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China chic: Find out why this metropolis boasts the best fashion labels around!
Hong Kong: Asia's fashion and shopping mecca.
By Noreen Flanagan
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A look from Henry Lau
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Hong Kong designers are the new high-fashion players in a city known for its shop-'til-you-drop, label-loving style scene!
Check our ELLE's list of who's making China's fashion scene so vibrant!
Dorian Ho
Dorian Ho could have taken over his family's company and manufactured clothes for global brands like Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, but instead he went on to launch his own collection. His eponymous label, which made its debut five years ago at New York Fashion Week, is now sold at Lane Crawford -- Hong Kong's Holt Renfrew -- and Saks in NYC. While some local designers have been criticized for mimicking European designs, Ho argues that the blending of Eastern and Western influences was inevitable given the city's history: "It's a harsh reality that designers are criticized for incorporating foreign influences. Yet when Tom Ford took a Chinese cheongsam as the inspiration for his collection, the fashion world welcomed it with open arms."
Barney Cheng
When couture designer Barney Cheng returned to Hong Kong in the '90s, he admits there was a scarcity of local brands. "That's the reason I started my business here," he says. "I wanted to show the rest of the world that there is life outside of the big brand. Street fashion is burgeoning now. It started with one small, dilapidated building in Tsim Sha Tsui called the Beverly Centre, where the average-sized shop was less than 100 square feet. That was the birthplace for designers like Spy's Henry Lau, Madame Benji's Benjamin Lau, Ruby Li, Simone Ng, Silvio Chan and Yandy. The fashion scene is vibrant now."
Dennis Chan
In 1997, designer Dennis Chan returned to China to rediscover his roots. While touring the famous Dunhuang Caves in the Gobi Desert, he was mesmerized by the
frescoes and sketches on the walls. "It was such a rich cultural history, but then it stopped," he recalls. "There were no contemporary interpretations of these classic Chinese designs." When he returned to Hong Kong, his dream was to create Qeelin -- the first Chinese luxury jewellery brand. "'Qi' and 'lin' are Chinese characters that represent male and female, and a 'qilin' is a mythical creature that symbolizes balance and harmony," says Chan. His first collection, Wulu, was an "8"-shaped design based on the ancient gourd believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. In 2004, actress Maggie Cheung wore one
of his Wulu designs to the Cannes Film Festival; it was an instant hit. Chan's new collection is called Tien Di, meaning "heaven and earth." "The relationship between the sphere and the square is the perfect balance of yin and yang."
CONTEST! WIN a trip for two to the Hong Kong Shopping Festival! Click here for full details.
Photo courtesy of Henry Lau
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