Upmarket retailer JOYCE feted the re-opening of its Central store with The Golden Needle, a multi-disciplinary exhibition that brings us into the mind of ‘the Tailor, a fictional JOYCE alter-ego who allows visitors a mind-expanding glimpse into her past, present and future.” Conceived by Emmy award winning creative director and production designer Joseph Bennett, in collaboration with fashion historian Olivier Châtenet and British theatre group Les Enfants Terribles, the immersive installation took up shop at an abandoned retail space next to the JOYCE boutique from October 14 to 16.
Upon registration, guests are led from the JOYCE boutique down a dark stairway to a 'tailor shop'. Stuffed to the brims with rolls of fabrics and yarn, mannequins and design patterns, the interiors conjure images of a traditional bespoke tailoring shop, as one might find in London's famous Savile Row. A second stairway thrusts us into the first of a series of 'interactive sets'. Pitted with such top names as Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Maison Michel and Dries Van Noten, each room is centred around a theme - while one evoked an ethereal moonscape, another featured multitudes of psychedelic yarn dripping from the ceiling.
Aside from top-notch international design brands, The Golden Needle also spotlighted young, homegrown brands, including YDC designers’ brand - HANG and KHOCHEUNG.
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Set up by Mim Mak, the 2012 winner of HKTDC’s Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers’ Contest (YDC), HANG had its origins as a party and evening wear brand but soon expanded to including women's daily wear. Mak’s creations feature unique cuts - thanks in no small part to Mak's background in graphic design - and are fashioned from unexpected materials, yet the designer doesn’t shy away from utility. ‘’Rather than be inspired by a specific designer or movement, I want my clothes to provoke re-thinking of contemporary fashion. For example, I added hidden zippers to my Winter 2015 collection to loosen up the use of the sleeves.” Having shown at Hong Kong Fashion Week, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York and Paris Fashion Week. Hang has also built up a humbly-sized but dedicated group of clientele who prefers to “buy 2 good-quality pieces rather than 20 tops from a fast fashion chain''. As for Mak’s dream project? 'I'd love to collaborate with a film director. Those in the cinematic world have a unique eye for beauty.”
Fashion wasn’t Kenneth Cheung’s first calling. The champion of the 2016 edition of YDC awards worked at a bank for a year before deciding to switch gears to fashion. “I read my fair share of fashion magazines but it never occurred to me to become a designer,” recalls Cheung, who clinched a degree in Knitwear Design and Technology at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2014 and set up KHOCHEUNG soon after. Counting Belgian designer Martin Margiela as his inspiration, Cheung gravitates towards a deconstructivist approach - out-sized garments, raw edges with military elements, including bold red embroidery, throw in for good measure. The up-and-coming designer will set sail for a one-month internship with Japanese design FACETASM in January 2017 - “I’ve always been a fan of the brand’s silhouettes” – and is aiming high. “I’d love for my collections to appear on the runways in Milan, Paris and New York someday.”
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