https://www.scmp.com/rss/514755/feed Zoe Suen is a Hong Kong-born, London-based freelance writer, editor and consultant covering fashion and food. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Zoe Suen Zoe Suen Sometimes, the seeds for fashion’s most compelling shifts are sown far away from runways and high-end ateliers. For Johanna Parv, the London-based independent designer whose namesake brand merges the worlds of cycling and luxury fashion, the impulse built as she traversed the city on two wheels, seeing the way people had to awkwardly manipulate their outfit to avoid, say, getting a suit trouser or skirt hem caught in their bike chain. “A lot of functional sportswear is historically designed by... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3340441/luxury-sportswear-having-moment-niche-brands-redefine-workout-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3340441/luxury-sportswear-having-moment-niche-brands-redefine-workout-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:00:09 +0000 Zoe Suen Zoe Suen Faye Toogood had worked at London-based design bible The World of Interiors for eight years when she decided to leave the two-dimensional world of glossy magazines behind in favour of things she could grasp and shape. From her kitchen table, she sowed the seeds for a multidisciplinary design studio that, alongside interior design, played with food, fragrance, sound and light – an approach that is de rigueur now in our age of food stylists and multi-hyphenate creative directors, but which set her... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/design/article/3337444/british-designer-faye-toogood-her-humanist-playful-homeware-interiors-and-clothing-interview?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/design/article/3337444/british-designer-faye-toogood-her-humanist-playful-homeware-interiors-and-clothing-interview?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Dec 2025 23:00:09 +0000 Zoe Suen Zoe Suen When we think of leather, the description “machine washable” isn’t the first to come to mind, nor the word “T-shirt”. But French designer Aurélia Stouls, who launched her namesake label in 2004, has honed in on those exact criteria with a line of leather separates beyond trousers and jackets that, yes, you can chuck in the wash without damage. Stouls sat down with Style to chat all things leather, her daily uniform, and the one fashion item she’d never wear. How did you get interested in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3325134/how-stouls-redefined-leather-machine-washable-pieces?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3325134/how-stouls-redefined-leather-machine-washable-pieces?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Sep 2025 06:00:18 +0000 Zoe Suen Zoe Suen For millennia, humans have carefully harvested the delicate fibre that has given silkworms their name, and woven it into one of the most enduring luxuries besides gold itself. Indeed, in a world where fast fashion endangers any handcrafting left in the apparel industry, true silk – and what it represents – is likely to only become more valuable. Looking through recent runway collections, silk is omnipresent in its various weaves, from chiffon, organza and satin, to pure silk. Among the stand-out... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3316741/silk-shimmers-how-guccis-art-silk-campaign-julia-garner-chanels-investment-producer-mantero-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3316741/silk-shimmers-how-guccis-art-silk-campaign-julia-garner-chanels-investment-producer-mantero-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Jul 2025 22:00:09 +0000 Zoe Suen Zoe Suen What’s in a button? We tend to give them little thought. At most, we are irritated when one is lost or comes loose, dangling from the front of a coat or shirt. But like many of the fashion fixtures we take for granted, this unsung hero has a storied past – and present. Though most of our buttons are now rendered in plastic, wood, metal, pearl, horn and nut, the first ever button was probably made of shell. King & Allen, British bespoke tailors with outposts in Surrey, London, Cheshire and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3314585/button-chanel-and-prada-love-celebrate-oft-overlooked-fastening-maison-desrues-gods-true-cashmere?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3314585/button-chanel-and-prada-love-celebrate-oft-overlooked-fastening-maison-desrues-gods-true-cashmere?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jun 2025 22:00:09 +0000 Zoe Suen Zoe Suen Guests knew they were in for a treat when they walked into Senate House – the imposing academic building in London’s leafy Bloomsbury neighbourhood – ahead of Completedworks’ fashion week show. The mystery performance teased in invitations manifested as a dark comedy by playwright Laura Waldron, starring American actress Debi Mazar as Julia, a QVC-style presenter who yo-yos between her droll on-screen persona and a frenetic, but relatably human, inner monologue. Alongside Mazar’s anguished... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3313696/anna-jewsbury-creative-director-completedworks-jewellery-design-what-inspires-her-and-ethos-behind?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3313696/anna-jewsbury-creative-director-completedworks-jewellery-design-what-inspires-her-and-ethos-behind?