HKTDC Hong Kong Fashion Week

By+Zhao+Zihan

The 22nd Hong Kong Fashion Week for Spring/Summer ended its four-day run at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre （HKCEC） on this July 9th. Organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council （HKTDC）， the fair welcomed more than 16，000 buyers from 65 countries and regions. Buyers from the Chinese mainland， India， Vietnam and Japan recorded positive growth compared to the previous year. Some 30 events were held at the fairground， including house shows and fashion parades presented by young design talents striving to establish their own labels. Hong Kong Fashion Week for Spring/Summer provided an ideal platform for fashion designers to introduce their brands to the international market.

Online and offline promotion platform

“In recent years， many young and budding fashion designers around the world have made it their goal to launch their own labels. This edition of Fashion Week welcomed more than 100 designers to present their creations and products and， at the same time， explore different sales channels at the fair such as online retailing，” said HKTDC Acting Executive Director Benjamin Chau. “Many e-tailers were attracted to source at the Fashion Week. This trend is expected to remain prevalent.”

Asian online fashion retailer ZALORA returned to Hong Kong Fashion Week again this year， while several buyers from Thailand made their first visit to the Spring/Summer edition. ZALORAs Head of Business Development， ZALORA （Thailand） Ltd.， Sittharat Tiranasak， said online shopping was becoming increasingly popular in Thailand， and the company has been benefiting from this growth. Ms Tiranasak said she came to the fair hoping to secure 10 new suppliers to cater to a growing demand for quality products. She said she would be in further talks with some of the suppliers from the fair to finalize contract terms， adding that the order is expected to be around US$5，000.

ITC Limited， which operates two fashion labels and a retail network of about 500 stores in India， joined the fair for the first time. Category Manager Sachin Mohan said he had already identified some 20 potential suppliers from Hong Kong and the mainland and was considering placing orders with five of them， with the total amount of orders being in the range of US$80，000 and US$150，000.

As for Japanese exhibitor FORTUNA Tokyo， Sales Manager Yosuke Miwa said he had received an order from a Philippines buyer on-site. Mr. Miwa considered the Hong Kong Fashion Week a good platform to connect with international buyers and learn about the tastes and needs of different markets. He said he would be returning next January for Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter.

Helping companies expand their horizons

Australian department store David Jones is planning to open its first overseas store in New Zealand next year. The company came to the fair looking for leather goods， bags and footwear products. Lee Rees-Oliviere， General Manager， said he met some potential suppliers on the first day through a business-matching meeting arranged by the HKTDC， and he was optimistic about concluding some deals. He said the amount of orders could be up to several million Australian dollars.

Japanese exhibitor Maruhisa was promoting its botanical-dyed cotton fabrics and T-shirts at its first Hong Kong Fashion Week exhibition. The company leveraged the fair to break into overseas markets. Eiji Mizobuchi， Senior Manager， said buyer response had been positive； an Australian buyer had shown great interest in their special fabrics. Mr. Mizobuchi found the fair effective for meeting more international buyers.

Springboard for budding designers

The Hong Kong Fashion Week for Spring/Summer has long been a springboard for young fashion designers to introduce their brands to the international market. On the first day of the fair， the HKTDC organized two fashion shows for young designers to showcase their collections： FASHIONALLY Collection #4， included 10 past winners and finalists of the Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers Contest （YDC）； and fashionally 4.0 was tailored to YDC designers who have launched their own labels in the past year. The collections were also featured at the International Fashion Designers Showcase， enabling designers to meet with interested buyers after the shows and build their networks. One of the FASHIONALLY COLLECTION #4 participating designers， Matt Hui， said he had started developing his own label over the past couple of years. He was able to launch two collections at the Fashion Weeks fashion shows and meet buyers from Shanghai and Chengdu at the post-show networking receptions.

Tribal instinct

Adopting the theme of “Tribal Safari”， Fashion Week features a wide array of product zones including： International Fashion Designers Showcase， Emporium de Mode， Fashion Jewellery Feast， Salon of Scarves and Shawls， Denim Arcade and Bridal and Evening Wear.

Small orders in vogue

During the fair， 130 garment racks and showcases were hosted at the hktdc.com Small Orders zone， featuring suppliers accepting minimum-order quantities between five and 1，000 units. Instant business connections and transactions between buyers and suppliers were also made available via http：//smallorders.hktdc.com. This HKTDC initiative continued to be popular with buyers keen to test the market for new products before placing large orders.

Catwalk Chic – FASHIONALLY COLLECTION #4

The annual Hong Kong Fashion Week has become a platform for top designers from the Hong Kong Young Fashion DesignersContest （YDC） to present their collections to discerning buyers from around the world. This years festival will kick off with the FASHIONALLY COLLECTION #4 show， where the latest creations from 10 YDC designers were on scintillating display. The participating designers were Matt Hui， Mountain Yam， Derek Chan， Sherman Kwan， Walter Kong， Aries Sin， Yannes Wong， Chloe Sung， Kenax Leung and Mim Mak.

Almost 30 events took place at the fairground， including six house shows and nine fashion parades. The first of these， FASHIONALLY Collection #4 highlighted the work of emerging local designers who were winners and finalists in previous Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers contests. Shows arranged by the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Raffles School of Continuing Education also highlighted creations by local design students.

As well， two designers collection shows， as well as one organized by the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre， provided a stage for more established designers to show their own collections for the coming season.

Fashion vision

Seminars and symposiums form a major part of Fashion Week， with fashion-related technology and trends taking centre stage. The July 7th full-day Innovation and Technology Symposium featured keynote pre-sentations， six afternoon sessions， and cocktail networking receptions， where participants can deepen their understanding of new technology in the fashion industry. Keynote speakers included Professor Xiaoming Tao， Chair Professor of Textile Technology at the Institute of Textiles and Clothing， Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Dr David Ireland， General Manager： International， Precincts， and Innovation Systems at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization as well as Jong Lee， Chief Executive Officer of Bonham Strand Hong Kong.

Other activities spotlight fashion trends， including AW2016/17 Macro Trends & Fashion Forecast led by WGSN. In addition， Fashion Snoops led a seminar on Visionary Trends for AW 2016/17 Womenswear and Menswear.

International markets

Fashion Week buyer forums examine the prospects for Indonesia， Middle East， Russia， the Czech Republic and the Chinese mainland. More than 90 buying missions from 45 countries and regions have brought over 5，160 buyers from more than 3，600 companies to the fair.