"The 47th edition of the Hong Kong Fashion Week (HKFW) attracted more than 1,500 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions to showcase the latest international brands, clothing products, accessories and textiles. During the gala fair, around 30 spectacular events were organised, including more than 10 fashion shows and fashion parades as well as seminars on hot topics for the industry and networking events. The recently concluded 47th Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the fair (18-21 January) attracted nearly 18,000 buyers from 93 countries and regions."

The 47th edition of the Hong Kong Fashion Week (HKFW) attracted more than 1,500 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions to showcase the latest international brands, clothing products, accessories and textiles. During the gala fair, around 30 spectacular events were organised, including more than 10 fashion shows and fashion parades as well as seminars on hot topics for the industry and networking events. The recently concluded 47th Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the fair (18-21 January) attracted nearly 18,000 buyers from 93 countries and regions.

HK-based brands in focus

Benjamin Chau, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director believes the fashion industry faces many challenges with the European economy still recovering, slowing growth of the Chinese economy and unsatisfactory retail sales. “However, Hong Kong companies need not be pessimistic,” says Chau they should, instead, focus their attention on emerging markets and the ASEAN region. This season’s Hong Kong Fashion Week witnessed satisfactory increase in buyers from India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, indicating optimism among buyers from these countries.

For Hong Kong Fashion Week, the HKTDC organised 90 buying missions from 43 countries and regions. More than 5,000 buyers, including representatives from fashion brands, major chain stores, and distributors from ASEAN and other emerging markets, such as 23 from Malaysia, Zalora from Singapore, FashionSouq from the UAE and Dapper from Thailand participated in the fair, creating business opportunities for exhibitors.

Ryan Forbes, Marketing Manager, FashionSouq, said the market for women’s wear in the UAE was growing fast. He said he was considering purchasing men’s and women’s wear and fashion accessories for their online store. He had found five potential suppliers of beachwear, eveningwear, and accessories during the fair and planned to place small orders in early February. Forbes is from the emerging UAE market.

Lourdes R Mackay from Golden ABC, which has more than 600 stores across the Philippines and sells to Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam, said she was particularly happy with the ‘Men in Style’ zone at the fair. She said men’s wear had a huge and rapidly growing market in the Philippines, representing 70 per cent of Golden ABC’s business. Ms Mackay said they had found around 20 potential suppliers and would be finalising orders soon.

Hong Kong design welcomed by buyers

The Hong Kong Designer brand ‘Nude-MADE BY SUOI’ participated in the Designers’ Collection Show. Designer Thomas Kung said their women’s wear was known for its simplicity, and was currently selling in around 10 select shops in the mainland. During the fair, a buyer from mainland, who owns five shops in different mainland cities, showed a lot of interest in their brand. Kung believed that it would be a great chance for them to expand their market in the mainland.

Expanding brands in Asian market

HKFW featured a good number of brands, which regard the fair as a good platform to stage fashion shows and launched their latest collections. This included Taylor Shift’s eponymous brand, brought to Hong Kong by Hong Kong Brand Management Association. 

Fortuna Tokyo showcased their nishijin-ori designs on the runway with the help of leading actors Kanta Sato, Rena Bisa, Shimon Okura and Tomori Atsuki from “Itazura na Kiss the movie” (Mischievous Kiss). The collection launched this time takes its theme from “Samurai”, primarily focusing on men’s wear.

The 47th edition of HKFW attracted more than 1,500 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions to showcase the latest international brands, clothing products, accessories and textiles. During the fair, around 30 spectacular events were organised, including more than 10 fashion shows and fashion parades as well as seminars on hot topics for the industry and networking events.