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jun 2025 04:00:08 +0000 For thousands of years, gourmands have sought out truffles – considered a food of the gods – for their rich fragrance and woody flavour. Culinary use of the ingredient, which is technically the fruiting body of subterranean fungi, was documented in ancient Roman texts by Pliny the Elder, it was beloved by the Etruscans before that. Centuries later during the Renaissance, Italian noblewoman turned French queen Catherine de’ Medici brought the white truffle to the French court. And in 1954,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/beauty/beauty-news/article/3305775/how-truffles-are-revolutionising-skincare-court-catherine-de-medici-netflixs-dating-show-singles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/beauty/beauty-news/article/3305775/how-truffles-are-revolutionising-skincare-court-catherine-de-medici-netflixs-dating-show-singles?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Apr 2025 06:00:09 +0000 Fans of Leandra Medine, the OG blogger-turned-Substack-writer known for her zany personal style, may have noticed the New Yorker’s recent penchant for a particular accessory: a long diaphragm-length necklace suspending an operatic tassel, sandwiched by tonal onyx beads. That alone wouldn’t be much to write home about, but not only does Medine own several such tassel necklaces from Milan-based label, Le Sundial, seemingly so does every other well-heeled woman worth following on Instagram. The... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3304903/tassels-timelessness-and-their-21st-century-comeback-hailey-bieber-and-new-york-fashion-week-jazz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3304903/tassels-timelessness-and-their-21st-century-comeback-hailey-bieber-and-new-york-fashion-week-jazz?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Apr 2025 22:00:09 +0000 When was the first time you were sold something by a celebrity? Not literally, but you get the gist: think red lipsticks swiped on in slow-motion video; high-production perfume ads set against azure waters and rugged Italian coastlines; food supplements endorsed by lithe household names (many of whom are probably taking more than just vitamins to preserve their youthful looks). In today’s fashion landscape, starry ambassadors giving endorsements are so ubiquitous, it can be hard to keep track of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3300074/kim-kardashian-reps-balenciaga-and-dolce-gabbana-beyonce-sings-tiffany-jewels-rose-carries-saint?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3300074/kim-kardashian-reps-balenciaga-and-dolce-gabbana-beyonce-sings-tiffany-jewels-rose-carries-saint?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Feb 2025 23:00:09 +0000 We’ve all been warned against working with family and friends – “don’t mix business with pleasure” and less elegant versions of the saying have been repeated time and again. In the start-up age, industry publications have covered many a founder falling-out; dramatic and sudden exits have pervaded industries from tech to beauty to homewares. In fashion, however, a growing cohort of successful sister-led brands are proving naysayers wrong. “Of course, we sometimes have heated debates about what’s... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3298091/can-sisters-really-be-successful-business-partners-fashion-brands-manu-atelier-matteau-otiumberg-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3298091/can-sisters-really-be-successful-business-partners-fashion-brands-manu-atelier-matteau-otiumberg-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Feb 2025 08:00:11 +0000 From cocoon-like Issey Miyake separates to preppy school uniforms, pleats are ubiquitous when you really pay attention. For recent A-list examples, see Greta Lee and Saoirse Ronan, who each donned a pleated The Row gown in Los Angeles at the Lacma Art+Film Gala and at Elle’s annual Women in Hollywood event respectively. On the Emmys 2024 red carpet, Sofía Vergara was a vision in a red, micro-pleated custom gown by Dolce & Gabbana. While fashion has zigged and zagged as usual over the last... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/article/3298084/why-pleats-have-endured-ancient-greece-modern-fashion-designs-chanel-issey-miyake-fortuny-and-robert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/article/3298084/why-pleats-have-endured-ancient-greece-modern-fashion-designs-chanel-issey-miyake-fortuny-and-robert?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Feb 2025 23:00:17 +0000 During Copenhagen Fashion Week, I stopped by a chic space tripling as the boutique, office and workshop of local jewellery label Elhanati. Despite its location on the popular Bredgade thoroughfare, the hushed environs – a sleek fusion of Scandi and Italian postmodern design – provided welcome respite. I circled the displays with founder and designer Orit Elhanati, whose Danish and Middle Eastern roots inform the brand’s jewels. At one point, she showed me her latest release, a line of 18k solid... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/jewellery/article/3290659/zodiac-jewellery-enjoying-resurgence-how-jewellery-brands-van-cleef-arpels-are-tapping-astrology?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/jewellery/article/3290659/zodiac-jewellery-enjoying-resurgence-how-jewellery-brands-van-cleef-arpels-are-tapping-astrology?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Dec 2024 22:00:19 +0000 We’ve always told stories about ourselves with what we wear. In the 1700s, blue wool stockings were donned by the – yep – Blue Stockings Society, a cohort of elite Georgian women who met to discuss literature, politics and philosophy – discussions men deemed too serious for the fairer sex to contemplate. Blue stockings, seen as less formal than black or white silk stockings, were symbolic of the group’s eschewal of high society norms. In the 1850s, women’s rights reformist Amelia Bloomer... