AROXTA is a dedicated online emporium showcasing the latest fashion creations by independent and emerging designers from across the world. AROXTA is an exciting platform for fashion exchange and where cutting-edge designs will be sought. The online retailer aims to present a fresh perspective through showcasing new talent in the design and fashion arena. AROXTA offers inspired luxury to women who seek to stay on trend without breaking the bank, filling a vital gap between high-end designs and budget fashion. Merchandise is carefully sourced and curated into refined collections. AROXTA brands ‘With our passion for fashion, we endeavour to make AROXTA a platform for nurturing young designers. Our designers are committed to crafting unique pieces by blending aesthetics, style and functionality. We are a one-stop-shop created to meet all your fashion needs by bringing versatile and timeless pieces to your wardrobe. ‘The selection is curated and edited by a multi cultural team of fashion forward individuals, bloggers, collectors and editors, who seek to bring inspired luxury and style to everyone. Our team travels worldwide to find the best for all our shoppers and put them all in one easy place to shop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
HONG KONG RAFFLES SCHOOL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION Established in 2008, Raffles Hong Kong provides comprehensive and sought after Design and Commerce Bachelor Degree
programmes for students from all over the world. We offer Bachelor Degree programmes in Fashion Design, Fashion Marketing, Interior Design, Graphic Design,
and Commerce. Students enrolled in Raffles benefit from a quality education, with a curriculum designed to give wellrounded hands-on experience relevant to the industry. This is made possible by a team of international highly-qualified and dedicated creative practitioners committed to uncovering students’ potential. Raffles Hong Kong is part of the Singapore mainboard listed Raffles Education Corporation, the largest private education provider in the Asia Pacific. Established in 1990, the Group now has 34 colleges in 31 cities across 12 countries in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. In 2013, we were ranked within the top 50 fashion colleges in the world. At Raffles, our students’ success is our success.
AROXTA believes in supporting and nurturing upcoming young talent. AROXTA has created the SPOTLIGHT programme to offer a unique opportunity for young brands and designers to be heard and the platform they deserve when entering into this fiercely competitive market place.
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PARTICIPANTS
Jennifer Chan / Designer
Brandon Ho / Designer
Jethro Yuen / Designer
Anuradha Haldar / Designer
Rachel Ching / Designer
Ringo Ho / Designer
Ksenia Lebedeva / Designer
Peony Wong / Designer
Chloe Wong / Designer
From the left: Uma Preve and Ling.W (PR), Grace.K and Elie Yoon (Social Media), Eirene Yeung (Social Media), Amy.C, Liang Shan Shan Daisy and Jacqueline Kwan (PR), Tanushree Chatterjee and Claudia.L (PR), Vivian.W (Social Media), Sally Leung (PR), Jenny Chan (Social Media), Alisha Rai (Fashion Editor)
Graham Van Dyke/ Designer
Samuel Darsono / Designer
Natalie Fung / Designer
Charlene Enaje / Designer
Grace CY Lam / Guest Speaker
Cindy Xie / Guest Speaker
Carmela Fernandez / Guest Speaker
Visala Wong / Guest Speaker
Sue Suh / Guest Speaker
Alisha Rai / Fashion Editor
Magazine design: Jana Dambekalne, Chloe Wong, Rachel Ching, Natalie Fung, Peony Wong, Jennifer Chan, Jethro Yuen, Ringo Ko, Anuradha Haldar, Karen Siu Photographer: Krisha Sia, Fabian Tuen Stylist: Cindy Xie and Sumbul Abid Editor-in-Chief:Thomas Empson; Art Director: Jana Dambekalne (www.dazime.com)
CONTENT TALKS/GUEST SPEAKER
FASHION MARKETING/BRANDING
GRAPHIC DESIGN/PRODUCTS
AROXTA/BRANDS
URBAN COUTURE GET THE LOOK
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Talks/Guest Speaker
Print-Amorphosis Visala Wong Area of Specialism
Fashion Blogger/Jewellery Designer www.v-for-visala.com
“Today I woke up and suddenly realised that there’s only black, white and a bit of grey in my wardrobe.” “That girl over there looks so chic with those cool prints. I wish I could pull it off the same way she does.” Sound familiar? If so, come and join fellow fashion enthusiast and blogger Visala as she shares her style secrets of wearing prints like an it girl! Blogger Visala, armed with a unique name, was inspired to start VforVisala.com; a fashion and lifestyle blog that showcases Visala’s “why not?” approach to her closet and beyond. She is the girl who dares to explore and experience; the girl with pink and purple hair (before cutting it short in a moment of “why not!”); the girl who dares to go beyond fashion blogging in pursuit of becoming a stylist, an art director, a photographer, a designer, a magazine contributor... and more! With her passion as her compass, she has found and made her own way in the Hong Kong fashion industry. The fashion blogger would love to share with you a few of her favourite contemporary designer labels as well as fashion forward styling tips, shedding some SPOTLIGHT on one of the most challenging yet fascinating fashion statements you need to know - PRINTS. 8
Talks/Guest Speaker
Designing Menswear Sport-Lux Streetwear Sue Suh Area of Specialism
Menswear Designer www.8cuff.com
