Patrick; Hong Kong

Patrick is an emerging fashion designer based in Hong Kong.  His background is both Korean & Swedish, but his look is unashamedly (what he describes as being) contemporary Swedish. 

He describes the hallmarks of this style as clean, simple yet well crafted design, with colours of black, blue and white being commonplace, and while all items in his outfit are from Swedish designers Patrick has made one concession to his pristine look with his shoes from the UK brand Swear London.  The shoes are 7 years old and are clearly well worn, but they still offer enough style and comfort for Patrick to stick with them.

As a Designer who has worked under the likes of Michael Young Patrick certainly knows his stuff so watch out for him, it might not be long before you’re wearing some of his creations.

My Travel Buddy from Crumpler; Hong Kong

A big thanks to my good friends at Crumpler for making my time in Hong Kong as comfortable as possible with the aid of their fantastic new Bronzed Extravaganza camera bag.
The Extravaganza range comprises of pieces designed specifically for carrying camera equipment in safety and style, and this bad boy was at my side throughout the trip offering quick access to all my gear.
The bag meets the high standards met by the whole Crumpler range that caters for all needs, whilst fusing great design with functionality so I urge you to check it out now.

Ingrid; Hong Kong

A truly international find, Reebok aficionado Ingrid Chen is a cosmopolitan representation of global fashion.
After working with Reebok for many years out of Hong Kong she's since moved on to work with Ralph Lauren (shirt and trousers in her great outfit are both Ralph Lauren while the jacket is a vintage bomber from Taiwan), but her sneaker loyalty still remains with Reebok, a brand she still holds dear to her heart.
The carefully chosen kicks for the shoot holds an attachment too as they were part of the 2009 Freestyle Stylist Series, which was the first Reebok campaign Ingrid worked on that saw stylists all over the world re-interpret the classic Freestyle silhouette.
Keeping with the International theme, these are the London model of the shoe which drew on the influence of retro US female icon Wonder Woman, and it seems quite apt as truly a fashion Wonder Woman in her own right, I'd like to say a big thanks to Ingrid for sharing her time, and some very special shoes.

Puma Black Store; Hong Kong

It's always interesting to see what trends influence different locations, and something that struck me about Hong Kong is that the vast wealth apparent in this hustling & bustling city seems to influence all areas of fashion, including sneaker culture.
While in many countries around the world current trends revolve around lower cost shoes, in HK Premium labels reign supreme and the Puma Black Label series is ever present throughout the city.
The range comprises of collabs with Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, and Mihara Yasuhiro all creating product that fuses sport and fashion.  Both the apparel and footwear feature premium style, craftsmanship, and functionality with some quirks that make it eye-catching stuff, and while it's evident in other cities, it's not to the same degree as what you see in HK which is a real shame as it's great stuff.
I was lucky enough to be invited to shoot the Puma store in the Elements mall in Kowloon, a fantastic store that shows off the great array of Puma product ranging from lifestyle up to the Black Label, all of which I hope to see a lot more of on my continued travels.

Anthony; Hong Kong

A Professor in Journalism and Communication, Anthony fuses creativity with practicality, something that literally dictates what he wears on a daily basis.  Frequently unable to find exactly what he likes in stores the majority of his wardrobe is self-designed, as with his background in Creative Media he has taught himself the basics of fashion design, and in the above images he has fused some shop bought gold kicks with a shirt and trousers he designed and made himself.

While he can’t always find it, Anthony is always on the lookout for product that is both inspiring and out of the ordinary, and it just so happened that while shooting he found something that got him very excited.  The brand Gram combines quality craftsmanship with interesting design, and after seeing the brand in a shop window Anthony couldn’t resist an impromptu purchase of some brand new Gram Camouflage 383’s. 

I too am a fan of the brand and there’s something rather special coming up about them in the next few weeks – you won’t want to miss it.

D-Mop x Cheap Monday; Hong Kong

 

  

It wasn't long after touch down in HK that I was invited to an event as the kind folks at the fantastic store D-Mop lured me to the launch party for the Cheap Monday Glow In The Dark collection.

As the Northern Hemisphere heads into winter the collection offers a playful array of jeans, t-shirts, tote bags and wallets all designed to 'light up the dark season', and the above shots show off some of the HK cool cats who came out to light up the evening.

Tere are still a couple more launches to come in select cities around the world, so if you're in Stockholm on Dec 6th or London on Dec 13th check it out.

Very Masa; Hong Kong

So welcome to the start of IDYSM's first Hong Kong season.  I'll be sharing stories of some of the fascinating sights and amazing people I was lucky enough to meet during my time in this fantastic city, and it seems only fitting that I start things off with a new friend, someone I am hugely grateful to for making my trip as enjoyable as it was.

Masa is a multi-talented designer based in Hong Kong.  His work covers many mediums, and if his rich array of talents are not enough, he's one of the nicest, kindest peeps I have met.

He asked to remain somewhat anonymous in this article and let his kicks take the limelight, a role his NB HS77's are more than capable of fulfilling.

The shoes were initially dropped as part of the 2011 'Past, Present and Future' collab pack from New Balance and the Singaporean sneaker store Leftfoot.  The HS77 silhouette represented the 'future' component of the pack,  and was considered such a hit that the style was given a general release which is when Masa picked up these kicks that mix style and comfort, something important when on his feet all day.

A huge sincere thanks to Masa for all the hook ups, local knowledge and for his time hanging out with me, and I hope the future is bright for both him and his fantastic kicks and you can check out his world here.