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3287738/idea-bookshops-angela-hill-fashionable-literary-merch-dua-lipas-winona-cap-keanu-and-i-dont-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3287738/idea-bookshops-angela-hill-fashionable-literary-merch-dua-lipas-winona-cap-keanu-and-i-dont-work?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Nov 2024 22:00:20 +0000 Walid al Damirji has been in the world of fashion for as long as he can remember – that is, excluding the time he left it, convinced he’d had enough. The British-Iraqi designer worked in buying, selling, and everything in between, for the likes of Joseph Ettedgui and Mrs B (of multi-brand stores Joseph and Browns, respectively), until he got fed up. “I set up a chain of bakeries and chocolate shops. But it just pulled me back in,” says al Damirji from his London studio, a veritable library of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3283326/how-fashion-brand-walid-came-be-british-iraqi-designer-walid-al-damirji-how-he-got-his-start-paris?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3283326/how-fashion-brand-walid-came-be-british-iraqi-designer-walid-al-damirji-how-he-got-his-start-paris?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Oct 2024 08:00:07 +0000 Now more than ever, fashion is rife with nostalgia – 1980s power suits, 1990s skinny brows and the noughties’ low-waisted jeans. But perhaps one of the most talked about comebacks is that of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which returned this week after a six-year break. Long-time angel Adriana Lima and icon Tyra Banks were back after six and 20 years respectively, alongside the likes of Candice Swanepoel and Behati Prinsloo; Cher performed and Lisa from Blackpink attended. The pink carpet... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3282564/how-victorias-secret-transformed-fashion-media-and-retail-us-new-book-explores-brands-impact-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3282564/how-victorias-secret-transformed-fashion-media-and-retail-us-new-book-explores-brands-impact-its?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Oct 2024 07:03:15 +0000 Media, and fashion media especially, loves dissecting a female politician’s outfits. What does her heel height say? What does the colour of her dress signal about her take on that hot-button topic? As US Vice-President and Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris takes on a gruelling schedule of campaign events, these are some of the questions on the lips of the sartorial set. To fully understand Harris’ wardrobe, you must look to her pre-White House past. Specifically, recall her... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3277927/what-kamala-harris-fashion-choices-really-say-presidential-pantsuits-chill-converse-trainers-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3277927/what-kamala-harris-fashion-choices-really-say-presidential-pantsuits-chill-converse-trainers-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Sep 2024 22:00:09 +0000 When Julia Khan Anselmo moved with her fiancé from Vancouver, Canada, to Amsterdam in 2017, she chose the Dutch capital largely for its convenience. Alongside its famously efficient and well-connected airport, the city felt like a perfect middle ground between Ireland and Spain, where his and her families live, respectively. “We didn’t have jobs, and we didn’t know anyone here. We just packed up our things and built our life here”, laughs Anselmo, who has her own fashion brand but is currently... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3277270/move-over-milan-paris-and-london-amsterdam-europes-new-capital-cool-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3277270/move-over-milan-paris-and-london-amsterdam-europes-new-capital-cool-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Sep 2024 04:45:07 +0000 Something clicked when New York-based Linda Cui Zhang, Nordstrom’s associate fashion director and one of the best dressed people I know, first glimpsed The Row’s now infamous comb necklace, which the American label debuted in 2023. Like many pieces by The Row, the palm-sized silver-coated brass comb, rendered into a pendant with the help of some black nappa leather cord, is out of many a shopper’s price range (a reseller on Vestiaire Collective is asking for almost HK$50,000). Instead, Zhang... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/fashion/article/3277177/how-it-became-hip-wear-everyday-objects-accessories-jewellery-designers-bridging-art-and-homeware?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/fashion/article/3277177/how-it-became-hip-wear-everyday-objects-accessories-jewellery-designers-bridging-art-and-homeware?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Sep 2024 04:45:12 +0000 Nuria Val worked as a photographer and creative director for years before she felt the entrepreneurial itch. Having done projects for clients such as Vogue, Chanel and Uniqlo, Val craved a longer-term undertaking she could truly call her own. “I felt a need to create something where I could say, ‘I do this’,” the Spanish creative tells the Post. She spent a year considering her options and looking through her archives – a process that showed her creative work was often related to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3275146/how-was-rowse-plant-powered-skincare-line-created-six-questions-founder-nuria-val?