What a week…

This week like every other just seemed to zoom along at the blink of an eye. It was perhaps a bit more of a jam packed week with not only trying to fit in the daily running’s of a business, managing people, designing a new collection, working on a brand re-design, preparing for an event but also running to forum’s, fashion shows, and parties put on by the master card luxury fashion week in Hong Kong.

Coming up to 2 years of running Kanchan Couture, while always trying to stay inspired it often feels like a up hill struggle and being human it is only natural that you question what your doing, how could you do it better or what is it that your doing wrong, how could you be making more money, having more clients..blah blah blah.

What a week it was …not just for me but the world of fashion with Esprit seeing profits fall 40 percent this quarter, Hermes profit below expectation and Christian Lacroix falling ….yet amidst this there is hope in Asia!!

Going to fashion week’s luxury forum helped me in remembering how much I truly love the world of fashion, from both angles - creative and business. The panel of speakers ranged from directors of luxury brands to renounced writers to retail real estate giants. Each speaker not only shared great insights into the industry and also a positive / passionate sprit on where and how Asia is developing as a market with its very interesting consumer group…starting a business in Asia was perhaps the correct choice.

The weeks ended with the wrap party thrown by Quintessentially and Taubman, and what a party it was, fashionably dressed people, a creative collaboration of Havianas and Pikpiking, blinking of camera flashes, champagne and great music.

Bring it on Asia!!!

www.kanchancouture.com

Red Dress Rescues

And they say fashion does not have a heart…well this year as the world get more conscientious so does fashion.

MasterCard Worldwide today announced its support of the Go Red For Women campaign by bringing it to Hong Kong in conjunction with MasterCard Luxury Week Hong Kong 2009. The campaign seeks to raise awareness of heart disease and stroke – the No.1 killer of women worldwide.

In support of the Hong Kong Heart Foundation, MasterCard will auction four red dresses specially designed by internationally-renowned Hong Kong designers.

The exclusive red dresses by Shanghai Tang, Dorian Ho, Vivienne Tam, and Ports 1961 will be shown at the closing show—The Red Dress Collection presented by MasterCard—on 29 August. The closing show will also showcase red dresses from a number of MasterCard Luxury Week Hong Kong participating brands, and include a limited-edition piece by Tommy Hilfiger.

Bidding will be open to MasterCard cardholders from 24 August, coinciding with the start of MasterCard Luxury Week Hong Kong. The dresses will be on display at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong for the duration of the event. Bidding will close at 12.00am on 30 August and the MasterCard Luxury Week Hong Kong website will be regularly updated during the course of the week to indicate the highest bid received for each dress.

Dorian Ho
Riding on the theme of Dorian Ho’s FW 09 Collection ‘Diva’, this timeless garnet tulle netting gown was inspired by Dorian’s muse, Audrey Hepburn. Yards and yards of netting were needed to create this ballerina like dress. It’s voluminous, yet delicate. It’s simple yet elegant. The neckline-décolleté bateau is delicately encrusted with Crystallized Swarovski crystals, creating a faux necklace effect.



Ports 1961
This Red Dress creation is inspired by the traditional aesthetics of India’s Mugal Dynasty. The Henna gown takes on a modern sensuality in handcrafted Parisienne panne silk velvet. The cloth is transformed through several artisanal processes: woven on a jacquard loom, then a burned out print technique creates dimension and fluidity to the rose pattern. A final hand painted touch using copper pigments on each individual flower adds luster to this couture fabric. The simple asymmetric hem gown is then infused with a final hand embroidery technique of additional layers of flower appliqué for a luxurious 3D effect.


Vivienne Tam
Vivienne Tam has found inspiration for her Fall 2009 collection in the concept of “nothingness”. Starting with the Asian philosophy of creating an empty space that gives way to something new and unexpected, Tam explores concept, design and form, to present an intuitive and unique collection.



So come on support and place your bid today - http://www.mastercardluxuryweek.com.hk/

www.kanchancouture.com

And the games begin…

Today is the first day of the grand MasterCard luxury fashion week in Hong Kong, and being a young designer it is always interesting to go along to the events and see how the big brands are doing their thing.

Intriguing to learn from the more experienced....so I went along to the briefing by Proff Michel Phan which talked of << The Luxury Industry: Lessons Learnt from Past Crises.>>

Luxury is a magical world......with the uber chic-ly dressed guests , the paparazzi snapping away and the perfectly adorned ball room where the event is held makes me strive harder so that one day in the near future Kanchan Couture will too be able to hold these events.

Wanted to share some wise learnings from Dr.Phan.

