Shoe designer Beatrix Ong on sustainability and being Sun Yat-sen's great-niece
London-based Ong, who grew up in Hong Kong, talks to Divia Harilela
"There is a lot of talent, but there's room to create more commercial prospects for local designers. Culturally, major European and American brands still dominate. Support for local businesses of any sort needs to come from local consumers."
"My business partners and I disagreed on some fundamental aspects of how the company should be run. I gained complete control of the business again a few years later, and it now runs exactly as I believe it should do - successfully, in a sustainable and responsible way."
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"The collection is the first we have produced using the new business structure, which was reconfigured to reduce as much waste as possible during and post production. We do this by making the product recyclable and reusable, as well as offering a pre-order service to customers, so we only produce what we need.
"The first style from the collection is WEN - it is a unisex style that I designed to be worn in as many different environments as possible. It was inspired by my great uncle [Sun Yat-sen], who spent most of his life travelling the world being 'invisible' due to threats on his life. I'm only launching one style at a time, which allows the consumer to really consider their purchase.
I don't think sustainability is a 'trend'. It is a necessity. Industries have been building themselves up to overproduce and undersell, fast.
"As a creative, it is much more satisfying to take your time and consider all the details of what you are designing, with the aim of that product lasting. You can create an item that has value."