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3275146/how-was-rowse-plant-powered-skincare-line-created-six-questions-founder-nuria-val?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Aug 2024 08:15:07 +0000 We interact with fabrics every day: through what we wear, the cloths and towels we clean and dry our bodies with, the sheets we sleep on. But amid headlines about fast fashion, overconsumption and microplastics, we are increasingly aware of the implications of the clothes we buy for our bodies and the environment – and of the fact that ones made from innovative, responsibly sourced fabric are needed more than ever. At the spring/summer 2025 edition of Copenhagen Fashion Week, which took place in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3274415/earth-friendly-highlights-copenhagen-fashion-week-2025-recycled-silver-suits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3274415/earth-friendly-highlights-copenhagen-fashion-week-2025-recycled-silver-suits?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Aug 2024 09:15:12 +0000 Growing up in Hong Kong, Walden Lam didn’t plan on working in fashion, instead believing he would follow the more traditional path of a career in financial services. He graduated from university in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, which was a period of optimism surrounding action on climate change. He went into consulting, working with utilities companies, and this exposed him to the concepts of supply chains and retail expansion, and matters relating to climate change, particularly... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3268060/can-clothes-3d-woven-demand-curb-fashions-climate-impact-hong-kong-entrepreneurs-bet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3268060/can-clothes-3d-woven-demand-curb-fashions-climate-impact-hong-kong-entrepreneurs-bet?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2024 03:23:33 +0000 When Amy Trinh got engaged seven years ago, she looked for a dress … and looked, and kept on looking. Even in London’s most expensive bridal boutiques – the kind where many young women picture themselves making a great reveal to a gaggle of close girlfriends, champagne in hand – Trinh couldn’t find a dress that felt right. So the Central Saint Martins graduate enlisted her classmate Evan Phillips, and the duo, both working for fashion brands at the time, set out to make Trinh’s dream dress. The... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/article/3267332/wedding-dresses-you-wont-forget-wed-studio-bridalwear-marries-tradition-crazy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/article/3267332/wedding-dresses-you-wont-forget-wed-studio-bridalwear-marries-tradition-crazy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jun 2024 04:00:13 +0000 For those in the know, Emilia Wickstead is the woman to seek out for a great dress. But for those really in the know – and with a forgiving budget – she is also the one to look to for shoes, knits, separates, bridal fashion and homewares. Founded in 2008 by its eponymous New Zealand-born designer, the London-based brand has grown into a go-to for discerning brides and royalty, and has a 50-strong team. But according to Wickstead, who started the business in her living room at the age of 23 with... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3265175/emilia-wickstead-woman-it-every-woman-founder-designer-label-style-world-domination-and-her-wardrobe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3265175/emilia-wickstead-woman-it-every-woman-founder-designer-label-style-world-domination-and-her-wardrobe?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jun 2024 08:15:08 +0000 Hear the words “cashmere brand” and you are likely to think of a beige, cookie-cutter crew or V-neck. However, although Extreme Cashmere does do a timeless camel colourway and ultra-touchable jumpers, its offering is anything but beige or cookie-cutter. “I always had the idea to make one beautiful sweater,” says Saskia Dijkstra, who founded the Amsterdam-based label in 2016 after spending years working in manufacturing, which brought her to Hong Kong. She lived in the city for almost two decades... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3264514/cashmere-twist-inside-extreme-cashmere-hong-kong-born-amsterdam-based-label-giving-luxe-knit-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3264514/cashmere-twist-inside-extreme-cashmere-hong-kong-born-amsterdam-based-label-giving-luxe-knit-new?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2024 04:45:08 +0000 From double cleansing to aegyo-sal make-up to watery, serum-like sunscreens, products attesting to the global dominance of South Korean and Japanese beauty practices abound on digital marketplaces and social media. Now, in the wake of several merger and acquisition moves by key players, experts are more confident than ever that Chinese brands are following in the footsteps of “K-beauty” and “J-beauty”. In early February, L’Oréal announced its minority stake in Chinese fragrance brand To Summer.... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/beauty/trends/article/3264349/move-over-k-beauty-2024-year-c-beauty-trending-make-brands-flower-knows-and-jooycee-sensitive-skin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/beauty/trends/article/3264349/move-over-k-beauty-2024-year-c-beauty-trending-make-brands-flower-knows-and-jooycee-sensitive-skin?