“People in Hong Kong don’t appreciate our aesthetic; it was really hard for us in the beginning,” Ice Cheung Bing says of the early days behind Independent fashion label Dynasti, started with Koleman Chan in 2014.
Sitting in a coffee shop in Central, it’s easy to understand the feelings of isolation the blue haired fashion designer wearing all back and a choker may feel, but this is not the world Bing and Chan regularly frequent anymore. Their inspiration, universe, friends and business aren’t to be found on the streets of Hong Kong.
“Our inspiration comes from the internet, from Instagram, where you can get the most up to date trends. When we explain it to people in Hong Kong they have no idea of what we are talking about,” she explains.
Both hailing from Hong Kong, Ice and Kolemann studied at Hong Kong Design Institute, but were in different classes.
“I studied styling and Koleman studied fashion design. I started a fashion style blog with an American girl and we got a lot of followers fast. I’m really outgoing and if I see someone on the street looks cool I immediately approach them and ask to take a picture. I’ve snapped so many well dressed people, it’s very inspiring.”
After years of studying fashion and working various industry jobs, Ice and Koleman decided it was time to create a brand of their own. In addition to designing for Dynasti, Ice and Koleman also serve as its art directors, stylists, photographers, models, and graphic designers.
“We call ourselves Hong Kong fashion style, we can find a lot of Korean and Japanese street style all over street snaps and the Internet, but we couldn’t find a proper Hong Kong style so we wanted to create one of our own,” says Koleman.
“It’s all about mixing – mixing old traditions with new contemporary modern fashion. The vision of Chinese people around the world is nerdy and geeky, so we are trying to show that the new Chinese people can be stylish and cool, we have our own culture and history,” Koleman adds.
“Our name is Dynasti, we are inspired by the old empire, the Qing Dynasty. There is a lot of Chinese inspired fashion, but they don’t really apply to young people, younger generations like ours, so we want to create really trendy clothes,” Ice says of the motivation that has brought them to the point where they are today.
“We are also trying to teach people about Chinese culture. Kuji Kiri, from Taoism, inspired our first collection. Most of our customers are from Europe and America and we want to spread our culture but we don’t want them to wear something they don’t understand so we include information about the inspiration and what the different characters mean,” says Ice.
A look at their website explains their approach further: The inspiration behind the Kuji Kiri Collection stems from an ancient Taoist spell, a mystical chant that has been inscribed in gold script onto stripes, straps, and collars. The characters speak of a ritual process that encourages the development of the mind, body, and spirit. The message enhances all systems of the human body and empowers individuals holistically. The Kuji Kiri Collection nourishes your soul and helps you become a better person.
When you are connected to the world, as the Internet makes possible, trends and movements come in the blink of an eye. One particularly groundbreaking moment happened four years ago. “We are inspired by a trend called Health Goth, it started in 2012 when a bunch of gym goers, dressed in gothic style made a video and it exploded on the scene. On Tumbler it brought out the aesthetic in between, mixing gym clothes like Adidas and Nike with Goth make up, lots of black and platform boots,” Koleman explains.
Inspiration comes from places like Instagram, because, well, Hong Kong isn’t that exciting. “People in Hong Kong may like something and find it interesting but they won’t go further with it, they won’t pick it up, they won’t try it, they won’t even appreciate it,” Koleman dismays.
“I find that European fashion is connected to culture and that even shows up in certain photographic styles and music. There is a certain style of aesthetic, they really care about their Instagram feeds. In Asia many people just copy the style, but they don’t understand the aesthetic,” Ice elaborates on the distinction between style and substance they feel is so prevalent in the industry.
Koleman is philosophical on how the designers perceive local versus international approaches to current trends. “With Caucasian people there is a vibe, but with most Asians it’s just about the look. They put a lot into the presentation of things, but there isn’t much behind it. It’s not a bad thing, that’s just how we perceive it.”
Koleman’s personal style has evolved over the years, a trendsetter in his own right, he has been featured in Dazed and Confused magazine. A Harajuku inspired style, which was “kind of chaotic, mixing up a lot of colours and stuff” during his days in Ladda Hong Kong, says Koleman. “I gained a lot of experience in Instagramming because we were popular because no one dressed like that. Not even in Tokyo, so we were the craziest people. We were interviewed by Nicola Formichetti (Stylist to Lady Gaga) and we became popular on Instagram.”
“It wasn’t that commercial but it was a phase of great self expression for me, and later I realized that I wanted to do something with it, so I merged it with commerce and I changed my style, but I gained the experience from that and I knew a lot of famous fashion bloggers from that time,” Koleman recalls.
Dynasti’s clothes are made between china and Hong Kong, “We take advantage of China because there are really rich resources,” Ice explains. “They still can’t do really sophisticated things, so some things we do ourselves, like the leather chocker, for example, we do every part and every detail ourselves.”
How do you deal with massive markets in places like Korea and Japan? “They approach us, they think we are cool and original and that what we are doing is authentic,” says Ice. “We use a lot of English in our content and we have the vibe, we focus on the vibe very much. International people like vibe very much and that is why we stand out,” says Ice.
“We also studied the language of the internet and American slang, so when we post an image we add slang so people may think of us as having bad girl/ bad boy style,” Ice explains. “We link things, we may for example use lyrics from a Nicki Minaj song, something a K Pop band wouldn’t do,” Koleman adds.
And there is a spirit of community once you find your fashion tribe. “Instagram is a like a family, people know certain kinds of Bloggers, shops and brands. We promote our brand and send samples to bloggers who then wear it and tag us and we get more followers,” says Ice of the process.
Running a business online suits the two fashionistas perfectly. “You don’t need a big studio for your Instagram pictures, as the same time you can chat with your customers, many of ours message us so we are always replying to them, this along with Facebook and all social media. Our lives are online, we have WiFi everywhere we go,” Koleman offers unflinchingly.
“We are currently working on new chokers, in new colours, new shapes,” the designers say of upcoming collections and when talk turns to ideal stars, the name Rihana pops up, the dream model for the brand the two young Hong Kongers have created.
Their industry of choice is notoriously fickle and tough, what drives them? “The key factor to success is hard work and creating the right vision, you need to know what you are doing, and you need to have taste,” says Koleman. Ice believes that being focused and clear on your market is crucial. “There are so many brands in this world, how can you make your stuff stand out from the rest? You need to be passionate about your business, even when people don’t get it in the beginning. Believe in yourself.”
