Price-sensitive luxury helps London-based label Self-Portrait build global following

It’s the price point that has made Han Chong’s fashion brand, Self-Portrait, resonate so much and so quickly in the two-and-a-bit years of its existence. Take the label’s first eyewear collection, produced in collaboration with Australian brand Le Specs: each pair of sunglasses is priced at just over HK$1,000. The glasses - five models, each available in three colours - are sharp and unisex, as befits Self-Portrait’s youthful, contemporary look.

The sunglasses collection is part of Malaysian-born Chong’s expansion of the brand to capitalise on the spectacular reception its signature, cool girl lace dresses have had, which also includes a bridal collection and an exclusive, all-white capsule collection at Lane Crawford.

The collaboration between Self-Portrait and Le Specs began when Chong was introduced to the eyewear brand’s designer, Hamish Tame.

“I thought that he was doing something different in the market in terms of positioning, price point and the level of detail [in products],” recalls Tame. “That’s why it felt like a cool match for Le Specs.”

Chong, who has a collection of glasses at home, had always wanted to design sunglasses.

“And so when the opportunity came up, I was like ‘let’s do it!’ I wanted to create sunglasses that were feminine, romantic and at the same time modern.”