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 May 2024 04:00:16 +0000 Having lived and shopped through fashion media’s very loud obsession with “quiet luxury”, it is not hard to see why some commentators are calling for the return of “more is more”. Yet minimalism – with its toned-down palettes and clean silhouettes – endures. Just ask Nick Wakeman, the founder and creative director behind London-based Studio Nicholson. Known for its deep-pleated trousers and relaxed yet sculptural cuts, the brand is drawing discerning shoppers from across the globe. It is an “if... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3262783/studio-nicholson-founder-nick-wakeman-perfecting-modern-nostalgia-her-london-based-fashion-label?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3262783/studio-nicholson-founder-nick-wakeman-perfecting-modern-nostalgia-her-london-based-fashion-label?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 May 2024 09:15:13 +0000 Most people do not become globe-trotting models at the tender age of 15, and even fewer do so alongside their twin sibling – so Amalie and Cecilie Moosgaard already had an unusual introduction to the fashion industry. But the Copenhagen residents went a step further and launched a fashion brand together in late 2021, which they oversee as co-creative directors. Lié Studio, a play on the Danish pair’s names, was born as a jewellery brand producing ultra-wearable pieces that would not go out of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3262629/its-real-sister-act-meet-danish-twins-behind-buzzy-scandi-label-lie-studio-models-15-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3262629/its-real-sister-act-meet-danish-twins-behind-buzzy-scandi-label-lie-studio-models-15-now?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 May 2024 08:15:10 +0000 In our increasingly digital world of artificial intelligence and ubiquitous social media, the skill of artisans practising labour-intensive crafts is a mesmerising thing to witness. This explains why Tod’s, the Italian luxury brand known for its distinctive Gommino loafer, made a literal show of various crafts on the eve of the 60th Venice Biennale, an international art exhibition which opened to the public on April 20. The exhibition, titled “The Art of Craftsmanship”, was feted on April 19... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3260181/glass-and-gold-leaf-shoes-venetian-masks-inside-tods-venice-display-master-artisans-craftsmanship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3260181/glass-and-gold-leaf-shoes-venetian-masks-inside-tods-venice-display-master-artisans-craftsmanship?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Apr 2024 23:15:12 +0000 Fashion, beauty and art have always found common ground, as Korean artist Koo Jeong-a is well aware. Koo, the artist behind the South Korean pavilion at this month’s Venice Biennale in Italy, is known for transformative and large-scale installations that play with space and the senses. Curated by Lee Seol-hui and Jacob Fabricius, Koo’s Venice exhibition, titled “Odorama Cities”, will open on April 20 and evoke a portrait of the Korean peninsula through scent. For the project, the artist... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3259436/why-south-koreas-venice-biennale-2024-pavilion-smells-its-cities-meet-artist-and-loewe-model-koo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3259436/why-south-koreas-venice-biennale-2024-pavilion-smells-its-cities-meet-artist-and-loewe-model-koo?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Apr 2024 00:15:14 +0000 “It’s almost alive,” Nicolaj Reffstrup says of his wife Ditte’s handbag. The accessory, sat on our table and fashioned out of a pebbled leather-like material in a yellow-green hue, is not made with cowhide, but rather biowaste from harvested mango and other fruit. The waste is fermented, “comes out almost as a slime”, and is hardened before undergoing a tanning process, he reveals. This particular model hasn’t been coated so has an oxidised and aptly organic, marbled finish. We’re in an old... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3259292/growing-ganni-meet-couple-behind-denmarks-kooky-sustainable-fashion-brand-ditte-and-nicolaj?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3259292/growing-ganni-meet-couple-behind-denmarks-kooky-sustainable-fashion-brand-ditte-and-nicolaj?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Apr 2024 04:00:25 +0000 Kristina Blahnik, CEO of iconic footwear brand Manolo Blahnik and the eponymous designer’s niece, jokes about having a 500-year plan. But a sit-down with the exec suggests there’s truth in the jest. “It’s been 15 years since I officially stepped into the role, but I’ve been lingering around since I was six years old,” Blahnik tells Style, while perched in the business’ spanking-new London headquarters, located a stone’s throw away from her uncle’s design studio. As we speak, the 81-year-old is... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3258487/kristina-blahnik-building-uncle-manolo-blahniks-legacy-second-gen-ceo-talks-growing-shoebox-why?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/fashion-news/article/3258487/kristina-blahnik-building-uncle-manolo-blahniks-legacy-second-gen-ceo-talks-growing-shoebox-why?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Apr 2024 02:00:20 +0000 In an industry driven by aspiration and egos, the prototypical fashion designer is often a larger-than-life figure. But Ryota Iwai, the man behind buzzy Japanese slow fashion label Auralee, is anything but. The graduate of Tokyo’s Bunka Fashion College founded Auralee in 2015 and it has quietly become one of Japan’s coolest labels. Known for bridging fluid, ultra-wearable silhouettes with meticulously considered textiles in creative colour palettes, Iwai prefers to let his clothes speak for... