Hong Kong will be the world's "hottest" place for
international fashion experts, buyers and merchandisers next month when
new waves in fashion brought by Asian design talents hits the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region at the Hong Kong Fashion Week for
Spring/Summer ‘99 .
The four-day fashion fair, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development
Council (TDC) from July 14-17, will take up over 9,000 sq. m. at the Hong
Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Some 300 exhibitors, from 13
countries and regions, including Bangladesh, the Chinese Mainland,
Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, the Macau, Sri Lanka,
Taiwan, the United States and the United Kingdom, will display a wide
array of high quality fashion products ranging from fashion garments to
accessories and trade-related services.
Key features of the upcoming Fashion Week will be the Fashion
Gallery and the Garment & Accessories Mart, both were
first introduced in last January's Fashion Week and well received by
visitors. The Fashion Gallery caters to the needs of boutique buyers and
independent merchandisers sourcing high fashion, designers'
collections and brandname designs; while volume buyers scouting around for
basic garments and mass merchandise will be overwhelmed by a wide
selection of garment products and accessories at the Garment &
Accessories Mart.
The essence of the Fashion Gallery will be the Asian Fashion
Designers' Showcase which features the latest stylish collections
from designers in the region, including both established and aspiring
designers. Europe Selection pavilioIn will again be in the
spotlight showcasing contemporary and high quality designs of European
labels from Germany and Italy. Exhibitors from the Chinese Mainland,
Macau, India and Taiwan will as well stage their own pavillion.
In addition to the profusion of garments and accessories on exhibit ,
the fashion design talents of the region will also demonstrate their
design artistry and creative craftsmanship in a series of catwalk
extravaganza, further enhancing Hong Kong's leading status as the
region's fashion centre.
The Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers' Contest ‘98
(HKYFDC), organised by the TDC in the past 20 years to explore and
nuture young local talents, will be staged on the first day of the Fashion
Week. This year, Mr. Wayne Hemingway, designer of the hugely
popular English label Red or Dead, will join a judging panel of
international fashion experts to choose among 16 vibrant finalists, the
winners of five prestigious awards. Fourteen past HKYFDC winners, who are
fast making inroads in the industry, will also present their latest
creations to support the event.
Mr. Wayne Hemingway, whose Red or Dead label has been presented on the
British catwalk as part of London Fashion Week since 1988, has also been
invited by TDC to launch its first house show in Hong Kong on the second
day of Fashion Week. The designer will parade its ‘Red or Dead
Autumn/Winter 1998 Collection' which will be available in Hong
Kong this coming fall season.
Back to the local scene, the Hong Kong New Design Force Fashion
Parade will feature the hottest pick from up-and-coming labels in the
SAR. Many of these names are popular among the local young fashion crowd
and are also exported to the nearby markets in the region.
Hong Kong veteran designers Lu Lu Cheung, Flora Cheong-Leen, Ika, Walter
Ma, Pacino Wan, Kevin Yeung and Rib Yeung will show their latest creations
in four house shows under the auspices of the Hong Kong Fashion
Designers' Association (HKFDA). The Macau House Show will
feature stylish collections from Macau manufacturers, sponsored by the
Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute; while a group of
enthusiastic students studying diploma in clothing at the Kwun Tong
Technical Institute House Show will also present their own house show.
Joining the catwalk extravaganza will be specialised trade fashion
shows, encompassing contemporary designs from local labels presented at
the Hong Kong Collection Show, and the Asian Fashion Designers'
Show staging creations from local designers from and fashion talents
in the region.
Looking forward in design concepts and fashion themes, leading French
yarn fair organiser, Expofil, will host two seminars on
Fall/Winter 1999/2000, and the International Wool Secretariat (IWS)
will present its Trend Presentation on "Menswear & Womanswear
Color/Fabric Directions for Autumn/Winter '99/2000", keeping
visitors abreast of the most up-to-date developments in the fashion trade.
For press enquiries, please contact Mrs. Winnie Hui of HKTDC at
(852)2584-4537.
