Dress for Success at Hong Kong Fashion Week
Could the economy be good for dresses?
It seemed that way at Hong Kong Fashion Week’s seven runway shows for Spring/Summer 2010, where dresses were everywhere. Long ones, shorts ones, frilly ones, colorful ones.
Espen Salberg, a Norwegian who now lives in Indonesia, took his years of designing outfits for professional dancers and converted them into sumptuous cocktail dresses and evening gowns that could easily populate a fancy ball or a sophisticated soiree.
For designer Ali Charisma, also an Indonesian resident, draped fabric was the key for flowing gowns that at times were accented with shells and macrameacute; for an exotic island effect.
Veteran designer Ika, an Indonesian now living in Hong Kong, crafted a colorful collection that was big on diagonal piping and stitching that lent a unique flavor to her intricate dresses, tops and pants. She shared the runway with Japanese designer Kinji, another Indonesian resident. Kinji’s very plain, Zen-like creations contrasted sharply with Ika’s complex and colorful collection. Kinji veered toward plain fabrics in white and soft blues shaped into geometric silhouettes that were simple but stately.
Young Hong Kong designers showed how talented they were with off-the-wall designs as well as finely tuned collections. South Korean designers held a communal show that was also heavy on dresses and creativity. —Deborah Belgum