Sue Suh is about to graduate from Raffles Hong Kong with a BDes Degree in Fashion Design. Following winning Brand Ready Award and Collection of the Year Award 2014 at Raffles’ House Show at Hong Kong Fashion Week, SPOTLIGHT welcomes Sue along to talk more about Designing Sport-Lux Streetwear for the menswear market. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Sue was raised in Shanghai, and spends much of her time commuting between Shanghai, South Korea and Hong Kong while launching her menswear label :8CUFF. Her work is Sport-Lux Streetwear, inspired by social issues. Her debut collection is called ‘Watchmen’, inspired by the graphic novel Watchmen; with its unique portrayal of corruption and immoral antiheroes. Structured symmetrical shapes underpin the collection, with emphases on strong features including the usage of neoprene, leathers and techno-textiles, in jackets that utilize innovative construction techniques so that they hold their own exaggerated proportions around and above the body. We were lucky enough to grab a few minutes from Sue’s hectic schedule to find out about her collection.
What is your collection about? The collection is inspired by the graphic novel ‘Watchmen’. The designs reflect the notion of corrupt superheroes and combine this with references to immorality within our society. This is also a metaphor to question the ethics of the modern fashion industry.
What inspired the styling for your catwalk show? I wanted to show the weakness of humans by exaggerating the
silhouette with armoured accessories. I used camouflage prints in rave hues to reflect how consumers hide behind fashion without an awareness of the corrupt powers that guide our decisions.
Who is the :8CUFF customer? Both men and women can wear my garments; whoever has their own statement to make. 9
Talks/Guest Speaker
Designing Womenswear Couture Grace CY Lam Area of Specialism
Womenswear Designer
www.notjustalabel.com/gracecylam
Having recently shown her latest collection at Hong Kong Fashion Week, July 2014, Grace CY Lam is in her third year of Bachelor in Design majoring in Fashion Design at Raffles Hong Kong. Earlier in 2014 Grace upheld an internship at Donna Karan supporting the Hong Kong design team. A proud mother of one little boy, Grace offers an eclectic background that has helped shape her unique style in high-fashion womenswear. SPOTLIGHT is delighted to invite Grace CY Lam to give a private talk discussing designing high-fashion and her most recent collection ‘Constance’. We took some time to find out more about Grace and Constance.
Tell us a bit about your background? Well I am originally from Hong Kong but spent most of my life growing up abroad. My earlier childhood was spent in Brisbane, Australia. I later moved with my family to Vancouver, Canada, where I attended the University of British Columbia in Fine Arts, Majoring in Painting. I came back to Hong Kong, where I got my Diploma qualification in Legal Studies but I couldn’t contain my creative side. I was naturally drawn to fashion, it felt like a natural extension of my Fine Art background and I wanted to move this onto dressing the human form.
Tell us about your latest collection: Constance? Constance, I suppose is a form of experimental eveningwear. I was inspired by the concept of narcissism; the egotistical pursuit of pleasure from vanity. I looked at the Greek myth of Narcissus – a handsome man whose love was solely for himself, which resulted in his own demise.
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My collection focused on exploring the juncture where vanity and grotesque entwine. I Incorporated leather, hair and silk to bring a contrast of fabrics that still complimented each other. This was to express my theory that when we see beauty there is always a glimpse of ugliness. Creating the collection was a labour of love. Across the entire collection there are some 10,000 hand-crafted embellishments. Allot of sleepless nights where put in but it was all worth while to see the collections on the catwalk and to get such great feedback from the audience.
Talks/Guest Speaker
Designing Exquisite Jewellery Cindy Xie Area of Specialism
Fashion Marketing www.lextiagroup.com
During her second year of the Fashion Marketing degree at Raffles Hong Kong, Cindy impressed her Fashion Marketing mentor during the Product Development module so much that he put her forward to be a freelance jewellery designer with Lextia Group. Cindy has always been passionate about accessories but until now had never had her designs made. Cindy explains, ‘I met with Lextia to show them my portfolio. I had just designed a concept collection of clutch bags inspired by the 12 zodiac signs. Lextia liked the designs and offered me a freelance position to help design the collections of cuffs being shown at SPOTLIGHT.’ About Lextia’s Cuffs: Inspired by the five elements of nature, the cuffs portray lines and curves inspired by natural shapes. The designs accentuate the feminist vigour. The collection is designed with an urban sophisticated demographic in mind, those who equally enjoy wearing exquisite pieces throughout the day and into the evening hours. The inspiration of nature is further shown through the five metal colours used that represent the five elements of the nature; silver, gold, rose-gold, olive and charcoal. “My hope is the cuffs I have careful designed inspire the modern woman in her aesthetic presentation as well as physical enjoyment. Finding the right balance between powerful, elegant and trend driven is always a challenge, but I believe these cuffs achieve just that.’
