Hong Kong Eco-Fashion Designer Uses Fabric Others Throw Away

Young fashion designers in Hong Kong are working hard on their dreams of influencing the fashion world. From a small factory basement, big dreams of success fuel the life a one designer who is working feverously to create for the runway and the streets of Hong Kong and the rest of the world.

Janko Lam is originally from mainland China. She relocated to Hong Kong three years ago after graduating from a Hong Kong fashion design school to establish her eco-friendly brand “Mutt Museum.”

[Janko Lam, Fashion Designer]:
"We put our efforts into creation in the past year, thinking hard on what kind of direction we should take."

Janko takes pride in being resourceful--by using materials that were discarded by factories.
 
[Janko Lam, Fashion Designer]:
“We are not people who love wasting and consuming. We cherish all these resources. We can bring new life to anything people regard as useless.”

Head of Creative Hong Kong, Jerry Liu Wing-leung, hopes the world can that Hong Kong can serve as as bridge bewtween mainland China and the rest of the world.

[Jerry Liu Wing-leung, Head of Creative Hong Kong]:
"Hong Kong can serve as a means and a linkage with the mainland as far as bringing in the perspective of the western and international perspective is concern. First, Hong Kong can serve as a platform where we would organize regional scale and international scale events. The second way is of course individual Hong Kong companies can collaborate with the mainland counterparts. And because Hong Kong's design practitioners are often trained with a mixture of both local Chinese heritage and western perspective."

But for some designers, being on the pulse of the fashion world is competitive as well as economically challenging.

[Kenny Li, Fashion Designer]:
"There are many good designers in Hong Kong, but because it is too crowded in Hong Kong, it is difficult for fresh designers to establish new brands, as rents are so expensive."

Janko also added that "Creation creates creators." Maybe that saying can forge more young designers wanting to relocate to or already located in Hong Kong.