Reflecting the growing importance of digital creation and the fashion metaverse, Hong Kong’s creative hub PMQ emerged Thursday from FabriX, a program aimed at enhancing the skills of the city’s up-and-coming talent. Announcing the first design to be

They will be the centerpiece of immersive physical installations at PMQ’s Hong Kong location from Thursday to September 11, and will be disseminated online through social media stars partnering with digital platforms.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Taipei-born, New Zealand-raised curator and project director Shin Wong, who has led the city’s design festival deTour since 2015, was well aware but ill-informed. I noticed I was missing. Digital fashion both in Hong Kong and other Asian fashion hubs.

“[Designers] They know about it but are still pretty unsure how to start it. And it’s been very difficult for them to find an investment [to develop in this field]’, she told WWD ahead of an exhibition showcasing the first edition’s class of 12 designers.

Funded by Create Hong Kong, an agency dedicated to developing creative agencies in the city established by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, FabriX’s primary objective is to create new revenue streams for the fashion business by supporting it. It is about opening up the resulting items from the concept stage using digital creation tools to professional marketplaces such as The Dematerialized.

A number of digital fashion projects have been launched since the early days of the pandemic, but “it was important not to jump on the bandwagon. [being] provide experience in a timely manner [to the public] Stylist and creative consultant Declan Chan, fashion curator for the project, explains.

As such, the program also aims to connect the dots for the general public, where digital clothing remains a nebulous concept, let alone the Metaverse.

Therefore, additional explainer sessions on the Metaverse, the impact of digital fashion on the industry, and how to respond to these new demands will be available to students, designers, and the general public between Friday and Sunday.

The first edition of FabriX received 60 submissions from an open call, but was narrowed down to 12 by a selection committee of creative, fashion and retail experts on the project.

The winning submission was “a vision of how to translate their style into a digital setting – how to create something more magical.” did [digital fashion] Rather than simply using the media as a shortcut to add more styles to our lineup, as an enhancement to our existing brand DNA.”

This year’s selection includes womenswear brands Cadylee, Celine Kwan and LoomLoop. Menswear labels Demo, Harrison Wong, Kay Kwok, Shek Leung, Wilsonkaki. urban wear specialist Nilmance Studio; genderfluid designer Christian Stone; His YMDH, accessory label JüüJüü, influenced by street culture.

Another requirement was that the designer had an existing business, with the exception of Lee, who had recently graduated. His bold textile experimentation with real-life and surrealist curved, distorted silhouettes felt like they belonged in cyberspace, Chan said.

Persistent in securing a global footprint for the project, Wong and Chang shared these designs through social media, including London-based Susie Lau, Japanese journalist Yu Masui, and Chengdu-based Xiao Yang. We’ve selected a cadre of influencers and editors to bring it to life. Their longstanding support for new designs and futuristic trends in their personal style.

Shin envisions bringing FabriX elsewhere in the future, naming Tokyo as a potential showcase destination. But beyond just providing a topical showcase for existing designers, Singh hopes the project will spark deeper conversations with schools in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia, where she She feels the need to teach future designers her digital fashion tools.

“Many young designers want to create digital items, [the process] It’s very costly, especially if you’re not familiar with the tools,” says Wong. “Hong Kong schools are starting to teach them, but there are still quite a few [rudimentary] It will take years to get up to speed,” she continued, noting that conversations are underway to accelerate delivery through FabriX.

After the physical exhibition, this year’s 12 capsule collections will be released on September 15th on digital fashion marketplace The Dematerialized, and will roll out to DressX and Asia-based NFT marketplace BlueArk in the coming weeks. increase.