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Talks/Guest Speaker
Brand Development Carmela L. Fernandez Area of Specialism
Fashion Brand and Marketing Management
As part of her Final Marketing Project at Raffles Hong Kong, Carmela developed a brand called Colour Explosion. Carmela explains ‘It was an enjoyable yet stimulating class; we were given the freedom to create our own brand idea, formulate applicable marketing strategies, and implement many experimental marketing ideas.’ The brand Colour Explosion is an online retail shop with its initial product line of digitally printed leggings, pencil dresses, pencil skirts and ‘meggings’ (leggings for men). ‘What makes my brand more unique are the seasonal events such as the CoCreation Competition and the limited edition Artist Collexions. The big WHY? It’s quite simple really. We live in a world that is rapidly changing and sometimes we lose ourselves and forget who we are in the process. Our purpose is to remind our viewers that they are put on this earth for a reason; to be who they are and not to be anyone else.’
Colour Explosion’s Mission Statement: We aim to create an emotional bond with our customers and fans around Hong Kong; through inspiring product design, quality customer experience, innovative product development and exercising ethical yet compelling marketing strategies. Carmela will be discussing the uniqueness of her digitally printed leggings, how she can bring unique pieces to market designed by local artists and consumers and the brand concepts behind Colour Explosion. 12
“Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live.” Gianni Versace
FASHION MARKETING AND BRANDING
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EXPLO SION Final Year Fashion Marketing Student CARMELA FERNANDEZ
So the story of Colour Explosion began with the two simple questions, “what is your brand?” and “what are you going to sell?” I was given 5 minutes to think and argue with myself what amazing brand I will create, out of thin air, and what are its products. Easy you say? No, not really. It was my first day at Raffles, I was excited to meet my new classmates and professors, but within the first 10 minutes of being there I was already given the task to generate a realistic and successful fashion brand. My thought process of coming up with a brand; it must be practical and profitable but at the same time, me. So I sat in a quiet area and asked myself, “OK Carmela…what do you like?... Colours!” Ok good, but we cannot just name a brand ‘Colours’ so I asked myself the next question “what is awesome?…Explosions!” And there it was, the name of my brand, Colour Explosion. My professor walked up to me and asked what I came up with, I told him my brand name was Colour Explosion and its main products are printed leggings. Then he asked me “but what makes your leggings brand more unique compared to others?” then I replied, “we sell leggings for men, ‘meggings.’” Facepalm* but that pretty much won my professor’s heart over. I was excited to work on the brand and business plan, it is a simple idea making it easy to mold and sculpt to whatever I want it to be. I don’t work very well if I cannot add a bit of myself into the mixture, it becomes less exciting and fulfilling. I had so many plans and marketing methods that not all of it could fit in the marketing calendar for one year. That’s what makes Colour Explosion amazing, it is spontaneous, it has personality, a life and it grows. Brand Mission Statement: Colour Explosion aims to create that emotional bond with its customers and fans around Asia; through inspiring product design, quality customer experience, innovative product development and exercising ethical yet compelling marketing strategies. Vision Statement: The big WHY? It’s quite simple. We live in a world that is rapidly changing and sometimes we lose ourselves and forget who we are in the process. Our purpose is to remind our viewers that they are put on this earth for a reason; to be who they are and not anyone else.
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TSY JEWELLERY BY TANSING YEE
Fashion Marketing Graduate
TANSING YEE
About Tan Sing Yee: Tan Sing Yee is a Fashion Marketing Graduate from Raffles, Hong Kong. Originally from Malaysia Sing Yee transferred to Hong Kong to complete her final year of study and got great exposure to marketing in the retail capital of the East.
About the Brand TSY: TSY is an affordable platinum jewellery brand, specialising in signature rings tailored for the modern woman under the essence of love. TSY has a quirky strap-line that plays on the abbreviation of the brands letters; “To seal your�; love, friendship or fate. Sing Yee, the brand curator aims to venture in building a successful fashion jewellery business, producing an affordable line of high quality jewellery inspired by big brands but that wont burn a whole in your pocket. TSY uses high-quality Platinum and Cubic Zirconia. Platinum is used as it does not oxidize and is hypoallergenic and Cubic Zirconia has the hardness of 8-moths that gives the visual likeness to diamonds. The products are designed in a classy and elegant structure, targeting the appearance concerned young women who appreciate luxury goods and high quality lifestyle.
