Paris Fashion Week: Meet the Hong Kong designers shaking things up with the Fashion Farm Foundation
Most who enter the cut-throat world of fashion design dream of exhibiting their creations at Paris Fashion Week. Thanks to the Fashion Farm Foundation (FFF), ten rising Hong Kong talents had the opportunity to head to the City of Light this season and make an impression on the industry’s upper echelons with their autumn-winter 2025 collections.
On March 4, the second day of Paris Fashion Week, the Hong Kong-based non-profit organisation hosted its seasonal HKFG AW25 showcase at the Collège Sévigné in the French capital. HKFG, formerly known as Fashion Gorilla, is a programme that takes place twice a year at key fashion events and cities. This season, the event once again brought together local designers who are pushing the boundaries of fashion. The event featured presentations by Kinyan Lam, a brand known for its ethical, sustainable approach to fashion; gender-fluid menswear label Demo; Ponder.er, a 2024 semi-finalist of the prestigious LVMH Prize, which spotlights emerging designers, among others. Also of note is the demi-fine jewellery label Sweetlimejuice; adored by K-pop’s Ateez and Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro, it showcased its edgy gemstone pieces.
This month, FFF will bring the event to Hong Kong via a pop-up, where visitors can see the collections from all ten designers.
Since its founding in 2012, the FFF has been steadfast in its mission to promote Hong Kong fashion design to an international audience of buyers, industry insiders and fashion influencers.
Here, Tatler spotlights the designers featured at this edition of the event.
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Kinyan Lam
Kinyan Lam’s autumn-winter 2025 presentation (Photo: Fashion Farm Foundation)
Founded in 2023, Hong Kong fashion designer Kinyan Lam has subverted industry conventions with an onus on preserving traditional natural dye and embroidery techniques—so much so that his namesake label’s debut autumn-winter 2024 collection was picked up by showrooms at both Shanghai and Paris Fashion Weeks. Lam’s latest collection, We All Die a Little Every Day, is another shining example of what the growing landscape of sustainable fashion has to offer.
Inspired by laid-back vacations spent with friends, the season infuses Lam’s handmade garments with tropical touches. Backdropped by the illusion of a sunset, the presentation saw coconut tree motifs decorate an array of knitwear, dresses and tailored two-piece sets made from linen and organic cotton. This easy breezy feel was echoed by the collection’s colour palette: a sharp contrast from the grounded earth tones that you’d typically expect from natural dyes, Lam’s designs featured bursts of bold blues and greens to reflect nature’s landscapes.
Demo
Demo’s autumn-winter 2025 presentation (Photo: Fashion Farm Foundation)
The notion of “soft masculinity” grounds Demo, the brainchild of Hong Kong designer Derek Chan. His designs upheave the rigidities of menswear with gender-fluid silhouettes and boast a post-modernist feel; fans includethe likes of Hins Cheung and Greg Hsu. Chan is also known for putting a contemporary spin on historical and cultural uniforms; past seasons drew influence from ancient Greek mythology and traditional Spanish matador dress.
Demo’s autumn-winter 2025 presentation, however, hits closer to home. Taking inspiration from Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s, considered the city’s golden era, the collection is defined by fluid tailoring, nostalgic graphic tees and oversized jeans with distressed details. Chan also added signature embellishments and tweed to classic shirts; meanwhile, the Demo brand’s gender-fluid identity is seen in the likes of crop tops and skin-baring halter tops.
A wave of local talent
Ponder.er’s autumn-winter 2025 collection (Photo: Fashion Farm Foundation)
Reverie by Caroline Hú’s autumn-winter 2025 collection (Photo: Fashion Farm Foundation)
Redemptive’s autumn-winter 2025 collection (Photo: Fashion Farm Foundation)
Rhyzem’s autumn-winter 2025 collection (Photo: Fashion Farm Foundation)
Aenrmous’s autumn-winter 2025 collection (Photo: Fashion Farm Foundation)
IP-Axis Industrial Studio’s autumn-winter 2025 collection (Photo: Fashion Farm Foundation)
Jesse Lee’s autumn-winter 2025 collection (Photo: Fashion Farm Foundation)
Sweetlimejuice’s autumn-winter 2025 collection (Photo: Fashion Farm Foundation)
Eight other Hong Kong designers also made their mark with their autumn-winter 2025 collections at FFF’s HKFG AW25 showcase.
Reverie by Caroline Hú captivated us with hyper-romantic garments, complete with bulbous silhouettes made from layers of tulle, silk and lace, while other womenswear offerings transported us through space and time.
Artisanal tech-wear label Aenrmous and circular fashion brand Jesse Lee looked to the 1800s for inspiration, whereas function-forward IP-Axis Industrial Studio created attire for a cyberpunk future.
Wilson Choi’s Redemptive presented a collection in homage to German artist Franz Erhard Walther, who is known for his use of fabric in his work. In the collection, wardrobe essentials are deconstructed—think detachable sleeves and shorts that transform into long trousers.
Over in the menswear department, Ponder.er’s latest gender fluid collection paired its signature smocking with echoes of Hong Kong’s gritty architectural landscapes. Rhyzem, on the other hand, looked to Nyx—the Greek goddess of the night—for a seasonal take on voluminous tailoring.
London-based Sweetlimejuice presented its demi-fine jewellery, which combines innovative 3D printing and traditional jewellery-making techniques.
HKFG AW25 is home bound
Crowds at the FFF “HKFG AW25” showcase at Paris Fashion Week (Photo: Fashion Farm Foundation)
Mark your calendars: from March 11 to 25, FFF is bringing its HKFG AW25 showcase from Paris Fashion Week to Hong Kong via a pop-up store at 2-4 Kingston Street, Fashion Walk, Causeway Bay.
The space will not only re-create Kinyan Lam and Demo's autumn-winter 2025 presentations but also allow visitors to explore and purchase the latest offerings from all ten budding Hong Kong designers.
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