“Diving for Pearls”
Concept |
Concerned with the loss of collective memory and anxious about the imminent disappearance of Hong Kong identity, a nostalgic office worker attempts to travel back in time to Hong Kong’s nomadic fishing village. While diving through time portals to various
points in the city’s history, his wardrobe is disfigured, and he finds himself lost in a wet market. “Diving for Pearls” hyperbolizes the act of nostalgia through this imagined narrative of the sentimental office worker. The tailored wardrobe is warped through time, and through a whirlwind bricolage, fuses with materials from the wet market and the fishing village. The collection is a series of double exposures, where encapsulated spaces (both real and imagined) develop a new hybrid language of dressing. Simultaneously, the collection poses the question to locate and re-evaluate where this postcolonial symptom of nostalgia comes from. Through strategic cutting and draping around the contours of the body, images of conventional garments are superimposed on one another. Garments start to lose their expected functions and morph into new meanings, yet by maintaining certain details, the pieces retain the memory of what they used to be, echoing the fundamental nature of sentimentality. A curved slash on a trouser leg transforms it into a raglan silhouette. Deconstructed trompe l’oeil garments emerge from seams and wrap around the body, providing alternative methods of wearing. The visuals of spatial synthesis are evoked through the clash of traditionally masculine fabrics—wool gabardine and twills, with the artifice and irreverence of latex, resin, and rubber. Through techniques of hand dyeing and silkscreen printing, corporate browns and greys are jolted with shades of electric yellow, neon red, sage green, and pale lilac. Lush silk velvets are given ombré and devoré treatments, encapsulating a phantom image of the imagined home.
Bio |
Justin Wong is a London-based designer, born and raised in Hong Kong. As dual citizen of Hong Kong and the UK, he explores what postcolonial identity means in Hong Kong’s hyper-urbanized environment. His work explores the positioning and representation of hybridized identities within the complexities of identity politics. His designs are rooted in critical thinking and redefining the traditional codes of masculinity. Through linking his innovative textile experimentations with his unique cultural perspective, he continues to push the boundary between fashion design and academic discourse. Justin has previously worked with menswear designer and LVMH prize recipient Grace Wales Bonner, who mentored him on her soulful approach to making cross-cultural references. He has also worked with other creative entities such as Mr Porter and Marni. Justin was awarded the
Gloria Omi Tsien Scholarship, and his work is featured in Tatler Magazine.