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Fashion Marketing Graduate
Marcella is a recent graduate from Raffles’ Fashion Marketing pathways in Hong Kong. Originally form Indonesia, Marcella has spent the last 6 moths running her own business selling Off Da Hook products through Instagram to customers all over Asia. Her products have also been a great hit with bloggers and celebrities in Indonesia, such as Natasha Rizki, Ussy Sulistiawaty, Regina Requil and Dewi Utari. The brand aims to provide affordable garments to the hipfashion vultures of today.
Off Da Hook is termed a parody of pop culture. The brand aims to provide affordable garments. The concept of the brand is to re-purposing and flipping of iconic logos into something fun because the Off Da Hook believes that “Fashion should not be too serious”.
The brand is more than clothing, rather a fashion statement. These T’s are a parody of the fashion brands that dominate the luxury malls. We predict Off Da Hook will continue to grow after the celebrity and blogger followings recently acclaimed.
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GRAPHIC DESIGN/ PRODUCT DESIGN PART I
Jethro Yuen 1st Year study in Graphic Design Interview by Ling W
Design - Product Design in Hong Kong Polytechnic University where he won “best in show” for his final year show. Jethro also won the Hong Kong Household Appliance Design and Innovation Competition in 2013. Jethro explains that he decided to be a designer because he thinks ‘design is a very powerful thing that can change our opinions and affect our lives’. Jethro decided to be a graphic designer because it was the most direct way for him to communicate and share ideas with others.
Product Concept “Hang on” feel good hanger
Jethro Yuen is a 22 year-old Graphic Designer with a longstanding history in design. He started studying Hospitality
Natalie Fung is a young teenager from Hong Kong, now in her second year of studies with Raffles Hong Kong. ‘The last two years have been hard work, surviving the homework and ongoing design projects, but it has been worth it.’ Natalie goes on to explain; ‘To study design had been my dream since I was a kid; originally to be a fashion designer or illustrator. As I grew older I developed a real interest in graphic design and illustrations’, so I decided to study my BDes in Graphic Design.’
Product Concept - ‘I am a Pet Person’ Nowadays people like to have a pet at home as their roommate. Pets are adorable. Pet people love to take pictures with their furry friend and then upload them on Facebook or Instagram for the world to see. It’s about letting people know how cute your pet is and making the statement ‘I am a Pet Person.’ Within my ‘I am a Pet Person’ product range people can purchase one or many adorable animal pendants. They are like badges to represent your love for pets, one and all. Wearing an ‘I am a Pet Person’ badge is like wearing your heart on your sleeve, quite literally!!! 20
‘Everything in the world has something else to help make it beautiful. The earth has flowers and the sky gets the stars. Birds have their colourful feathers and animals have their unique fur. But what do humans have? I truly believe humans have an inner beauty, but we are still obsessed with accessories and clothing we think these are the things that make us beautiful. Sure accessories can help you stand out but lets not forget about the true beauty that we behold within us. With this in mind I wanted to create an accessory hanger with the quote “Confidence is a girl’s best accessory” on it. When my customers are getting ready and adding important accessories to their outfit they are reminded to be confident, the real key accessory to any outfit.
Natalie Fung 2nd Year study in Graphic Design Interview by Grace K
Chloe Wong was born and grew up in Hong Kong. She is currently studying Graphic Design at Raffles Hong Kong. Chloe explains ‘Raffles provides us with an international learning environment with huge diversity of different cultures. I feel I learn as much about life and different viewpoints at the college as I do about the different approaches to design – it’s great learning.’
Peony Wong 1st Year study in Graphic Design
Interview by Eirene Yeung
Chloe plans to keep getting involved in more design events in Hong Kong, especially for graphic design. “We need more events like this to show off the young talent in Hong Kong. We need more stages like SPOTLIGHT.’ After graduating Chloe plans to get her own design studio and will continue to design graphics to help build HK’s reputation for creating new talent.
Product Concept – Initial-Me ‘I want to create jewellery by using positive and negative space. Therefore I have created patterns from the different positive and negative spaces found within different alphabet letters. I decided to use transparent material to represent the positive space in our initials. I want to make jewellery for customers looking for unique fashion accessories, creating something personal and unique’. Peony Wong was born in Hong Kong but spent her high school years in Vancouver, Canada. Now she is a first year graphic design student at Raffles Hong Kong, Peony is developing her artistic brand: ‘KID’. Having already showcased at different exhibitions in Hong Kong ‘KID’ has been making quite a name for herself. ‘When I was a kid, I was forced to learn art at school. From my understanding then, art was about drawing and painting. Now I have a very different perspective. Art is different for everyone and can take on many different forms.’ Peony explains,‘I like to express my thoughts and emotions through my artwork, either with graphic design, photography or drawing. I think art is a powerful way to communicate an idea. Art is a language of its own and should need no translation.’
