February 5, 2012 |
FROM THE VAULT (WINTER / SPRING 2012)
What’s new for spring/summer 2012?
“Plastic/lace/rubber/handbags/see-through shoes/independence.”
What was the inspiration/idea behind the collection?
“These words from Louise Bourgeois
‘Enjoy: neatness
The shine of a surface
The sheen of a sentence
The form of a piece
Of a statue
Of a cloth
Of a hairdo
The resolution of a problem
…Or by transforming chaos into order
Find sense out of nonsense
Order out of disorder’”
Do you have a favourite piece? Or do you love them all the same?
“I see the collection as one, from head to toe and the first look to the last.”
Does your Chinese heritage influence your work in any way?
“Yes. Previously, work has been inspired by the graveyard of my Chinese granddad. He was buried in Hong Kong and I attended Ching Ming, which is the amazing day of mourning, very inspiring. Also my family are originally from Happy Valley, but my dad grew up in Healthy Village in Hong Kong and the block of flats he grew up in with his seven brothers and sisters is amazing. It had all these washed-out pastel colours on the outside and the scaffolding is bamboo. Inside, the stark concrete building contrasts with all the double happiness signs in red and gold/plastic flowers/woven mats for sleeping on by the door… ”
What made you want to become a designer? Did you have a “eureka” moment?
“No, it felt pretty natural. I knew I was going to be a creative. I didn’t like school so when I got to art college, after a year, I realised that design was for me.”
What’s your Chinese horoscope sign?
“The tiger – lucky and brave.”
Do you believe in fortune cookies? In fortune telling?
“I’m pro fortune cookie, but I don’t believe in fortune telling. I think they tell you want you want to hear, so you might as well talk to yourself out loud.”
Favourite Bruce Lee movie?
“Way of the Dragon.”
What’s your favourite Chinese takeaway?
“Shanghai on Kingsland Road. WONTON SOUP, PLEASE!”
Are you the queen of Chinatown? Or does that crown still belong to Amanda Lear?
“Man, imagine being the queen of Chinatown. I’m more like Ming Ming, the Chinese princess of Charland (China and Ireland). HAAAAAAAAAA.”
by Natalie Dembinska
Photograph by Frederike Helwig
