Johanna Ho, Hong Kong Designer

Johanna Ho is a local designer, whom graduated from Central Saint Martins in London.  She quickly launched her own label in Hong Kong and is well known amongst fashion circles here and in Japan.  She designs attuned to a modern woman's lifestyle and works with an eco-friendly ethos.  Over the years, she has designed private label collections, uniforms, and costumes, no doubt to keep her cash flow afloat.  Most recently, she designed shoes with Pedder Red (a lesser prices store of On Pedder).  I personally enjoy the sophisticated nature of her design and the mix of soft lines with yet an edgy feel.

I will interview her in the coming weeks and showcase her F/W collection.  

Whilst in HK, you can find her at D Mop, Liger and Shine.  

101 to Sourcing Fabrics, Embellishments, Embroidery in India

One of the best things anyone can do while visiting India, even if you are not in fashion, is to tour the local markets and fashion areas for fabrics, embellishments, embroidery and ribbons.  If you are making something, the turn around time to produce a prototype (depending upon level of detail) can be less than 24 hours.  I recommend that you have extremely clear directions, sketches, colors and detail.  And the patience that at times, your prototype may not come back exactly how you want it to be.  I have experienced this first hand, on many occasions and it leads to much frustration.  It requires an hands-on approach and some flexibility.  One of the major reasons why India has yet to really capture the production market outside of embellishments, scarves and loose-fitting clothing.  

For those heading to India, I suggest making curtains (the assortment of cotton fabric and sari fabric full of vibrant color and embellishments) customizing scarves, and tote style bags.  All make perfect presents.

Allow quite a lot of time to source materials.  The shops are quite crowded and you need to dig deep in their stock.  Sometimes the best pieces are those hidden under piles of fabric.

Zucca Fashion Show

Harem Pant continues to captivate

Celebs at Izzue Show

Love the Look, Hair????

Zucca, is an HK brand launched in the late 90s and is part of the enormous and highly successful fashion conglomerate I.T. Izzue held their Fall/Winter Fashion show at Domani Restaurant outside of Pacific Place in Admiralty. They define themselves between a mix of casual, urban and avant garde.  In this particular collection it is Asian girl meets the type of person whom buys Timberland boots with a bit of the Alps holiday mixed in.  Iseey Miyake seems to fit in the mix as well.

What I see in the early stages of F/W (fortunately, we don't get F/W too early here, it is the lack of seasons, which lessens the hype for buying sweaters in August) throughout HK are tweeds, capes, shades of browns and animal prints used-Izzue is right in the mix. The harem pant is overwhelmingly popular here and I notice that the trend continues in the Fall.

Something lovely about Hong Kong, particularly for designers and shop owners, is that collections are shown right before their designs hit the stores. Designers use these shows as press kick off for the current collection and for immediate sales. Post show, orders are taken and deliveries arrive within a week later.

The shows are intimate, include food and drinks, where both their loyal client, celebs, and fashion press mingle.