TALK TO ME! LCF GRADUATES SPECIAL - HO LAM LEUNG

Besides the fashion weeks in every two seasons, the most exciting events for me are the graduation exhibition in all the fashion schools. I feel so great that I finally have a chance to visit the exhibitions of London College of Fashion (LCF) and Central St Martins (CSM). I also talked to some of the graduates and asked them to share their feeling of being a student in those amazing schools.

As the first issue, I found a Hong Konger, Leung Ho Lam. Working for Alexander Mcqueen and some Chinese compaies before, Ho Lam's collection is inspired by the movies. He applys the elements from the female characters to his own designs and create a wearable and minimal collection.

As a new member in the industry, what do you think about the fashion world?
For me, it is an insane world, full of competitions and changes so quick that you can't even imagine.But at the same time, it it full of excitements and creativity.

  

How do you describe your style?

I would describe my style as minimalistic and functional. I personally think that it is essential for my work to be garments that are wearable, and I am quite experimental with silhouette shapes.

What is your opinion of being a successful fashion designer?

Apart from being talented, I think that being a successful fashion designer needs to be organized, hard working and easily be inspired by things in the surroundings. It’s always helpful to do loads of research, really understand your target customers and think about how you want them to look when wearing your clothes. It is also very important to make sure that you are taking in a lot of other knowledge apart from being focused on fashion trends and techniques.

Who is your favorite designer? Does he/she inspire you when you do your own designs?

My favorite designers are Raf Simons and Phoebe Philo. I really like the simplicity and sophistication of both designers’ work and how they concentrate on the details when designing garments; I especially appreciate how they concentrate designing the details of their work such as pockets, stitch lines, types of zips and fabrics. Every design is wearable and made in such high quality- it’s certainly something I would want to buy in a shop.

Acne is one of my favorite brands as I like the androgynous style and how it’s so comfortable to put on your body. All these designers did influence me to decide which style I would go for when designing my collection at the beginning of the project.

Can you tell me more about the collection? Which is the iconic piece in the collection and which one is your favourite?

At first, I looked at Woody Allen’s films, including Annie Hall, Hannah and her Sister and Another woman, I am especially inspired by Woody Allen’s “Nerd fashion”. I like the way he dressed all those female characters – very androgynous and rigid. The geeky style then became my inspiration and focus. To expand the research, I have watched more movies such as the Revenge of Nerds, Napoleon Dynamite and etc during my research. I have focused on the characteristics of the male nerdy characters – I took their awkward frame, horrible dressing style and personalities as my main stimulation to design my collection and translate it onto a female body in a modern and sophisticated style.

It is hard for me to pick an iconic piece from my collection as I feel like I have put equal efforts in making every single piece. If I were to pick I would probably pick the camel coloured jacket in which I have used polyester, corduroy and knitwear pieces to make.

There are many new and up-coming designers in the industry. Is there anyone that you really appreciate?

J.W Anderson is my favorite up-coming designer. He is a menswear fashion designer who started working on his womenswear line not long ago, I like how he has incorporated some menswear elements into his womenswear work which gives it an androgynous feel.

As a LCF graduate, do you have any advice for other fashion students? 

Always motivate and never underestimate yourself! It’s normal to feel extremely stressed and frustrated sometimes but you have to break through it because of the amount of pay off you get when you see the outcome will make everything worth going through for. Just work your ass off!!!

What is your next plan now? Are you building your own label?

I always wish I can have my own label one day, but to set up my own label is not always easy, you need a lot of experience and a very good social network. It is still not the right time for me to set up my own label at the moment. My plan would be to look for jobs in any fashion houses in London or New York or somewhere in Europe to work my way up.

The shoes is my favourite in the collection!!

It's interesting to check the development of the collection when you visit the exhibition. 

To know more about Ho Lam or to contact him, please visit his LCF website.