately,'' recalls Rory Wykes, ''was the tremendous emphasis on commercialism. I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, local design is fairly unadventurous, yet you could also say Hong Kong is the very heart and soul of fashion - right there in the marketplace.

  ''Menswear is almost entirely business-minded; all very much geared to power-dressing. Hong Kong has its own little 80s scene going on, minus the exaggerated shoulder pads.

  ''It's very dull among the older generation and though the kids are following trends like hip-hop, the thing that's baffled me is that there is no evidence of a sub-culture.

  ''Hong Kong people, young and old, seem to take fashion quite literally and there are no high street hybrids of the kind you see in Europe, especially in England where there are so many ideas to diffuse and from which to take inspiration.

  ''Here, all the boutiques seem to carry almost identical merchandise, with the result that it explodes into a sort of mass uniform and makes shopping very depressing - everything is so alike and often very expensive.

  ''Apart from a few exceptions, there's almost no middle market in retail fashion and I feel there's a big gap to be filled.

  ''Labels are what sell here. In that sense, Hong Kong is a perfect fashion society, with everyone following what's dictated, but it's not much fun.''   Working at CAC is definitely diverting.

  ''I'm enjoying it tremendously, but being the only gweilo in a sea of Chinese feels a bit odd, so I'm thinking of learning Mandarin.''   An excellent idea. Coming up soon for the menswear designer will be a familiarisation trip to the mainland. Even more exciting, CAC has plans to open stores in Beijing and Shanghai - complete with Rory Wykes' collections.

Models: Jimmy and Steven of Calcarrie's 



Full of Western promise