Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) the Third Step in Style: Design for Community Competition
This year, CDSS returns to Sham Shui Po District to join hands with 5 vibrant local stores to provide students studying Higher Diploma in Fashion Branding and Buying, HKDI and Diploma of Foundation Studies- Design, VTC an invaluable opportunity to unleash their potential and gain hands-on design experience with the community through creating prototypes for the collab stores. Stores include clothing, jewellery, boutiques, bookstores, and fabric workshops
The competition is being held from January to June 2023 and will be divided into 4 stages, including shop visits, retail market strategy seminar, submission of marketing plan and products, Awards Ceremony, and Exhibitions.
To foster the connection between students and the community, the Centre of Design Services and Solutions (CDSS), one of the Knowledge Centres at the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI), has organised the “Step In Style: Design for Community Competition 2023”. Two hundred students participated in the design of a wide range of creative products for 5 local stores in Sham Shui Po to help promote their brand images and gain hands-on working experience. An Award Ceremony was held to recognise 10 groups of outstanding participants on 21st June.
After a rigorous assessment process, from the team streams, Chan Wai Ting, Chui Wing Sze, Tse Wing Ting from HKDI won the Gold Award. They designed a Jewellery box for “TenOne TenThree”. Their design was made to show the shop's core value "Preserve the old while promoting the new" that connects to the community-Sham Shui Po. The primary challenge of the project was to strike a balance between traditional and modern elements. To overcome this challenge, the team utilized a vintage box and transformed it by incorporating new decorative artwork and symbols.
The Gold Award of the Individual Stream went to Leung Cheuk Ying from Diploma of Foundation Studies-Design. She has used Cloisonné, a traditional craftsmanship listed in the Intangible Cultural Heritage, in this creation for the shop “ TenOne TenThree”. A Chinese style frame was adopted to recreate the store name into a charm that could be used in a handbag or more. This not only adds a touch of cultural significance and elegance to this accessory for the shop, it also successfully showcases the enduring beauty and importance of this traditional art form.
Introduction of the Competition:
The competition is being held from January to June 2023 and will be divided into 4 stages, including shop visits, retail market strategy seminar, submission of marketing plan and products, Awards Ceremony, and Exhibitions. Participating students will be taking this opportunity to visit Sham Shui Po so as to be able to work directly with the collab shop owners. Let’s see the stories of our collab stores:
1. Elf Lab (boutique & workshops)
Irving Cheung and Karry work in the filming industry as Production Designer and Costume Designer respectively. Through selling pet-themed home-designed and imported collectibles, the duo aims to bring art into the community. The Elf Lab will also offer consignment opportunities to young designers with the aim of promoting the development of the Hong Kong design industry.
2. A Little Something (jewellery & workshops)
Joanne and her husband, founders of A Little Something, are proud of Hong Kong designs and wish to promote Hong Kong jewellery craftsmanship. They work with local traditional jewellery makers to offer bespoke accessories and hand-crafted jewellery. They also organise hand-crafted jewellery workshops, cultural exhibitions as well as movie sessions to promote art and culture.
3. Book Punch (Bookstore, lifestyle & event space)
Aspiring to give all published books an accessible retail sales channel, 龐一鳴 established the independent bookstore for non-mainstream books in 2020. They have since extended their support through opening up space to hold community events, such as lifestyle forums, workshops/ classes, and even to providing free local farm produce as a “Gift with book purchase” bonus to their customers in order to show support for local farming community.
4. Indigood House (Dyes & workshops)
By upcycling food waste as a natural dye, this local social enterprise provides dyeing workshops and products with the aim to promote indigo dyeing in Hong Kong, through the rehabilitating of local indigo plant species and the consultancy on natural dying solutions. The Founder Eric also organises overseas exchange tours, hoping to foster further development of natural dye craftsmanship and the promotion of this unique design culture in Hong Kong.
5. TenOne TenThree (Tailored made Cheongsam & workshops)
Henry, the Store Owner, infuses contemporary fashion concepts into traditional craftsmanship of Cheongsam and Qipao. Each bespoke Chinese traditional clothing is handmade by a local tailor with emphasis on details such as colours, body fit and floral patterns. By organising workshops, Henry hopes to preserve the spirit of Cheongsam craftsmanship.