Product Concept: Puns by KID
Chloe Wong 1st Year study in Graphic Design Interview by Elie Yoon
I will be using ‘Animal puns’ (or paronomasia): a form of wordplay suggesting two or more meanings to develop different products. By replacing a word in a sentence with a similarsounding word can give a sense of humour or an abstract effect. These puns are used to create humour and sometimes require a large vocabulary to be understood. The products will have a large focus on love. 21
Rachel Ching 2nd Year study in Graphic Design
Interview by Jenny Chan
Jennifer was born and grew up in Hong Kong. She is currently in her second year studying Graphic Design at Raffles Hong Kong, Jennifer explains, “I like simple design, also the story behind the design, the concept; this is very important to me. Knowing the concept makes me feel comfortable’. By focusing on the idea behind the concept and experimenting with a solution helps find a better design. Jennifer explains ‘Understanding the concept is the power to make my work stronger. It allows me to experiment, to improve’. Earlier in 2014 Jennifer designed an installation at Raffles’ Exhibition: Code 852, Wan Chai. Her concept was based on the stress of living in Hong Kong. She used paper bags and asked people to write down the things that causes them stressed on the bags. At the event visitors were invited to burst the paper bag in order to release their stress.
Product Concept – It’s not about the Dollar Rachel is currently studying Graphic Design at Raffles Hong Kong. Rachel explains what made her want to be a designer, ‘Being a designer I can share my views with the world, I get to share a message and change people’s perceptions.’ Rachel has a real appreciation for other designers’ work. ‘It’s funny how designers work to the same brief, or on a similar topic, yet see the design solution differently. Everyone has a different understanding, a different approach and we can all create something unique that still meets the design need.’
‘In this busy city everyone focuses on work and making money to have a better quality of living. But people’s wants never seem to be satisfied therefore they want more things and need more money. It has become a vicious circle and does not seem to be ending. ‘For this project I want to make something to remind people not to lose themselves because of money. I wanted to focus more on the uniqueness of a person, to focus more on self-interests, the things that make us tick or bring us enjoyment. I want to design something that is a reminder of experiences.’
Rachel went on to discuss where she finds inspiration during her busy working schedule, ‘To be inspired, honestly for me, I can only find it in taking a break or a step back from busy life and work. If I rush into an idea it usually doesn’t turn out great or sometimes I just get stuck in a place and struggle to move an idea forward or even doubt the idea itself. Somehow after a break, all the ideas just come right back into my heads.’
Product Concept – Humanimoblies ‘I wanted to develop products based on the idea of ‘spirit animals’. Our spirit animals are those that have characteristics closest to our personality, attitudes, and personal traits. I then came up with the idea of Humanimobiles – mobile phone cases. Customers are invited to find their spirit animal phone case and then personalise it with coloured markers. This way everyone gets his or her very own personalised phone case! 22
Jennifer Chan 2nd Year study in Graphic Design Interview by Sally Leung
Ringo Ho
2nd Year study in Graphic Design Interview by Liang Shan Shan Daisy
Ringo Ho was born in Hong Kong in 1991 and is currently a Graphic Design student at Raffles Hong Kong. Ringo explains ‘I like to travel everywhere, taking photos to keep my memories and capture great moments. I get a lot of inspiration form the things around me, from life. Studying Graphic Design has helped me realise that I love to create different 3-dimensional objects. I have created lots of 3D things like ‘The Cat’ from piano keys and ‘ The Green Master’ a figure made from clay.’ Clearly a very determined entrepreneur Ringo goes on to explain ‘I’m planning to have my own company one day, to create interesting works that people admire, this is what I want for my future’.
Product Concept – ‘what you see is not as it looks’ ‘People can be too literal when it comes to observation in daily life. The concept I wanted to play with is making people look twice. I wanted to create a new object by combining two objects that are not related – I wanted to give them new meanings and to make people surprised at first’.
Anuradha, originally from India, started studying Graphic Design at the Raffles Kolkata campus but transferred to Hong Kong to broaden her perspective on global design. Now studying in Raffles Hong Kong, Anuradha explains ‘It is an excellent opportunity, for me it was one of the best places offering courses in fashion, design and business. Already the course has given me confidence as I learned new skills in graphic design here’. During Anuradha’s time at different Raffles’ campuses she has had great exposure to learn from many different practitioners and experts, helping her learn different approaches and see different techniques. One thing she has learned is to ‘be honest with her limitations and build upon her strengths’. ‘It would be both an honor and an asset to receive a degree from Raffles, the rest will be dependent on my skills, determination and the contacts I make.’
