A New Fashion Sensibility

Asian designers make inroads into European-dominated world of high fashion

BY NANDI POINTER

The dress above was designed by Vivienne Tam.

"Fashion is global," says Sheila Cooke, an associate professor at Hong Kong's Polytechnic School of Design. "Even Japanese people are doing fashion for the global market and Hong Kong Chinese are just the same.

"Asian designers have their own aesthetic," says Cooke, speaking in a crisp British accent, "all they need is to be recognized. ... It will happen," she adds confidently.

Cooke feels the West often assumes an unwarranted posture of cultural superiority in the fashion world. "I don't like the way the West has always assumed that it should dictate fashion style and everything else to Asians," Cooke says.

Known worldwide as one of the great cities for fashion, Cooke says Hong Kong has never had a reputation for creating designers. "People have a slight tendency to want to buy the designs that have come from abroad," she notes. Furthermore, the once favorite shopping stop of Japanese and American tourists has been battered by the recent events in the region. According to retail analyst Alan Wong, Hong Kong is experiencing its greatest economic recession in 14 years. Tourist spending, which usually accounts for 20 percent of all retail sales, has hit a tailspin as tourist arrivals dropped by 22 percent in April; retail sales subsequently dropped 6 percent.

"The price of everything should be relatively the same everywhere," says Wong. "Here in Hong Kong it is still very expensive ... ultimately, there is no incentive to buy." Although most Asian economies are expected to bottom out at the end of this year, analysts say the recovery will come slowly. As the luxury retail market fights back, Hong Kong may have to turn to its home-grown talent to generate renewed interest in the region, both at home and abroad.

Raised in Hong Kong, Vivienne Tam is spearheading this movement and is known for incorporating distinctly Asian elements into edgy '90s designs. "I like the Asian design and romantic feel, said 23-year-old Mei Gu, a native of Shanghai, who was spending a leisurely afternoon shopping on Rodeo Drive. "I especially like her sleeveless designs. A graduate of Hong Kong Polytechnic School of Design, Tam's talents have not gone unnoticed by her former alma mater; she was recently named outstanding alumni of the year.

Indeed as global lines continue to blur, Asians are making their presence known in the competitive and mercurial world of fashion. "The whole world is getting smaller and more interrelated," said Tam in a recent interview with the New York Times. "People are doing business together more. It's a mixture of East and West."

Laying Asian patterns and embroideries on dresses and Western T-shirts, Tam again looked East for this year's inspiration. Her fall collection incorporates an interesting mix of Asian art and religion, varying themes and dramatic colors: A brocade jacket printed with human figures, or a Far Isle sweater adorned with beads. Color runs amuck in this season's collection, often belying Tam's solid design foundation. While Western and European designers, such as Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, continue to revel in the drudgery of basic black, a staple of New York's fashion elite, Tam seems determined to mix things up and have a little fun.

Riding the wave of Chinese-inspired fashion was the lavish three-day opening of the Shanghai Tang store in New York last November. "That was the most unbelievable thing I've ever experienced in my life," says Vikki Wong, the director of marketing for Tang's flagship store in Hong Kong. "It was just like the handover. The shop was packed like sardines. It was a nightmare."

A successful businessman and owner of the world-renowned China Club, Tang is digging his heels into Madison Avenue in hopes of capitalizing on the demand for all things Asian. "He's not a designer, he's a visionary," Wong says.

"He really saw there was a niche in the market that was not yet filled by anyone," she adds, sitting comfortably in an antique Chinese chair. "Our ultimate goal is to become the first and foremost Chinese global brand."

Designed by Tang, the three-level New York store is an exciting amalgamation of tradition and modernity, a combination of Tang's distinguished British education and deep Chinese roots. Entering the store, you walk along mosaic colored tiles into a world of ornately carved wooden fixtures, plush chairs and old chinoiserie fabrics. A larger-than-life brightly colored star hangs ominously from the ceiling.

A well-educated philosopher and business entrepreneur, Tang saw a need to bridge the gap between tradition and modernity. His collection embodies traditional Chinese clothing, in Tang's signature colors for the '90s: fuschia, orange, gold and lime green. "He's taken these very run of the mill, simple items and elevated them to the top level," Wong says. "He's made them desirable again."

Kung fu pants, Mao-style jackets and chenogsams are presented in luxurious silks, linens and suede in colors that scream, "Notice Me!" An eye-catching full-length cape in hues of deep purple and blue incorporates a beautiful yet shocking fluorescent green lining, decorated with the Chinese symbol for "double happiness." "We have a lot of small cultural references that we incorporate in the fabric," Wong says.

"People have always associated Mao with very boring colors," she adds, "we're trying to revert the idea that Chinese dress is traditionally boring." Styles once worn by peasants and factory workers during China's turbulent Cultural Revolution now retail for $200 to upwards of $900.

Perhaps the most innovative aspect of Shanghai Tang is the imperial tailoring department, where the allure of old China reigns supreme. Rolls of lush cut velvets, hand-woven silk jacquards, and delicate gossamer veils, all imported from China, line the back wall. Wearing thick black-framed glasses, an elderly Shanghai tailor works methodically at his station. He speaks no English and is hunched forward, wearing a traditional black, cotton Mao jacket, sprinkled with flecks of discarded red thread from his work.

"The most experienced and skilled tailors come from Shanghai," says Laura Luk, the director of imperial tailoring for Tang's New York store, "but they are beginning to age and die." Born in Shanghai, Luk says she's always been fascinated by the exclusivity of custom dressmaking. "Seeing the product from just a piece of fabric to a completed dress is a very exciting and fulfilling process," Luk says.

Incorporating traditional methods of dressmaking, Tang's tailors cut freely, not following a pattern. "The way they sew is also different," says Luk, "they don't use chalk and they use string to measure. The idea is to preserve a vanishing art."

With celebrity endorsements from Gong Li (star of Shanghai Triad and Raise the Red Lantern), Lauryn Hill (of the Fugees), drop-ins by supermodel Kate Moss and actress Sigourney Weaver, it's clear Tang has secured his spot in the limelight. But according to Kurt Barnard, president of Barnards Retail Trend Report, Tang's lofty goals may be hard to obtain.

While the excitement leading up to the handover of Hong Kong sparked worldwide interest in all things Asian; from movies to furniture to fashion, some critics, such as Barnard, believe Tang's success is nothing more than a passing fad.

Wong disagrees. "We've been able to survive and Hong Kong is as tough a retail market as it is in New York in terms of competition and staying afloat," she says.

"Its very hard because modern Chinese have always been very admiring of Western culture," Wong says. "We're holding our own and with the emergence of modern China as a strong nation, I'd like to think that we're one of the tiny little pieces of the puzzle to help glorify that heritage."

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