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3257987/auralee-one-coolest-japanese-fashion-labels-meet-designer-behind-it-ryota-iwai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3257987/auralee-one-coolest-japanese-fashion-labels-meet-designer-behind-it-ryota-iwai?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Apr 2024 08:15:12 +0000 Violette Serrat is changing the way people think about make-up. The founder of Violette_FR, who is also creative director of make-up at luxury brand Guerlain, is obsessed with colour, texture and bold experimentation. From rose-inspired lips to glittery disco eyes, the Parisian make-up artist’s approach to beauty is all about pairing playful statements with expert formulations. Ahead of the launch of her brand’s new Bisou Blush shade, Mélanie, the Post caught up with the entrepreneur to find out... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3255207/im-influencing-french-aesthetic-violettefr-founder-violette-serrat-bucking-trends-and-how-make?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3255207/im-influencing-french-aesthetic-violettefr-founder-violette-serrat-bucking-trends-and-how-make?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Mar 2024 23:45:09 +0000 The Saks Potts autumn/winter 2024 show, which rounded out the first day of Copenhagen Fashion Week, in late January, was unusual for several reasons. In a sharp departure from the brand’s 4,000-strong guest lists of seasons past, it took place in the back of the Danish label’s boutique, with some 50 editors, buyers and influencers huddling around its perimeter as models promenaded to the centre, posed and exited. Secondly, it had a waiting list; there were keen teens and friends of attendees... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/fashion/article/3255189/grunge-meets-bohemian-theme-autumn/winter-24-collection-saks-potts-arbiters-scandi-cool-whose?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/fashion/article/3255189/grunge-meets-bohemian-theme-autumn/winter-24-collection-saks-potts-arbiters-scandi-cool-whose?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Mar 2024 10:15:12 +0000 Clio Peppiatt is moving on up, quite literally. On the day of our lunch meeting, she was in the middle of relocating her team from their studio to a larger space. “We moved into our current studio last January [2023]. It’s quite big so I thought we’ll be here for a few years. Lo and behold, we’ve outgrown it,” says the Paris-born, London-based designer. Peppiatt’s team is on track to grow to as many as 12 people by the end of the year, up from just two in January 2023 – a sign of how quickly the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3254233/she-designed-taylor-swifts-34th-birthday-dress-and-has-been-worn-rose-emma-chamberlain-kim?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3254233/she-designed-taylor-swifts-34th-birthday-dress-and-has-been-worn-rose-emma-chamberlain-kim?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Mar 2024 23:15:15 +0000 Unlike Chanel’s Paris flagship boutique on Rue Cambon, the luxury house’s haute couture ateliers are trickier to spot: they sit astride a quintessentially Parisian staircase behind a nondescript, logo-free door on Rue Duphot. We visit on a Friday in January so wintry that it renders the city’s popular terrasses unusually bare. But the ateliers are abuzz with activity and the hum of sewing machines, as its artisans – known also as petites mains, or little hands – put the finishing touches on... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3252850/how-does-chanel-haute-couture-get-made-ahead-paris-fashion-week-we-toured-fashion-houses-french?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3252850/how-does-chanel-haute-couture-get-made-ahead-paris-fashion-week-we-toured-fashion-houses-french?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Mar 2024 02:00:10 +0000 Copenhagen Fashion Week (CPHFW) is not your mother’s fashion showcase. The five-day event, held in late January, not only spotlights new talent but has a focus on responsible business and sustainability – factors that, over the years, have helped it cultivate a tight-knit yet growing community and, with it, a sense of kinship and optimism. “To many people, our industry looks like a bubble of glossy dreams far away from reality,” said CPHFW chief executive Cecilie Thorsmark in her opening... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3251752/7-trends-copenhagen-fashion-week-autumn/winter-2024-shades-barbie-pink-big-bags-gloves-knits-fun?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3251752/7-trends-copenhagen-fashion-week-autumn/winter-2024-shades-barbie-pink-big-bags-gloves-knits-fun?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Feb 2024 20:15:17 +0000 Most people with an algorithm handy or even a tenuous enjoyment of fashion have basked in the phenomenon that is the celebrity “fashion girlie”. Exhibits A-D: Rihanna, Chloë Sevigny, Hunter Schafer and Taylor Russell – famous faces who exemplify the buzzword by donning surreal Schiaparelli and Loewe creations, swathes of archive Alaïa, or waist-cinching Mugler frocks. This growing cohort cements the end of celebrity dressing as simply the pursuit of hotness – as dictated by the male gaze,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3250263/bigger-fashion-why-taylor-swift-will-never-be-style-icon-billionaire-star-has-never-collaborated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3250263/bigger-fashion-why-taylor-swift-will-never-be-style-icon-billionaire-star-has-never-collaborated?