Fashion Hong Kong

Brand

HARRISON WONG

Designer

Harrison Wong

Category

Men’s Ready To Wear

Brand information / About the designer

―What inspired you to become a fashion designer? Describe developments leading up to the brand launch.

When I was a child, I always liked drawing and creating things. Before I graduated from high school, I had already planned to study design. It was clear to me by then that my focus would be fashion design.
 

―What is the brand’s concept? What do you want to communicate through fashion designing? What are the images of men and women you want to project?

Original contemporary apparel and accessories for fashion aware consumers. Edgy, aggressive design but which also emit an understated elegance. The apparel and accessories are of the highest design, taste and quality yet affordable.
 

―What is your source of inspiration in creating fashion? What is your process of developing a design concept?

All sorts of things can influence me. It can be anything related to art, culture, cinema or even just a picture from a magazine or the internet.
 

―Who are your current stockists (areas, retail formats, etc.)? Describe the typical followers of your brand.

I have 3 own retails HARRISON WONG stores in Hong Kong. Clients will typically be fashion aware with a good eye for design and who tend to incorporate art and taste into daily life.
 

―Which brands, designers, styles and cultures have had the most impact on your fashion designing, and why?

Because the Hong Kong environment is such a mixed culture, my influences have come from both local and international sources, including Japan of course.

About 2018 S/S collection

―Why have you chosen Tokyo(Amazon Fashion Week TOKYO) as the venue for presenting your collection?

Because Japan fashion is a very mature and highly diversified market. I want to see the reaction to my brand at this fashion week.
 

―What is the concept / image for your brand’s 2018 S/S season?

Art Brut is the theme of my SS18 collection. It has drawn inspiration from sculptures and paintings of the mid-century French artist Jean Dubuffet. Dubuffet embraced the untutored, primitive lines of outsiders such as graffiti artists and others who work at the untrained margins of the craft.

Harrison Wong’s 2018 Spring/Summer Collection, At Brut, emphasizes the discord fostered by Dubuffet in the form of unproportional fit and exaggerated shoulders. Furthermore he takes the near random lines and stripes so familiar in Dubuffet’s work to unify the collection whether on striking shirts or outdoor jackets with a fitted touch.

―What is your vision for your show / installation?

The primary influence for my current collection were the paintings and sculptures of Jean Dubuffet especially his later Art Brut style. I saw a number of his works at the East Wing of the National Gallery in Washington DC last year and they made a big impression on me. Of course I am not just copying his style but rather I am trying to re-interpret it into my own fashion esthetic. I often get inspiration from contemporary and modern artists for my collections.

Future

―What are your brand’s future outlook and goal?

To reach a larger international clientele and footprint.
My ambition as a designer is simply to remain fresh, creative and true to myself while at the same time creating a truly international label.

About TOKYO

―What does Tokyo represent for you?

Very international but at the same time influenced heavily by the rich domestic culture.
 

―Which parts / sites of Tokyo do you like most? Why?

Oh there are so many! Of course Aoyama and the fashion district is a must for me to see what the latest trends in Japanese design are. But I also love just small neighborhoods, I believe you call them “shitamachi” to get a little flavor of how Tokyo might have before. I just like roaming around everywhere. It is one of my favorite cities!
 

―What are your favorite / recommended shops (of any genres, e.g. fashion stores, homeware stores, food services), facilities and sites?

I like to visit the shops of both established designers and the new newer designers. Japanese shop design is often leading edge and I like to see what new develops there are.