Winner of New Talent Awards at YDC 2020 Jacqueline Leung will be launching her winning collection with JOYCE this month that celebrates family, handiwork and Hong Kong culture.
"The Blessed Kids” is the title of this colourful, joyful and nostalgic collection collection. It is inspired by Leung’s childhood memory of her mother and grandmother having the responsibility of childcare while taking handiwork jobs to earn money. It is also a memory shared by many Hong Kongers of the days when the city was a major production centre and even housewives who could not go to work in factories participated in the industrial boom by sewing or assembling plastic flowers at home.
While the floral prints, beading, quilting and traditional baby carrier wraps as design elements are instantly recognisable by Hong Kongers, Leung has given these nostalgic motifs a delightfully contemporary update.
For the Autumn/Winter 2021 season, this mini collection comprises eight items including accessories and clothing. The designer said she was pleasantly surprised that the team at JOYCE picked the full-length showpiece dress that was one of the collection highlights
“Apart from that dress, I created some new items based on the show collection. They are of the same look and feel but modified to be a bit more wearable. It was a great learning experience because working with JOYCE I got to understand more about the market, and how to communicate with a major buyer to create a commercial collection,” she said.
The collection took around six months to finish, from development to final delivery. It might be a small collection, but the border restrictions caused by the pandemic meant that that is no mean feat, given how much handiwork is involved in making these items.
“I learned a great deal about time management because I have a production team of two – myself and a tailor in Hong Kong. We made every item here and I did all the beading myself,” said Leung.
While the collection may look feminine at first glance, it is also brightly coloured and features loose boyish, cuts. The rich handiwork and prints should be appreciated by fashionistas. The designer hopes that her diverse designs will stand her in good stead when the collection launches later this month.
While it is every designer’s dream to launch their own fashion label, Leung is in no rush to do so. Winning YDC and the subsequent collaboration with JOYCE have given her the confidence to further develop herself, particularly experimenting with different handcrafted techniques. Since she works full time for a womenswear label, Leung doesn’t usually have time to work on her own projects but is now encouraged to pursue that path. The future is full of possibilities for this young designer.
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