“I found my mom’s sewing machine sitting in the back of her wardrobe, I got on YouTube, and I created Delirio just like that.”

Delirio is a sustainable handmade streetwear and festival-fashion brand based in Sham Shui Po. The brand started off selling reusable masks and has since grown to include accessories and swim wear, all distinguishable by their iconic crystal encrustation.

All the pieces are custom-made: Delirio is a slow-fashion brand, Lam says. She doesn’t want any stock waste.

The pandemic has changed the way we look at and create fashion, she adds. Studies have shown that interest in more sustainable forms of fashion consumption has increased globally since 2020.

During that time, fashion has become a “non-essential” category of consumer goods for many shoppers, who are instead priotising comfortable clothes in a world where working from home has become a new standard.

But the opposite mentality also has its benefits, Lam says.

“Most Hongkongers used to go abroad to find some sort of freedom, some kind of escape from our society,” she says. “I say we bring this freeing spirit within our borders through our outfits.”

Lam wants to change Hong Kong’s fashion to make it more creative and colourful. Just as at music festivals, she wishes that people felt freer to be themselves and stand out in the street.

That’s one of the reasons why Delirio sponsors projects that empower people, such as the recent LGBTQ event “Gods and Goddesses Ball”, organised by House Of Sassy Savage.

Delirio wants you to “embrace your inner you” through extravagance and sensuality. Meanwhile, another pandemic-born Hong Kong brand, Fierce, focuses on comfort and confidence.

“One year into the pandemic, I got really comfy with my clothes. I was mostly wearing simple oversized T-shirts at that point,” says Nicole Law, the creator of Fierce.

“So I wondered: is there an accessory that can complete my simple outfit in one second so I can sleep more in the morning?”

Fierce offers bold and colourful unisex chains that will give your cosy work-from-home outfit the raw confidence it’s been missing.

It’s not the first time that Law has created a fashion brand. But her ideas for Fierce, combined with the unique context Hong Kong has experienced for the past two years, allowed this project to resonate differently.

“The pandemic gave me the opportunity to look inward,” Law says – within herself for ideas, within her family for support, and within her city for nimble fingers.

All the chains are produced in Sham Shui Po, she says. Her mother, Ada Chim, who has 30 years of experience in the toy industry and knows the neighbourhood like the back of her hand, helps out with various tasks, and sometimes gives input on the designs.

“I think I’ve realised that I wanted to give back more to the community, to the local culture and the art scenes,” Law says. “Despite being the creative centre of Hong Kong, Sham Shui Po has always been overlooked.”

The pandemic changed the way people look at fashion, she says.

Studies have shown that the pandemic has renewed appreciation for local businesses. More people are embracing locally made products, including celebrities. Among others, Law says she’s really grateful that singers Gareth Tong and Wesley Jamison, and DJ Mengzy, wore her chains at different concerts.

Celebrity endorsement of such items contributed to Hong Kong’s fashion growing bolder during the pandemic, she says.

“When I started this in 2021, people were wondering if they could pull off my chains. Now, they’re wondering which colour they should buy.”

To Law’s surprise and delight, customers have been inspired by her products and she’s seen jean chains, bag chains and bracelets made out of her jewellery. Witnessing such innovative energy, she says, is her favourite part of the job.

With the increased popularity of local handmade fashion comes a growing interest for customisation – the more unique, the better. Juu Juu embraces this mentality.

Juu Juu is a handmade jewellery brand founded in 2020 by Judy Lacy. Inspired by the maximalist culture of the ’90s and ’00s, its designs are anchored in a dreamy nostalgia of femininity, defined by unapologetic icons such as Sailor Moon and retro Japanese and Cantonese divas.

“Juu Juu was established during the thick of the pandemic,” Lacy says. “I wanted to create a feel-good brand and make fun jewellery for myself and friends.”

The brand has transcended Lacy’s friends group and is now sold at Lane Crawford. She has also organised projects with various brands, including Clot, Vans, I.T. and HER, and her jewellery has been worn by local singers such as Tyson Yoshi and Moon Tang, among others.

She attributes part of her success to Hong Kong’s unique context: with masks still required to be worn outdoors, she says that “accessories bring good vibes and colours to our daily lives”.

With a background in fashion design, Lacy has always been interested in thrifting, in finding unique, fun and “sometimes even weird” clothes and accessories. To her, the pandemic allows the world to embrace this spirit.

“I think people are a little tired of fast fashion,” she says. “And now, garments and accessories help express oneself. And it feels good to know that what you are wearing is handmade with care.”