Asian Styles Hit the Street
HONG KONG—California’s casual style and urban streetwear had a definite influence on the creations that paraded down the runway at Hong Kong Fashion Week, held Jan. 15–18 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Other styles had a distinct Asian air, with long, frilly eveningwear, Korean-style traditional dresses and bright, tropical colors. In all, there were 20 fashion shows during the four-day event.
The first day on the catwalk made international news when animal-rights demonstrators interrupted a show shared by Hong Kong designers Cecilia Yau and Peter Lau. Four protesters unfurled signs in Chinese and English protesting Lau’s use of fur in his collection. The activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were whisked off the premises.
Making a return to the fashion scene was Bernard Foong, a Malaysian-born artist now living in Hawaii. After a six-year hiatus, he dazzled the audience with sophisticated styles in vivid prints that varied from a green-and-white tie-dyed shirt coupled with a brightly colored skirt to shimmering evening dresses. He shared the runway with Ika, a long-time friend and Indonesian-born designer who has been participating in Hong Kong Fashion Week since the 1980s. Her styles are marked by fabric with laser-cut designs and sandwiched in-and-out stitching that makes dresses and jackets hug the body.
Hong Kong designer William Tang dominated the stage one evening with a one-hour show that went from fine-pleated evening gowns to hip casualwear in day-glo colors. Because the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China is this summer, he resurrected his controversial 1997 collection, which consisted of mostly black-and-white creations covered with Chinese calligraphy.
—Deborah Belgum
