Hidy Ng
With more than two decades in the fashion industry and a host of accolades to boot, local designer Hidy Ng’s clothes and accessories can be found in Paris, Milan, Tokyo and other fashion capitals of the world. She tells Adele Wong about wanting to dress Sammi Cheng and being a lazy workaholic.
Fashion design was my childhood love. Of course I didn’t really notice at the time, but thinking back, I was a very feminine girl. I had really long, wavy hair and wore lacy clothes [and] high heels.
I didn’t think I would go into fashion design, but I changed my mind after working in [the commercial sector] for two years. I thought that type of work was too boring. If I lived like that, I would grow mold, so I went back to school. While I was studying I got a job [in the fashion industry doing knitwear]. That’s how I started my career.
My Hidy N.G. collection [a label under knitwear manufacturer Co-Wear International, where Ng serves as chief designer] was started in 2003—that was the time of SARS and the wars in the Middle East. Before I started my collection, I was dedicated to doing feminine knitwear using nice, soft materials. The “feel” has never left the Hidy N.G. collections.
As a designer, I have no interest in running my own business. It’s difficult, and I’m lazy. I’m so hardworking [when it comes to designing], but I don’t want to be like designers who break a sweat and are in pain every day. I want to be happy when I work.
Design is not just about drawing a picture, making the clothes. There’s also a lot going in the background. For example, production needs to be smooth, fabrics need to be good, [the] marketing [team] also needs to promote to clients. It’s a big enterprise, not something that an individual designer can do.
I am practically based in Paris, because we launch our collection at Paris Fashion Week every year. So I need to be there about three times a year.
It’s been about 20 years since I joined Hong Kong Fashion Week. I’ve seen all the changes over the years.It used to be that a lot of European and American customers came, and now it’s more Asian customers. There used to be lots of famous supermodels at the shows. It was a very big deal back then. Whereas now, it’s a bit simpler.