Nurturing and showcasing Asian talent, shaping fashion’s future, and cross-sector collaboration: these were the themes of the recently concluded Fashion Asia Hong Kong 2025.
Held under the umbrella of Hong Kong Fashion Fest – a series of events to reinforce Hong Kong as a nexus for the Asian and Western fashion worlds – Fashion Asia was organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre and funded by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency. Its aim was to position the city as a development hub for regional fashion.
This year’s Fashion Asia, held from December 5-7, comprised the Fashion Challenges Forum and the exhibition “10 Asian Designers to Watch”. Both highlighted innovation, collaboration and exceptional talent.
Topics covered included The Global Fashion Landscape, looking at fashion’s evolving ecosystem; and Art, Culture & Cross-brand Collaboration, examining the importance of partnerships and fashion’s place in wider culture. Other sessions covered leadership, the role of authentic storytelling in brand development, and career paths taken by designers.
Meanwhile, the ninth edition of the “10 Asian Designers to Watch” exhibition was held from December 5-7 at the Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival – a highlight of Hong Kong’s calendar. The festival’s vibrancy formed the ideal setting for collections by some of Asia’s most keenly watched young designers, underscoring Hong Kong’s incubator role.
Under the theme “Fashion Compass”, the exhibition spotlighted signature pieces by the selected designers, with collaboration the name of the game. Illustrator Jenny Chui drew inspiration from the ensembles to produce striking accompanying artwork, while stylist Chloe Mak chose pieces from each collection to create festival looks for Clockenflap performers, including Hong Kong singers Panther Chan and Jace Chan, Taiwan band Robot Swing and Estonian nu-folk duo Puuluup.
On December 6, a meet-and-greet was held at the festival to introduce Hong Kong’s fashion community to the designers: Luca Lin of Act No1, Wong Shasha of Swaying/knit, Gao Xiang of Penultimate, Oscar Ouyang and Zhong Zixin from mainland China; Kit Wan of Hong Kong’s Kit Wan Studios; Japan’s Koki Abe of Khoki and Tatsuya Tamada of Tamme; Vietnamese-American designer Hung La from Lu’u Dan; and Hong Young-shin and Lee Sang-lim of South Korea’s Young n Sang.
