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A tour de force of originality, innovation and wearability achieved through in-depth research, exceptional artisanship and application of cutting-edge technology, 30 graduating students showcased their unique creations, ranging from street fashion, evening wear, sportswear, knitwear, to intimate apparel, in a culmination of years of hard work under the guidance of SFT’s professors.
The glittering fashion show also serves to reinforce SFT’s standing as a world-class education and research institution dedicated to comprehensive fashion and textile design training, leading-edge technological development in materials and production, as well as business innovations. It was organised by SFT and attracted a 1,400-strong live audience, including eminent figures in the fashion industry and fashionistas. The event was also live-streamed to over 40,000 online viewers around the world.
Inaugural Dean of SFT, Professor Erin Cho, believes that the School is at the forefront of the newest developments in all fashion-related sectors, not just locally and regionally, but also globally. “We contribute to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA) through our strong research capabilities.”
“SFT is unique in the sense that we’re the leading and most specialised [fashion-related technology] research centre in the whole of China,” she added, citing that the School’s research capabilities range from sustainability, biodegradable and smart materials, to augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and the metaverse, and all the other technological components. Data are used extensively in SFT’s cutting-edge research on product development, marketing and business innovations.
Professor Cho envisions further enriching the fashion education at SFT, with main focuses on students’ international exposure, design capabilities, entrepreneurship, and the research and development of intelligent wearable technology.
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For design capabilities, SFT will launch a new postgraduate programme that reflects the global trend of ‘slow fashion’ spearheaded by well-known luxury brands that explores the appreciation of heritage, artisanship, and artistry. “In Hong Kong, we have access to China’s thousands of years of craftsmanship and cultural and design heritage,” Cho notes.
On the technological front, a new postgraduate programme on intelligent materials and wearable tech aims at inspiring students to explore ways to incorporate technology for enhanced sustainability, as well as to develop innovative ways to consume textiles and elevate the ability to collect relevant data for analyses. An example is the ‘smart sheet and blanket’ that collect data for biomedical purposes.
Nurturing students’ entrepreneurship is through a variety of activities. SFT organises a series of online lectures in which successful fashion entrepreneurs from around the world share their insights and experiences in setting up their fashion ventures. Visits to factories and exchanges with current practitioners, such as the May study trip to production centres in Vietnam, help strengthen students’ exposure to the garment supply chain and manufacturing centres in Asia and enable them to build connections.
“We encourage and inspire students to utilise their design capabilities and combine all our edges in the specialised areas, together with their business acumen, to create the Hong Kong brand,” Professor Cho said. “We are poised to take the sector to the next level.” Prior to joining SFT, Professor Cho worked as the first female Asian Dean at Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York City.
SFT counts many well-known designers and entrepreneurs among its alumni. They include Derek Chan, Co-founder and Design Director of the fashion brand DEMO, which pioneers gender-neutral luxury designs. In support of his alma mater, Chan helped with the judging for the Overall Grand Award, sponsored by the Nameson Group Ltd. “I’m willing to share my experience with the students,” he said.
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“When I started studying fashion design, I was passionate about design but knew little about the production techniques and design thinking,” Chan said. “SFT inspired us to innovate on different ways to develop designs. The education we received has made the design process and brand building easier,” said Chan, a graduate of BA/2011 and M.Phil/2017.
SFT equips students with comprehensive practical knowledge so that they are able to effectively communicate and articulate their concepts to the tailors and pattern-makers, Chan notes. “At school, we relied on the seasoned professors to share their extensive practical experiences in production. The professors also cultivated our international perspective. As students, we had the opportunity to join an overseas exchange programme and internship at luxury brands.”
Chan’s sentiment is shared by Hana Li Yuxian, the winner of the Overall Grand Award. Her winning pieces, themed “Gentle Transitions: Impressions of Nature’s Fleeting Embrace”, are ultra labour-intensive and completely handcrafted, involving the ‘deconstruction’ and ‘reconstruction’ of threads and yarns as well as complex patchworks mixing different materials. “The biggest challenge was the time-consuming manual production. The guidance from professors inspired me to transform rough ideas into a multi-layered design concept,” noted Li, who aspires to become a textile designer. “I made good use of the resources at SFT, including the library. Students are able to be creative with textile designs, thanks to the access to many knitting and weaving systems and the extensive database of materials. SFT encourages students to approach designs from multiple angles.”
On Li’s winning designs, inspired by natural flora and fauna depicted in Impressionist paintings and enlivened by her creative production process, Chan remarked: “Upon close inspection, they are beautifully finished and show great attention to details. While paraded down the runway, the designs are superb combinations of shades, materials and shapes. They display a complete look.”
Similar to Li’s designs, innovative textile is the inspiration for the pieces titled “What Do You See First”, by multi-award winner Quinn Cheng Chau-hung. “I wanted to explore the infinite possibilities of woven fabrics. All fabrics, except for the linings and interlinings, were hand-woven by me,” Cheng said. “The fabrics feature a mix of low-crease merino wool and elastic yarns and were woven to create the ultra-soft and 3-D visual effect of knitwear so that the colour and shape change along with the wearer’s movements.”
In addition, the innovative designs change shapes when they come into contact with heated air from a hair-dryer, allowing for the moulding around individual wearer’s contours to create an impeccable fit. “The designs fit all shapes and sizes. This is the sustainability consideration,” continued Cheng, who credited the successful completion of these designs to her long hours at the SFT’s Weaving Lab and guidance from the professors and technicians.
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Cheng won the “Fenix Young Talent Award”, the “Watsons ‘The New Beautiful’ Sustainability Innovation Award”, and the “Best Use of Australian Merino Wool Award”.
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