Anuradha Haldar 1st Year study in Graphic Design Interview terview by Amy C
Product Concept - ANU Jewellery ‘I wanted to use typography within jewellery design. It came to my mind when noticing how everyone is obsessed with themselves in the ‘Selfie Generation’. So I thought, why not use typography to make beautiful jewellery that can be personalized and custom-made into delightful, delicious and charming monograms or messages in order to define their self-image through ornamentation. 23
FASHION BRANDS
L extia Lexti a i s a fast g row i n g on l i n e- bas ed f as h i o n a c c e s s o rie s b ra n d . L e x t ia d e s ig ns , manufactures and m ar kets m oder n j ew el l er y a t a n a ff o rd a b le p ric e t o t h e m o d e r n fashion consciou s w om an . Th es e u n i qu e an d m o d e r n p ie c e s a re o f a ve ry h ig h q u al i ty and have been created to al l ow cu s t o m e rs t o m ix a nd m a t c h t o c a t e r f o r a n y o ccasions. We h ad t he pleas ure of me e ting Ca lv in Che ng, L e x t i a ’s Ma n a g i n g D i re c t o r. We d i s c u s s e d th e brands u nique s e lling p oint, the la te s t c olle c t i o n d u e t o be s h o wn a t SPO T L I G H T a n d workin g w ith Raff le s Fa s hion M a r k e ting s tud e n t s . ‘ Our jewellery piec e s a re ma d e up of s imp lis tic f o r m s de r i v e d f ro m di s t i n c t i v e i d e a s from our in-house design team. The designs are then complimented with a combination of beautiful materials. Some of the materials include; 925 silver, stainless steel and Swarovski crystal. The pieces with crystals and large stones are the favourites our customers. ‘ At SPO T L I G H T we wi l l b e s h o wc a s i n g o u r l a t e s t c o l l e c t i o n ‘ Bl a c k Ma g i c ’ . T h i s i s a n e x t e n s i o n o f o u r 9 2 5 s t e r l i n g s i l v e r r a n g e a n d we c a n ’t wa i t t o s h o w i t t o t h e s h o ppe r s o f C e n t r a l . I t h i n k SPO T L I G H T i s a g re a t c o n c e p t e v e n t . We g e t t o u n v e i l o u r l a t e s t c o l l e c t i o n t o t h e pu b l i c a l o n g s i de s u ppo r t i n g n e w p ro d u c t d e s i g n t a l e n t f ro m H o n g Kong. I n t h e f u t u re we wi l l a l s o be l a u n c h i n g a r a n g e o f wo m e n ’s c u ff s . We wo r k e d wi t h a F a s h i o n Ma r k e t i n g s t u de n t f ro m Ra ff l e s H o n g K o n g , X i e Q i n g ( C i n dy ) . C i n d y h e l p e d u s de v e l o p a n e w pro du c t r a n g e t h a t we wi l l t a k e t o t h e E u ro p e a n m a r k e t l a t e r i n t h e y e a r, a s we l l a s s e l l i n g h e re i n H o n g K o n g o f c o u r s e . T h e c u ff r a n g e i s i n s pi re d by t h e f i v e e l e m e n t s o f n a t u re . T h e f i v e e l e m e n t s wi l l b e re pre s e n t e d i n t h e f i v e di ff e re n t m e t a l m a t e r i a l s b e i n g u s e d t o c re a t e t h e c u ff s . C i n d y h a d a s t ro n g e y e f o r de s i g n a n d de t a i l s a n d h a d a c l e a r b u s i n e s s a ppro a c h wh e n re s e a rc h i n g t h e E u ro p e a n m a r k e t t o i n f o r m h e r i d e a s . ’
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Aly & Rachelle W h at h as been y ou r career h igh ligh t to date?
Th T h e re h a s be been q qu u i t e a f e w, b bu u t m y m o s t re c e n t wa s o p e n i n g o u r f i r s t s h o re i n PMQ , C e n t r a l . I n t e r a c t i n g wi t h c u s t o m e r s f a c e -t o -f a c e h a s t r a n s f o r m e d t h e wh o l e e x pe r i e n c e . W h e n c l i e n t e l e t r y o n t h e g a r m e n t s , a p p re c i a t e t h e m a n d pu rc h a s e t h e m a s pa r t o f t h e i r wa rdro b e , t h a t ’s wh e n i t a l l b e c a m e re a l f o r m e . O p e n i n g t h e f i r s t s t o re h a s b e e n a h u g e m i l e s t o n e f o r t h e br a n d. To h a v e s pa c e t o s h o wc a s e o u r wo r k a n d c re a t e a s t ro n g e r br a n d i m a g e i s amazing.
