Firstly, Hong Kong was amazing. Although it took me a while to get used to the skyscrapers and narrow streets, by the time my week was up I didn't want to leave. The thing about going to such an amazing place on a business trip, is that you leave the city wondering whether you have actually experienced the spirit of it. I spent most of the time walking (or rather running) around open-mouthed looking up towards the sky, absorbing everything in sight, but I would love to revisit this beautiful, concrete, city of lights to explore what lies beneath it's surface.
As you will tell from my photographs, most of them are taken from my hotel room or from the back seat of a taxi (who, just so you know, drive like f*cking maniacs - I thought on many occasions that I was going to get carted home in a wooden box!). Tourism was not really on my itinerary....fashion was!
The shopping in Hong Kong is immense. I swear that's all there is in Hong Kong - street after street after street of shops, and there really is something for everyone. I bought a few nice samples for work (for 'inspirational' purposes), and myself a couple of cool shirts but found the taste to be distinctly western and not as 'different' as I'd expected - maybe this is more of Tokyo or Seoul expectation?
One thing that did strike me was the living conditions. It is well known that Hong Kong is an over-populated city ,but I never knew to what extent. I thought the flats of East London were depressing, but they have nothing on the endless, dirty tower-blocks of Hong Kong. It certainly made me appreciate what space I do have here in London.
I know some of you wanted to hear about the ins and outs of fashion production in China, but honestly I don't have much to report back. Most of my time was spent running between meetings in Hong Kong, with the factory agents and bosses who have offices in Hong Kong. I was doing design development, discussing with each factory their individual strengths and weaknesses and chatting about pricing, production etc etc. Maybe on my next trip I'll have something juiy for you...
