Hong Kong fashion schools fill quality gap with practical courses

Sham Shui Po has had a long and illustrious history for both designers and craftsmen. The area is known historically for housing many of the city's garment factories during the heyday of Hong Kong manufacturing in the 1950s and '60s. Since then, many of these plants have now moved across the border to the mainland. The shops that remain sell trimmings and fabrics in a tired neighbourhood with old-fashioned charm.

Yet new energy is being injected into the area. One evening last month, fashion industry figures, students and parents descended on the neighbourhood to attend the inaugural fashion showcase by the Savannah College of Art and Design (Scad). The event displayed the diversity of fashion talent from the school, ranging from the avant-garde to the commercially sophisticated.

One student whose work was on display was Singaporean-born Dawn Bey, who is studying for a bachelor of fine arts degree in fashion design. Her look features construction and utility gear tailored into a fitted daytime look. "I chose to study at Scad as it was an American syllabus but set in an Asian culture," Bey says. "The mix of Asian and Western culture on the campus gives us a very international and open-minded environment, which is great for an art school."

The evening is significant because, more than anything else, it highlights the growing importance of creative education in Asia. A number of cities throughout the region, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Seoul, have seen increased growth in the sector in recent years.

They seek to hold the kind of cultural clout that other leading capitals in the West have long enjoyed.