A ly & Rachelle is an a ff ord a b le luxur y b r a nd in the entry- level designer ma r k e t. La unc he d in 2011, th e brand has been deve lop e d a round a tw in- c onc e p t . ‘ Identical tw ins have a lw a y s f a s c ina te d me . ’ ex plain s Creat ive Dire c tor, Chr is tine La m. ‘ How c a n two people look so alik e y e t p os s e s v e r y d iff e re nt person alities t raits and s ty le s . A ly & R a c he lle is m e ex ploring t his f ascin a tion, it a ls o a llow me to d e s i g n fo r tw o diff eren t type s of w ome n. ’ T he bran ds aim is simp le ; to c re a te high q ua lity and timeless pieces tha t a re uniq ue a nd b e a utif ul . T his has been achiev e d through a tte ntion to d e ta i l , fa ultless craf t sman s hip a nd the f ine s t q ua lity of m a terials. La m has a w ealth of f a s hion ind us tr y e xp e r ie nc e . F ro m studyin g f ash ion a t Ce ntr a l S a int M a r tins then going on to w or k f or b r a nd s s uc h a s A ge nt P ro vocat eur, Alexand e r M c Que e n a nd M os hino K o shino. We spent s ome time w ith the v e r y charmin g Christine t o f ind out a b out he r c a re e r hig hlight s an d wh at to e xp e c t f rom the A utumn/ Winter 2 01 4 collect ions .
W h at is y ou r per son al favou r ite Aly & R ach elle piece? T h i s i s a h a rd o n e . I t i s l i k e a s k i n g wh i c h i s y o u r f a v o u r i t e c h i l d! ! ! T h e y a re a l l m y f a v o u r i t e s ; a l l h a v e f e a t u re s t h a t I l o v e .
W h at h as in spired y ou r Au tu mn /W in ter 2014 collection ? T h e i n s pi r a t i o n a n d t i t l e f o r o u r AW ’ 1 4 c o l l e c t i o n i s “ G e n t l e wo m e n ” . T h e c o l l e c t i o n i s s p l i t i n t o t wo r a n g e s . O n e r a n g e i s m o re a n d ro g y n o u s ( f o r t h e Al y i n u s a l l ) , t h e o t h e r i s m o re f e m i n i n e ( f o r o u r Ra c h e l l e da y s ) . T h e c o l l e c t i o n i s i n s pi re d b y t h e s t ro n g wo m e n i n m y l i f e a n d f ro m m y v i e w o f m o d e r n wo m e n i n t h e 2 1 s t c e n t u r y. We [ wo m e n ] a re n o w s u pe r i n de pe n d e n t , we wa n t i t a l l a n d t h i s c o l l e c t i o n re f l e c t s o u r a bi l i t y t o a da pt o u r ro l e s de pe n d i n g o n o u r s i t u a t i o n s . I t h i n k i t wa s Be y o n c é wh o s a i d ‘ we r u n t h e wo r l d ’ , h e a r, h e a r. ’ www.a lya nd ra c he lle .c om F l ag shi p Sto re U ni t S411, Bl o ck A, PM Q, 35 Aberdeen Ro ad, C entral , H o ng K o ng
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Interview with the Biarro Founder Shyla Viju Motwani Biarro recently launched its first collection of hand-crafted cuffs from authentic and luxurious exotic leathers sourced form Italy and South America. Each cuff features a crisp gold or silver clasp to give you a timeless accessory to elevate any ensemble. The accessory brand takes delight in customizing the coulor, leather and clasp to make your Biarro cuff unique and individual. Each cuff is unique as natural materials are used, hence variations of colour tone, finish grains, pattern will occur. Biarro’s signature clasp design is clasp is 22K gold plated.
The clasps within the range are of an exquisite quality, 100% handmade with the greatest attention to detail
What occasion do you expect people to wear your products?
by young fashion conscious women across the globe,
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GRAPHIC DESIGN/ PRODUCT DESIGN PART II
Brandon Ho Final Year study in Graphic Design Interview by Claudia L
Graham is a 27-year-old American who grew up in Hong Kong to an American father and Chinese mother. From a creative family, his father being in Landscape Architecture and a mother in Interior Design, he developed a passion for drawing from a young age. Graham is optimistic about the future and says that he will take all the lessons from his current education at Raffles and apply them to the challenges and opportunities he will face as an upcoming Graphic Designer.
