FIP Designers Steals the Limelight at Paris Fashion Week
To say that joining Paris Fashion Week, one of the “Big 4” of global fashion weeks, is the dream of every young fashion designer is hardly exaggerating. In the recent edition of this glitzy fashion week in September, three FIP designer brands had their dream come true. With the support of Fashion Farm Foundation (FFF), a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting Hong Kong fashion design, MODEMENT, FFIXXED STUDIOS and The World is Your Oyster unveiled their SS19 collections at Paris Fashion Week to international glitterati, buyers and media.
Established by Aries Sin, MODEMENT has joined the fashion week for the first time this spring. But the dream-come-true feeling was still fresh. Aries brought to the international stage her new collection named “Heads Up,” whose inspiration came from her questioning of the leash that social media put on us. She used soft materials and oversized tailoring to create a style that empowers the display of the original self rather than the conformity to beauty trends. The extensive exchange with global designers, buyers and media during the event enabled Aries to take a step back and look at her brand’s positioning from a new international perspective. “Ideas kept popping up in my head during conversations and exchanges. They certainly help me to move forward. The interest in our brand from several renowned stores has also boosted my confidence to explore new markets.”
The SS19 collection of FFIXXED STUDIOS, set up by Fiona Lau and Kain Picken, was inspired by their critical observation of the trending lifestyle retreats in paradise places such as the Indian coastal state Goa. They took their new design to explore “new interpretations of spiritual wellbeing within a consumer culture.” While it’s their 4th time to participate in the fashion week, thanks to the support of FFF, this time they discovered a whole new experience. They staged a fashion presentation rather than a traditional runway show. Both the designers and the viewers were happy about this more engaging showcase format, “The process was more relaxed and we feel that we and our audience were able to get more out of it.”
The World is Your Oyster, the brainchild of Calvin Chan and Joyce Kun, has already participated in the fashion week for two years. This time, they presented a new collection themed “Psychic Love Wave” which took cues from the accelerating digitalisation and robotisation of our time. They imagined an outlandish romance between human and artificial intelligence and conveyed the mood of complexity of an alternative modern love. By adding utilitarian elements and embedding a xerox effect on floral patterns, the new design reinterpreted the softness and warmth of love with the steel heart of technology. The experience not only increased their international exposure but also brought them some new orders and opportunities. “Some buyers and industry peers thought our designs are interesting and they appreciate our aesthetics. They like the details and the twists in our designs.”
We are very glad to witness the successful and fruitful experiences of the three FIP designer brands at Paris Fashion Week. Taking the stage at this world-leading fashion event is, without a doubt, an important milestone for young designers like them. The government, FIP and other local fashion-promoting organisations like FFF are stepping up their support to champion and facilitate these young designers’ presence in the international fashion scene. Events like Paris Fashion Week are certainly not the endpoint, just the beginning of their fashion dreams.
