Hong Kong Design Centre

The artistic development of fashion, music and dance are intertwined with each other and they often come together to create novel contemporary aesthetic experiences. In our Knowledge of Design Week (KODW) earlier this year, we saw the talents of the three fields come together to create Fashion Movement, an in-situ creative performance curated by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) under the sponsorship of KEF.

Fashion, music and dance are three strong drives of contemporary art and design development. They play critical roles in pepping up a creative city. Riding on KODW’s theme of ‘Design for Liveability’, KODW provided a platform for the three elements to merge into this specially curated performance. Such chemistry between music x dance x fashion manifests the creative energy of Hong Kong.

This cross-disciplinary collaboration blended rap music, guzheng (a Chinese string musical instrument), modern choreography and fashion design together through the curation of WKCDA’s Artistic Associate (Music) Kung Chi Shing. “While all these elements came together organically, they interacted with each other in equal measure.” This is very different from say fashion shows, where models’ movements are usually limited to walking and music often serves as the background ambience. “The result of this project was a highly finished artistic production.”

Ivanhoe Lam, the choreographer of the performance, threaded through dance, fashion and everyday life with the act of changing clothes during the choreography. “This familiar act invokes a lot of my memories. It’d prompt the audience’s association with their daily lives, too. At the same time, as the dancers put the garments on and take them off again, the audience would be able to see the outfits’ design details and the dancers’ moves.” Ivanhoe also shared how the choreography was influenced during the collaboration process. “Many of the moves were inspired during the fitting process, when the designers illustrated some particular details like how to throw on the clothes. To me, this is the true meaning of collaboration.”

The distinct designs of the two FIP designers, Aries Sin and Angus Tsui, conveyed a contrasting vibe. Aries took cues from the dynamism of lines — a strong graphic element often found in city and dance — to overlap layers of stripe patterns. “When the dancers moved with the music, the body’s movement set the patterns and layers in motion and in turn, enhanced the dance with a striking visual impact.” Angus’ design delivered a consistency with the social consciousness of his oeuvres. Naming the collection ‘BEEvolution,’ he intends to invoke the connection between the act of dancing with the honey gathering of bees, a species endangered by modern civilization development. Driven by environmental awareness, his production process puts upcycling materials and zero-waste techniques to the best use.

Aries recounts her experience with the City Contemporary Dance Company, “I understood that garments for dancing must be compatible with any kind of movement. Not only should they elevate the essence of the movement, but they should give maximum agility to the dancers.” Angus thought it was a valuable opportunity for them to explore new ground in fashion showcasing, “The fusion of music, dance and fashion injected a unique quality into the project. The result was much more appealing than a conventional fashion show. It broke the boundaries of sensational interactions with the audience by letting design flow into our everyday life.”