Product Concept ‘With this project I am paying tribute to the late actor Robin Williams, who undoubtedly influenced many of us. By featuring his tattooed face in a series of portraits these tattoos are a visual map of his walk-through-life; his thoughts, his motives and his dreams. The finished products will be a series of t-shirts displaying his unforgetable face for the world to see.’ Brandon decided to become a graphic designer because of his passion for different media since he was young. He wanted to learn how to develop different media and try to develop ideas that would ‘make the world become a better place’. Brandon was originally born in Hong Kong but spent most of his life growing up in Malaysia. He is now in his final year of Graphic Design at Raffles Hong Kong. ‘My strengths are being creative and art direction as well as hand drawing and painting. I create things from zero, taking inspiration from graphic books and walking around the city. When I get to sketching ideas it’s also really important for me to get feedback at all design stages – other people’s opinions can help you see an idea in a whole different light.’
Product Concept My product is developed based on an old French subculture called Bohemianism. Bohemians were artists, poets, literary writers of the 19th century who practiced the lifestyle of vagabonds. According to Laren Stover, an American author of the Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge, the Bohemians are “not easily classified like a species of birds”. Inspired by the manifesto I decided to show Bohemian culture in a more playful way. The product designs results in vibrant bird patterns on scarfs. The birds were hand drawn with different costumes, patterns and colours that represent the different types of Bohemians. 30
Graham Van Dyke
Final Year study in Graphic Design Interview by Uma Preve
Samuel Darsono is a courageous 21-year-old lad from Indonesia. He transferred to Raffles Hong Kong from the Jakarta campus in Indonesia. Raffles Jakarta was the only design education institute for him, offering more personalised classes where the teachers took time to support each student’s creative direction. For Samuel, Raffles Hong Kong offered a new perspective on life.
Product Concept My handbag, name Bunga Anggrek is a tribute to the traditional Indonesian technique Batik. The name “Bunga Anggrek” is originated from Indonesian language, which means, “Orchid Flower”. Orchid is the icon of Hong Kong, and so I hope it would generate a positive energy between two cultures.
Samuel Darsono Final Year study in Graphic Design Interview by Uma Preve
Charlene Enaje Final Year study in Graphic Design Interview by Ayu Wong
Charlene was originally born in Hong Kong. Charlene gets inspiration from her surroundings, such as design websites, books, as well as music. A central aspect of her product is printing patterns on shoes. Her shoes are vintage yet modern and designed to appeal to trendy youngsters.
Product Concept ‘Flat-caps and beards are slowly starting to disappear amongst the modern hipster subculture. The beards define hipster that seem to be disappearing nowadays. The design is to help the modern hipsters remember how the hipsters back then look. I hope to inspire a revival. 31
URBAN COUTURE
RESPECT IN THE CITY
SPORT-Lux the respect it deserves Top: 8cuff by Sue Suh / Skirt: Tommy Chong / Shoes: Michael Antonio / Model: Laeticia Etetebe / Photographer: Krisha Sia / Stylist: Cindy Xie & / Sumbul Abid / Creative director: Alisha Rai
VampAttire
Taking unisex apparel but giving it the ‘she’ means business look
Dress: Margaret Chang / Belt: Eva Choi / Shoes: Michael Antonio / Model: Maria Shabanova / Photographer: Krisha Sia / Stylist: Cindy Xie / Creative director: Alisha Rai
SPINDERELLA Cut IT Up One Time
Dress and belt: Eva Choi / Cuffs: Lextia / Model: Maria Shabanova / Photographer: Krisha Sia / Stylist: Cindy Xie / Creative director: Alisha Rai
CC O O L CC AT Where Urban Couture meets a parody of pop Culture
#supporthongkongdesigners T-shirt: Off Da Hook / Jacket: Kate Zokh / Shorts: Natjira / Shoes: Michael Antonio / Cuffs: Lextia / Model: Laeticia Etetebe / Photographer: Krisha Sia / Stylist: Cindy Xie / Creative director: Alisha Rai
get the
LOOK
Kate Zokh
$1,700hkd
N’Damus London $5,972hkd
Natjira
$1,240hkd
Marion Ayonote
$7,850hkd
Joanique
$1,455hkd
Grace Lam
$35,000hkd
Aly & Rachelle
$2,380hkd
Blk Sheep Empire $1,190hkd 36
8cuff
$880hkd
Bizi Buenos Aires
$3,854hkd
8cuff
$7,500hkd
Finlay & Co
$2,870hkd
Wapel
$520hkd
Blk Sheep Empire $1,700hkd
Natjira
$3,200hkd
Colour Explosion $280hkd Off Da Hook
$300hkd
37
S204, 2/F, Block A, PMQ, 35 Aberdeen Street, Central, Hong Kong
SUPPORT
FO R CORPOR ATE OR DER S IN HONG KONG, PLEASE CONTACT
CorporateOrdersHK@GarrettPopcorn.com
20140826 - Revel Events.pdf
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