Hong Kong, 15 February 2023 – Fashion Farm Foundation (FFF) has been preparing for the international fashion project HKFG (formerly known as Fashion Guerilla) since 2013. Committed to providing opportunities for young professionals in Hong Kong as well as promoting the local fashion industry. In September last year, HKFG went back to Paris again for a series of presentations which was a huge success. HKFG AW23 continues to lead eight Hong Kong labels to Paris Fashion Week (PFW), namely ARTO., CHRISTIAN STONE, DEMO, KYLE HO, PABEPABE, VANN, YAT PIT and YEUNG CHIN, showcasing the talent and creativity of local fashion designers to international fashion buyers and media.
A Fashion Journey Sparkling by Senses
#FashionFarmFoundation #HKFGAW23
HKFG AW23 Presentation is proudly listed on the PFW Official Calendar selected by Fédération de la haute couture et de la Mode (FHCM). DEMO, PABEPABE and YAT PIT will present their latest Autumn/Winter collections in the form of fashion presentations on the second day of PFW (28th February). HKFG has also sponsored all eight Hong Kong brands to join trade shows or showrooms, to foster their brand exposure and business opportunity during Paris Fashion Week and Shanghai Fashion Week. All of the brands will attend Shanghai Fashion Week after the PFW to get inspired for creative ideas and explore the Asian market.
This season, HKFG will collaborate with the local trending fashion store HER again. A product launch plus networking event will be held in HER store in April and selected AW23 items from the Paris Fashion Week will be showcased. There will also be a chance for designers from the eight brands to share their ideas with guests during this event. Products from the eight brands will be available at the HER shop in April and May. Meanwhile, the online partner of HKFG AW23, Novelty Lane will offer pre-orders for AW23 items from the eight brands.
DEMO the Story of Orlando
DEMO’s AW23 collection takes “Orlando”, a savage satire on sexism, as the inspiration. The novel by Virginia Woolf, first published in 1928, begins with a young and charming nobleman named Orlando. Born as a male in England during the reign of Elizabeth I, undergoes a mysterious change of sex at the age of about 30, finds that he is now a woman who neither ages nor dies and lives on for more than 300 years into modern times.
DEMO, a brand that is built on the philosophy of gender-neutral and personal identity, mapping the possibility of fashion like Orlando questioning all constraints. Imagine if Orlando still exists, for the time being, who will he become and what kind of appearance will she present nowadays in 2023? He can be a tough woman or she can be a glamorous man, or a person who surpasses any gender boundary.
Compared with the usual ready-to-wear collections, this AW23 explores gender, identity, menswear and womenswear in an experimental way.
PABEPABE’s Sound Practice
The season PABEPABE emphasises the process of practice – How do humans become familiar with certainway things and actions so as to make progress? Majoring in any skill always requires a lot of practice, people always praise the result but ignore the process and the repetitive actions which actually make them be their better selves.
Therefore, for the AW23 collection “Sound Practice”, PABEPABE develops some totally new instruments (bags) and tries to complete songs by them. The process of practising (voice testing, music making etc.) will be recorded and presented as a main part of the development, no need to be perfectly performed but try to express the importance of “stepping ahead” and “repetitive practising”. This is a season to praise all the little steps we made and is going to make.
YAT PIT’s Journey with Tea
While imagining the scent of a YAT PIT fragrance, the brand instinctively knew that tea would be the key ingredient. This was the beginning of YAT PIT’s journey into creating the AW23 collection. Through exploring the idea of scented clothing, YAT PIT developed the idea to create a tea dyeing technique with their first item; tea-shirt. As the research journey went deeper into the world of tea, naturally, inspirations of Taoism and Buddhism helped YAT PIT to refine their message with this collection. The mystical symbols in Taoism connect the idea of heaven, man and earth as one. Then the gentle Buddhist teachings, YAT PIT is able to bring this inspiring experience to their audience.
