Asia’s premier fashion event CENTRESTAGE opens

4 September 2019 – The fourth edition of CENTRESTAGE, Asia’s premier fashion event organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and sponsored by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region*, opened today and runs until 7 September at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The four-day extravaganza opened with a showcase of high-calibre local and overseas fashion talents, and more than 40 exciting, engaging events will be held during the show period.

CENTRESTAGE: A comprehensive fashion brand promotional platform
This year’s CENTRESTAGE focuses on the “Future Tribes” theme and features three thematic zones: ALLURE – representing craftsmanship, refinement and elegance; ICONIC – displaying avant-garde designs; and METRO – showcasing contemporary, minimalistic expressions of urban life. CENTRESTAGE hosts some 240 brands from 23 countries and regions, including new Hong Kong participants such as Charlotte Ng Studio, ARTO., YMDH, as well as such overseas brands as ALLEZ LES MOEUFS (Italy), CUMU11ATE (Korea), Goddess Armour (Macau), MIESU (India) and VUTALINH (Vietnam). The HKTDC brings 36 buying missions to the show, drawing in over 1,500 buyers including Galeries Lafayette from France, VooStore from Germany, Wonder Place from Korea, Isetan from Japan, as well as boutique shops Anyshopstyle, IFACE and Morefeel from Mainland China, along with local representatives from Lane Crawford, Harvey Nichols, I.T, Club 21, Novelty Lane and online shop Farfetch.

Exceptional FASHIONALLY fashion parades
The curtain-opening FASHIONALLY Collection #14 fashion show spotlighted emerging local talents and their brands, including NECRO POON, Lapeewee, KEVIN HO, Fromclothingof, DEMO, ARTO., YMDH and Tak L.

At the FASHIONALLY Presentation staged this afternoon, designer Charlotte Ng showcased her latest collection on an unconventional fashion stage – decorated as an office. Local brands Fake Fan and SFZ & SON will also host exceptional fashion parades under the theme of films and craftsmanship respectively on 5 September.

Trend talk series
Euromonitor International’s Head of Fashion Research Jorge Martin and GOXIP’s Vice President Marketing Michele Tardelli this afternoon addressed seminars entitled “Euromonitor: Global Travel Flows and their Impact on Fashion” and “Enabling ‘See-Now-Buy-Now’ in the Luxury Fashion Arena” respectively. They provided professional insights on trading trends in the retail industry and recent developments in the global fashion industry.

CENTRESTAGE ELITES showcases pre-spring collections
The spotlight opening gala show CENTRESTAGE ELITES, to be held this evening, will see the global launch of pre-spring 2020 collections on the runway from Hong Kong designer Anais Mak’s internationally renowned brand, ANAÏS JOURDEN, as well as acclaimed New York designer Joseph Altuzarra’s brand, ALTUZARRA. Joseph Altuzarra’s first runway show in Hong Kong has been made possible with the collaboration of his brand partner JOYCE and the HKTDC. Mr Altuzarra will introduce his spring collection at a JOYCE event.

CENTRESTAGE ELITES will be followed by the Fashion Hong Kong Runway Show, featuring the latest collections of Hong Kong designer labels that have participated in international fashion weeks, such as New York, London, Copenhagen and Tokyo. These local brands are 112mountainyam (designer: Mountain Yam), DORISKATH (designer: Doris Kath Chan), FROM ANOTHER PLANETS (designer: Kenax Leung), HARRISON WONG (designer: Harrison Wong), MEIKING NG (designer: June Ng), METHODOLOGY (designer: Glori Tsui) and YEUNG CHIN (designer: Yeung Chin). This show is part of the HKTDC’s Fashion Hong Kong campaign, which aims to promote Hong Kong fashion designers and labels in the global fashion arena. 

Highlight Events
More fashion events will be held during the fair period. Spotlight events tomorrow (5 September) include Redress Design Award sponsored by CreateHK*, the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition, and Fashion Summit (HK) 2019, Asia’s first large-scale conference on sustainable fashion. The Knitwear Innovation and Design Society will present the Knitwear Symphony 2019 and the ninth Hong Kong Young Knitwear Designers’ Contest on 6 September (Friday) to promote Hong Kong’s knitwear industry. Another highlight of this year’s CENTRESTAGE is the final of the Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers’ Contest 2019 (YDC) to be held on 7 September (Saturday), where the 16 shortlisted candidates will compete for five honours.

The first Meet the Visionaries seminar will be held tomorrow (5 September), featuring CENTRESTAGE ELITES participants Anais Mak and Joseph Altuzarra. They will share their challenges and tips on design under the “When East Meets West: Young Creative Forces Reinventing International Runway” theme. Renowned Japanese fashion designer Mihara Yasuhiro will share his ideas at “Crossover Fashion Trend Re-shaping Brand Value” on 6 September.

OPENSTAGE welcomes the public
The final day of CENTRESTAGE on 7 September, titled “OPENSTAGE”, will open to public visitors aged 12 and above free of charge. Attendees will have free access to the Fashionista’s Sharing Series, a make-up demonstration by NARS, a sharing session on fashion trends with fashionista Rikko Lee and designers from local brands METHODOLOGY and MEIKING NG, and more. Public visitors will have a chance to check out the latest designs from leading local and overseas brands. Retail sales of selected brands will be available.

Websites
CENTRESTAGE：http://centrestage.com.hk
Fashion Hong Kong:  http://www.fashionhongkong.com
Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers’ Contest: http://www.fashionally.com/

*Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organisers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Communications and Creative Industries Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.

Photo download: https://bit.ly/2lvAtTW

Websites
CENTRESTAGE: http://centrestage.com.hk
Fashion Hong Kong:  http://www.fashionhongkong.com
Hong Kong Young Fashion Designer’s Contest (YDC): http://www.fashionally.com

Media enquiries
For more information or to request interviews, please email centrestage2019@leewolter.com.hk
Or call:
Jude Ji                       Tel: (852) 9696 0110
Vincent Lam              Tel: (852) 9843 9180
Joseph Chow            Tel: (852) 9400 5775
Tracy On                    Tel: (852) 9018 7109

HKTDC's Communications and Public Affairs Department
Snowy Chan             Tel: (852) 2584 4537          Email: snowy.sn.chan@hktdc.org
Agnes Wat                Tel: (852) 2584 4554          Email: agnes.ky.wat@hktdc.org

About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via trade publications, research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus.