Fashion faux pas: why Hong Kong designers struggle to make a global impact
Despite the government investing huge sums and the undoubted creative talent in the city, questions remain about the best way to develop the industry
For up-and-coming fashion darling Anais Mak Ting-chung, Hong Kong has been a great place to launch her four-year-old brand, Jourden.
But for the creative designer behind one of the city’s most successful rising labels, there are a lot of challenges facing independent designers trying to make it big in the Fragrant Harbour, despite the considerable windfall of government funding the industry has received.
To 27-year-old Mak – who is starting to make waves worldwide with her collections – what the fashion world here offers fledging designers by way of stimulation, diversity, dynamism and government support, it lacks in direction.
And this is despite the government pouring millions into the industry in a bid to make Hong Kong’s fashion market rival London, Milan and New York as a trendsetting culture capital.
Mak is one of the few Hong Kong designers who is really tapping into the international market, selling to 30 accounts worldwide and garnering the esteem of movers and shakers in several fashion capitals. Despite last year’s slump in retail figures across Hong Kong the brand experienced moderate growth.
She attributes her success to forcing herself to acquire the necessary business acumen required to build a brand that can also appeal to international markets – a strategy she says young Hong Kong designers tend to avoid to the detriment of their careers.