The tea-shirt is the life of this entire collection, the process in which it is prepared for dyeing will hopefully get a new experience for anyone who brings it home with them. Just like sipping a cup of tea, people take a moment to slow down their thoughts and really make time to connect with the present moment. This is the collection redefining the YAT PIT journey and leading the way into a more spiritual and nourishing way to dress ourselves.
Exploring the Possibilities of Materials
This collection shows the initials of ARTO. Her mission is to share the energy, power of existence though by strong colours and knitwear. Bold contrasting colours, dramatic and voluminous silhouettes are the signature design of ARTO. keep going through the collection. Shimmy yarn and foil coating are newly applied to emphasise the energy expressed in the designs. AW23 season is a conclusion and a new chapter of ARTO.’s design journey. May the energy be with us forever and always.
The AW23 collection from CHRISTIAN STONE is titled “V17”. It refers to the highest and most difficult grade in bouldering. This collection of Christian Stone explores the juxtaposition of social isolation, stillness and awkwardness with the prowess of sport, physical movements, and the adrenaline of climbing. Embracing every fellow nerd whose hobbies and interests have sprawled across bedrooms and basements, the set of characters created for the collection is based on the stereotypical look of a nerd presented both in real life and pop culture. The creation of the outfits derives from the imagination with the mood surrounding a nerd being awakened by an alarm after a long night of gaming, then haphazardly gathering all the climbing gears and rushing to train at the bouldering gym, hoping to conquer V17 one day.
KYLE HO’s signature garments have been elevated, refined and reimagined in woven textures this season, resulting in silhouettes that ensure comfort and pieces that are easy to carry. AW23 uses sustainable fabrics and features Mohair and New Wool. It comprises an array of neutral hues, off-white and black,
completed with injections of various shades of grey, Navy and burnt orange. In this collection, KYLE HO will collaborate with To Garal, a Spain-based studio producing hand-made fashion jewellery.
This season VANN updated its AW23 series with hand-painted patterns in vibrant colours. VANN aims to assuage uneasiness and bring optimism. The fun and free-styled paint strokes are meant to bring a mood-boosting function. To play with the proportion, VANN scaled up the heart into an extra-large brooch to appeal to a fashion audience. Playing with the neckwear silhouette, this season VANN introduced the Two-layer pearl choker with an adjuster chain and a new Rock Jewel Choker to allow for close-fitting or lower-neck styling.
From searching for unique fabrics, the concept of sustainable environmental protection became the inspiration for YEUNG CHIN’s AW23 collection. Using the technology of NuNo Wool Felting, multiple techniques can be mixed to create fabrics with different textures like mixing wool and silk for YEUNG CHIN collection. It can also produce seamless clothes without sewing which helps reduce emissions and costs — breaking the feeling of natural taste by infusing the dark and slightly rotten style into natural elements.
About HKFG
HKFG, formerly known as Fashion Guerilla, is an international program organised by Fashion Farm Foundation (FFF). With the mission of bridging talents to the international fashion scene and promoting Hong Kong fashion design, FFF organises the program twice a year for the two seasons, Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. Hong Kong fashion brands are selected to present their collection and meet global buyers and media in showrooms and trade shows. The first program was unveiled in Paris in 2013 and has been staged in New York, Singapore, Tokyo and Shanghai fashion weeks in the previous years.
About Fashion Farm Foundation
Fashion Farm Foundation (FFF) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2012 with a mission to promote Hong Kong fashion designs globally by synergising local fashion designers, entrepreneurs, cultural practitioners, industry experts and retailers. FFF organised a series of campaigns and events locally and globally, such as FFFRIDAY and HKFG, every year. It aims to bridge Hong Kong local fashion talents to Hong Kong public and to the international fashion scene, get more people to discover Hong Kong’s very own creative talents and showcase these hidden gems to foster Hong Kong’s fashion creative recognitions.
All images by HKFG and Fashion Farm Foundation
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