Four Key Strategies adopted by the major luxury groups during a crisis:

1. Develop its retail network through new stores openings and / or refurbishing in key strategic locations/ cities
2. Launch of new products to continuously stimulate consumer demand
3. Improve financial health by cutting costs, creating greater efficiencies and savings and better managing logistics / supply chain
4. Diversify into strategic but complementary businesses, or acquire greater control of current businesses.


Keep pushing ahead was the main message I took away...looking forward to the week full of events!!

Long Live Luxury!!

www.kanchancouture.com

Events galore..

A large part of Hong Kong life is all about networking and going to events although I do enjoy it, often it can get a bit exhausting.

On Tuesday night Kanchan Couture and Wineway put on an event called the little black dress, at first the thought of putting on another event was a bit daunting especially since it is officially the middle of the summer vacation. But it turned out a wonderful evening of chatting to new friends, creative people while also learning about what styling means to different people. Nights like this always bring me back to my element realizing that it is wonderful to be social, learning new things from everyone around you.

Thought to share some images from the event:




“The Little Black Dress” – On three different personalities, 16 different ways to jazz up that little black dress while learning about some exquisite wines.

www.kanchancouture.com

In the summertime when the weather is fine...

We want YOU to be a part of the Summer FUN….

From Tuesday the 11th of August (Tomorrow!!) to Saturday the 15th of August Kanchan Couture will be debuting an innovative eye stopping marketing campaign and we want YOU to be a part of the FUN FUN FUN!!

What can you win?

A 100% silk unique hand printed scarf

How can you win?

It’s very simple!

All you need to do is spot a Kanchan Couture ad walker, take a photo of it, upload it onto facebook and send us an email with the link to: info@kanchancouture.com

There will be 3 lucky winners so hurry and email us!

Clues on where to find the Kanchan Couture Ad Walkers:

_Central …sure you’ve seen the sneak preview on the escalator

_During peak hours of the day (Lunchtimes, After work)

_If you are not sure what an Ad Walker is or looks like here you go

An exercise in re-branding

They say time flies when your having fun, and that is definitely true when running your own fashion business. This September will mark a big 2 years for Kanchan Couture, but it feels like yesterday when the first collection was launched.

With lots of sweat, love and labor Kanchan Couture has build up a reputation for designing luxurious women’s wear, participated in fashion shows around the globe, worked with high profile media / corporations and played an active role in the Hong Kong’s fashion scene….what an exciting two years its been. People tend to ask about the experience of running a business. And boy all I can say it that it is an incredible journey - no matter how much experience you have, I don’t think one can ever fully be prepared for the ride.

Before taking the brand to the next level, we have decided to do a bit of re-branding of ogo, website, printed materials etc so that the third year starts off with a big bang. Holger and Jane from uforepublic (www.uforepublic.com) are working on giving Kanchan Couture an awesome new look!

Apart from all the difficult decisions on what text looks best, what logo best represents the brand, it been a great exercise for me to reflect on what Kanchan Couture really stands for and what I want the world to see. After an intensive interview with Jane she came up with different ideas as to what it will all look like.

A creative brainstorm lunch and its all moving ahead in full steam…..I cant wait to the whole package together. That’s the beauty of the creative process….never static, always changing, wonderfully surprising!

Left: Jane from uforepublic

Watch out for Kanchan Couture this Septemeber!!!

A big thank you to uforepublic

www.kanchancouture.com

Lake Blue Reeboks

Being a high heels kinda gal who has not seen a gym in years, sports shoes and sportswear are not really my forte. This summer has hopefully seen a change in me as I decided it was time to hit the gym and get fit. The next obstacle was what to wear to the gym…as you look around you see all these women pumping iron, holding a tree pose for several minutes yet looking like they could put on their heels and go out to a club. Looking chic in designer gear from Stella McCartney to Lulu Lemon seems to be a trend these days.
So my question is does designer sports wear actually make you perform better?

Experts believe that when women look good, they feel good thus giving them more confidence to push them selves harder and perform better. Agreed that this would work in all scenarios, if you feel sexy in that little black number you're wearing you’ll be more confident to go up to and talk to the cute boy in line next to you or at the bus stop.

What one feels good in is very subjective – my dear friend LT loves Fendi bags and feels superhot when she carries one, thus this would make her perform optimally in all situations, gym or no gym. Whereas another near and dear - SS she loves her Zara dresses more then life it self. It is not really about the “designer sports wear” but rather about the feeling one gets when they put on the shorts, top or sneaker.

In life I believe in always trying to perform at my optimal, thus finding out what gives me that “great” feeling, putting a smile on my face, and on the faces of those around me…. not sure if I’ll ever make it to the gym or not, but you’ll definitely see me running around feeling magical in my Lake Blue Reebok’s - putting those stilettos on hold for now!

www.kanchancouture.com

Thanks to Jeff for taking the images (www.jeff-hahn.com) and to Louise for the inspiration!