Coconuts style-spotter Charlie Tamoto attends arguably the highlight of Hong Kong Fashion Week, the final Young Designers’ Contest 2015 at HKCEC.
There were clear highs and lows at last night’s Young Designers’ Contest. The clothes in general were well executed with fine attention to detail and meticulous craftsmanship, but many designers faltered when it came to editing and styling.
This common fashion student mistake, and the obvious urge to combine way too many concepts into one garment resulting in an amalgamation of the hideous, clearly only made it easier for this year’s judges to pick out the stars of the show…
Which were as follows:
Michelle Yeung Lai-ching for the Overall Winner
Yeung clearly had the most striking collection on the catwalk. Though some of the pieces were reminiscent of McQueen, the designer states her inspiration came from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Yeung knew how execute the wow factor while maintaining the accessible and commercial aspect in her fairytale aesthetic.
Necro Poon Tsz-pan for the Contemporary Day-Wear Group Award
Poon took a nod from last year’s YDC winner, Nelson Leung, with a meaningful, contemporary, street menswear collection. The concept came from protests and ideas of suppression – a rather timely theme for our city.
The jackets utilised images the designer took himself during the July 1 protests in Hong Kong. The clear statements of rebellion and stick-it-to-the-man mixed with the varied silhouettes had an on-trend hip-hop influence.
Kevin Ho Kwan-lam for the Party & Evening-Wear Group Award
Ho’s collection mesmerised me from the minute it hit the catwalk. The patterns and lines were immediate attention grabbers.
As one of the competition’s more experienced designers, it’s not surprising Ho knows a thing or two about editing. He graduated from in London a few years back and returned to Hong Kong with some work experience under his belt.
Tsang Fan-yu for Best Accessories Design Award
This is the first year the YDC has given an award for Best Accessories, so “go Tsang!” for making history last night. The category must have been hard to judge, as every designer incorporated different accessories to their clothes; some did head pieces and purses, others created clutches, shoes and belts.
Tsang however, won for his double-quilted waterproof backpack. It’s easy to wear and has a sleek street design inspired by a modern Japanese aesthetic.
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