Q&a / Sau Lee founder Cheryl Leung on modern cheongsam design: the talented creative director blends East-meets-West aesthetics for the contemporary woman in her Hong Kong-based label

Jun 1 , 2023

Style chatted to Sau Lee founder Cheryl Leung. Photo: Handout

Founded in 2014 by Cheryl Leung, Sau Lee is a popular fashion label that has attracted a cult following for its contemporary take on evening wear and the traditional cheongsam

Designed for ‘today’s cosmopolitan heroine’, the Hong Kong-based brand is ‘envisioned by women for women’, and saw rapid expansion in Asia during the Covid-19 pandemic

Established in 2014 by Cheryl Leung, Hong Kong-based fashion label Sau Lee first caught our eye with its range of contemporary evening wear and modern take on the cheongsam. While the traditional Chinese dress is often reserved for weddings and other formal occasions, the brand’s fashion-forward interpretations have made it more approachable and accessible.

Sau Lee is a modern fashion brand that blends East-meets-West influences. Photo: Sau Lee

We speak with Sau Lee’s talented creative director and founder about her design inspiration, multicultural upbringing and more.

Sau Lee designs are modern and creative, offering collections from evening wear to wedding guest dresses. Photo: Sau Lee

Tell us about your label.

Sau Lee is a luxury fashion house made for today’s cosmopolitan heroine. It began with a desire to form a new genesis of female glamour in Eastern-inspired sartorial sensuality made for the modern generation of polyculturalists; to empower the everyday woman to live her reverie in new ways that she creates, not what was created for her; to be the hero of her own story. Envisioned by women for women, every style is meticulously designed for our heroine to feel effortlessly beautiful, captivating and deserved.

Sau Lee’s Jen Chinese Jacquard Mini Dress. Photo: Sau Lee

How has your upbringing influenced your designs?

I knew I wanted to begin with a cheongsam-inspired style but reinterpreted with a modern international flair, as I have always been mesmerised by the perfect balance of elegance and understated sexiness that is delineated through its iconic design features – the high collar, side slits, Chinese frog fasteners and piping, to name a few.

Having been brought up in interweaving cultures from both the East and West, it became an important mission to me to create a polycultural fashion brand that truly celebrates inclusivity and moves the conversation forward from just “East meets West”, by embracing Eastern-inspired sartorial sensuality with contemporary fashion.