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Feb 2024 00:00:15 +0000 When London-based designer Olivia von Halle launched her namesake label, the fashion world revolved around a very specific kind of va-va-voom. “It was the end of the noughties, so it was all about tight Hervé Léger bandage dresses, huge six-inch Christian Louboutin heels. It was really uncomfortable, and very exposing,” von Halle tells Style in the bubblegum-pink reception room of her West London home. Brad Pitt’s gem-toting plaid shirts even use diamonds for buttons The designer, who at the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3248618/how-sleepwear-became-eveningwear-list-celebrities-margot-robbie-and-angelina-jolie-victoria-beckham?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3248618/how-sleepwear-became-eveningwear-list-celebrities-margot-robbie-and-angelina-jolie-victoria-beckham?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jan 2024 07:50:24 +0000 Save for a brief stint in the 2010s – when paparazzi captured the likes of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian in chunky belts with flowy bohemian tops – belts have flown under the womenswear radar for a decade, for better or worse. That was the case until recent years, when the accessory started making a splash on fashion’s most talked-about runways. Yes, we can theorise that the rise of investment-minded shopping (in driving purchases of timeless clothes and accessories with higher cost-per-wear)... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3245698/belts-are-back-miu-miu-diesels-controversial-belt-skirt-most-practical-accessories-returns-buckling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3245698/belts-are-back-miu-miu-diesels-controversial-belt-skirt-most-practical-accessories-returns-buckling?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Dec 2023 04:00:11 +0000 Gab Waller had her eureka moment five years ago, when she was visiting Los Angeles and perusing the city’s luxury fashion boutiques. “I thought, Oh they have so much stock here that I know Australia doesn’t have – and [that] I could bring those pieces to the Australian market,” remembers Waller, who was based in Sydney and working as a stylist at the time. She returned to the southern hemisphere with a new-found goal: to source for her fellow Australians from the US and Europe. But half a decade... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3242553/keeping-khloe-kardashian-and-chiara-ferragni-current-meet-sourcing-gurus-gab-waller-jennifer-nisan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3242553/keeping-khloe-kardashian-and-chiara-ferragni-current-meet-sourcing-gurus-gab-waller-jennifer-nisan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Nov 2023 00:00:17 +0000 Launched by Hong Kong native Claire Robertson-Macleod in 2019, Tank Air has cultivated a fervent following among young women thanks to its sultry sculpting separates that recall 1990s and Y2K fashion while feeling modern and irreverent. Bella Hadid and Olivia Rodrigo are among the Los Angeles-based brand’s famous patrons. Thai-English Robertson-Macleod grew up sourcing fabrics in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, for her aunt’s Thai fashion label. After studying in London and the United States, she moved... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/fashion/article/3239294/tank-air-worn-bella-hadid-and-olivia-rodrigo-story-behind-brand-and-its-sultry-sculpting-separates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/fashion/article/3239294/tank-air-worn-bella-hadid-and-olivia-rodrigo-story-behind-brand-and-its-sultry-sculpting-separates?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Oct 2023 23:45:08 +0000 Inspiration struck Lily Atherton Hanbury during 2015’s Venice Biennale. “It was the year one of my favourite artists, Sarah Lucas, was representing the British Pavilion and there was so much to see every day and to do at night, with no downtime or really even time to change,” Hanbury tells Style. It was during that trip that she and business partner Katya Shyfrin fell in love with the Venetian slipper (also known as the Friulane), which the duo found to be versatile, comfortable and chic. The... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3237249/sole-searching-behind-timeless-appeal-venetian-slippers-kate-moss-and-katie-holmes-kanye-west-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3237249/sole-searching-behind-timeless-appeal-venetian-slippers-kate-moss-and-katie-holmes-kanye-west-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Oct 2023 07:00:10 +0000 As someone who works from home, the blurring of lines between ready-to-wear fashion and pyjamas is a triumph. Seminal examples of pyjama dressing are not hard to find, least of all in Hollywood: there is Grace Kelly’s (albeit extremely polished and elegant) pearlescent nightgown and negligee in Rear Window; Sophia Loren’s buttery yellow set in A Countess From Hong Kong; and Audrey Hepburn’s oversized men’s shirt and eye mask à la Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I remember falling in love with the lacy,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3232921/bella-hadids-boxers-zoe-kravitzs-slip-dress-sleepwear-daywear-very-much-fashion-how-make-pyjamas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3232921/bella-hadids-boxers-zoe-kravitzs-slip-dress-sleepwear-daywear-very-much-fashion-how-make-pyjamas?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Sep 2023 10:15:14 +0000 You would guess that Molly Goddard – the British designer known for her huge smocked dresses in vibrant shades – enjoyed dressing up as a child. Unsurprisingly, her creations manage to inspire that nostalgic sense of fantasy in adult women; I don’t doubt that even the most tulle-averse of us would don one her signature frocks for the sake of it. However, Goddard, who was born in the late 80s and grew up around London’s Portobello Road, famous for its street markets, describes her younger self as... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3231296/british-designer-molly-goddard-her-vibrant-feminine-fashion-amid-quiet-luxury-styles-she-creates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3231296/british-designer-molly-goddard-her-vibrant-feminine-fashion-amid-quiet-luxury-styles-she-creates?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Aug 2023 20:00:10 +0000 To the casual eye, the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana (PDCI) – the Colosseum-inspired icon of Italian fascist architecture in Rome’s Esposizione Universale Roma district – strikes one as an interesting place to house “The Great Theatre of Civilisations”, an exhibition celebrating the career of sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. Visitors can glimpse the PDCI as they journey from Fiumicino airport to Rome’s city centre, but its facade is especially imposing when viewed in person. Seeing the building’s... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3220839/fendi-backed-celebration-italian-sculptor-arnaldo-pomodoros-work-spans-theatre-costumes-set-designs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3220839/fendi-backed-celebration-italian-sculptor-arnaldo-pomodoros-work-spans-theatre-costumes-set-designs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 May 2023 04:15:08 +0000 When Emily Oberg first started an Instagram account under the handle @sportyandrich, she thought it would make a good mood board for her life. “It was an amalgamation of things: places I wanted to travel, things I wanted to own, houses I wanted to live in,” Oberg says. Little did she know that, within four years, Sporty & Rich would be an athleisure brand and the Instagram page full of imagery from its own campaigns, and from collaborations with household names in athleisure like Prince and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3218098/adidas-worked-her-and-hailey-bieber-wears-her-clothes-how-entrepreneur-emily-oberg-grew-her?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3218098/adidas-worked-her-and-hailey-bieber-wears-her-clothes-how-entrepreneur-emily-oberg-grew-her?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Apr 2023 11:15:15 +0000 Sophie Bille Brahe has always preferred to express herself with her hands. But rather than wild gesticulations, her mode of communication takes the form of intricate jewellery, often encrusted with pearls or diamonds, which she designs at her studio in Copenhagen, Denmark. “I could talk you through all my collections and it will almost explain my life in the last 10 years,” she says. “I can see, when looking back, that they helped organise my thoughts. It’s my way of understanding the world and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3216082/what-scandinavian-design-diamond-jewellery-form-looks-sophie-bille-brahes-practical-yet-celestial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3216082/what-scandinavian-design-diamond-jewellery-form-looks-sophie-bille-brahes-practical-yet-celestial?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Apr 2023 11:15:15 +0000 As a young child, Lisa Von Tang craved cultural diversity. Born in Winnipeg, Canada, to a Chinese mum from Xiamen and a German dad, she spent her early years living on the prairie before moving to a tiny town named Swan River 500km northwest of the city, followed by a stint in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. “It’s not the sexiest place fashion designers are usually born,” she says with a laugh, adding that her mother was often the only Chinese person in town. “This is not your average... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3214519/wong-kar-wai-films-inspired-her-fashion-designers-chinese-style-looks-are-woman-who-free-spirit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3214519/wong-kar-wai-films-inspired-her-fashion-designers-chinese-style-looks-are-woman-who-free-spirit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Mar 2023 03:15:09 +0000 As a young child, Nicholas Edward Choi saw himself following a conventional Hong Kong career path. “I always imagined myself going into Central, with all the fancy office buildings,” he tells the Post. Little did he know that he would begin fencing by the age of nine, let alone that he would eventually become a professional fencer, on track to represent Hong Kong in his second Olympic Games. Choi, who was raised in Hong Kong by a Korean-Chinese father and a Filipino mother, came to fencing as an... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3213354/enjoy-every-moment-fencing-fashion-week-meet-olympic-athlete-nicholas-edward-choi-who-uses-style-de?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3213354/enjoy-every-moment-fencing-fashion-week-meet-olympic-athlete-nicholas-edward-choi-who-uses-style-de?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Mar 2023 23:15:11 +0000