hfm FASHIONINSIDER
over the other, as if it’s as simple as that.
“My favourite piece of all time is from our
Hello Kitty collection, look number three, it
was a camouflage, pink organza dress with
roses worn with a Stephen Jones fluffy bucket
hat, it had the skater vibe going on.”
It’s no secret that Ryan adores Sex & the City’s
Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker –
he references her regularly both in his collections
and in conversation. “I keep mentioning fictional
characters like Carrie Bradshaw,” he smiles. “But
my muse could also be a historical figure like
Marie Antoinette, or a real person we have dressed
like Laura Bailey, or Georgia May Jagger, or Immy
Waterhouse – or she could be Susie [Bubble].
“Everyone thinks my clothes are all Kawaii [a
Japanese word meaning cute] and super sweet,
but they are about women that can pull different
articles from the collection. It’s not just one type.”
He is currently focusing on his AW19 collection
and listening to a lot of classical music. “With
collections, I kind of start with the music, it
dictates the mood and then I think about the
hair and make-up and then the shoes. Those
elements define the woman, actually the clothes
come last,” he says. “I am currently in my
Saturn cycle, so I’m understanding myself and
my women a lot more,” he tells us cryptically.
The run up to London
Fashion Week is a designer’s
craziest time and adding
to the hustle for Ryan it
coincides with Chinese New
Year and his birthday. “That’s
why I work in fashion, because
I love the drama. I love the
zsa zsa zsu,” he says, shimmying
his fingers and in reference
to Sex & the City, where
Carrie describes the butterfly
feeling you experience when
you meet someone you like.
So is he organised during this busy time? “Now,
yes. The thing is I’ve been around, I’ve done it
so many times that I’m used to it. It’s a system
that you can learn in some ways, and sometimes
if you compromise a little it makes everyone a bit
happier and it’s just easier. The outcome may not
be 100 per cent perfect, but the smooth can run
more smoothly – so the outcome is far better.”
He travels back home “pretty often” for
inspiration for his wholly modern east meets
west designs. “I grew up in Hong Kong when it
was part of Britain. It’s an eclectic mix, I feel
it’s a cultural melting pot. Growing up I watched
all the Japanese animated films, but I’m also
familiar with Disney, we obviously also have
Chinese heritage – and a bit of British, too.”
Other than his own designs Ryan likes to wear
Miu Miu and Sonia Rykiel, and even when he
was growing up he liked to dress differently to
everyone else. “In Hong Kong we didn’t have a
prom, but we did have a graduation dinner, I
remember I wore Levi’s jeans, Converse, an Adidas
jersey jacket and a T-shirt to mine. Everyone else
was in a suit or whatever. I was like, ‘Yeah, a
T-shirt, whatever – I don’t care’,” he laughs.After graduating he was chosen by Lulu Kennedy
MBE to show under the Fashion East umbrella.
“Lulu is one of the few people who really believed
in me early on and it was an easy transition
between that and NewGen,” he says of the two
initiatives that help emerging designers in London.
We ask him about his fun show titles like ‘I
Want a Complete Set of Sylvanian Families’
(“That’s based on a quote from Sex & the City”)
and ‘I push doors that clearly say pull’ (“That
was the Ally McBeal collection, it represented
challenge and aggression”).
“Those were for my old collections, we are
more chic now – more grown-up,” he says, laughing.
“It was important to have those crazy moments
earlier on. Especially when I first started, they had
a sassy vibe, I was based in east London – it’s east
London humour: I was young, I was a rebel. As you
get older you know who you are and become more
confident. So I’m more sophisticated now.”
We catch up with him again backstage at his
AW19 show at the 15th-century Dutch Hall, a
renovated church in the City of London and
he explains the narrative behind the show.
“At the end of the day, life is about ‘getting
the guy’, very rom-com,” he says. “She’s Jane
Austen and Carrie Bradshaw. She’s the type of
women who watches the Royal Wedding live
on the telly and dresses up
to go to Sketch for lunch.
“We wanted to do something
that’s straightforwardly pretty
and beautiful, the perfect
combination of sexy and cute!
Clothes for lunch dates or movie
nights and some debutante
dresses and prom gowns. Hence,
everything is floral, pastels and
frilly – super romantic. In a way the
collection is a celebration of who we
are as a brand and our greatest hits.
I suppose because of the ‘Saturn
Returns’ there is also a cosmic Kusama [Yayoi, the
artist] happy witch and fairy theme going on, too.”
He has long collaborated with London milliner
Stephen Jones and this season they created
exaggerated marabou ski bunny earmuffs and
equally exaggerated fluffy hats that were inspired
by Swan Lake and Cecil Beaton’s costumes for Gigi.
And growing up even more, he exchanged
sneakers for Gina heels. “The shoes are made in
collaboration with Gina – riding boots fit for a
royal hunting session, in lace mesh and dusty
pink. There were some stairs at the venue but the
models managed in those high heels,” he laughs.
“And keeping up with the current times as our
nation is celebrating a new royal baby; we went
even one step further by collaborating with
Silver Cross [that the models pushed around the
catwalk], they are the royal family’s favourite pram.
It was just really fun to create this sophisticated
lifestyle around my women,” he smiles.
Now the show is finished what does he have
planned next? “I can’t wait to go to Tokyo again
and I’ll be watching ‘Marie Kondo’ for my office
and home.” We’re looking forward to seeing
this referenced in his next – very tidy – show. ■‘THAT’S WHY
I WORK IN
FASHION,
BECAUSE I
LOVE THE
DRAMA, THE
ZSA ZSA ZSU’ADDITIONAL PHOTOS: GORUNWAYhfm FASHIONINSIDER
over the other, as if it’s as simple as that.
“My favourite piece of all time is from our
Hello Kitty collection, look number three, it
was a camouflage, pink organza dress with
roses worn with a Stephen Jones fluffy bucket
hat, it had the skater vibe going on.”
It’s no secret that Ryan adores Sex & the City’s
Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker –
he references her regularly both in his collections
and in conversation. “I keep mentioning fictional
characters like Carrie Bradshaw,” he smiles. “But
my muse could also be a historical figure like
Marie Antoinette, or a real person we have dressed
like Laura Bailey, or Georgia May Jagger, or Immy
Waterhouse – or she could be Susie [Bubble].
“Everyone thinks my clothes are all Kawaii [a
Japanese word meaning cute] and super sweet,
but they are about women that can pull different
articles from the collection. It’s not just one type.”
He is currently focusing on his AW19 collection
and listening to a lot of classical music. “With
collections, I kind of start with the music, it
dictates the mood and then I think about the
hair and make-up and then the shoes. Those
elements define the woman, actually the clothes
come last,” he says. “I am currently in my
Saturn cycle, so I’m understanding myself and
my women a lot more,” he tells us cryptically.
The run up to London
Fashion Week is a designer’s
craziest time and adding
to the hustle for Ryan it
coincides with Chinese New
Year and his birthday. “That’s
why I work in fashion, because
I love the drama. I love the
zsa zsa zsu,” he says, shimmying
his fingers and in reference
to Sex & the City, where
Carrie describes the butterfly
feeling you experience when
you meet someone you like.
So is he organised during this busy time? “Now,
yes. The thing is I’ve been around, I’ve done it
so many times that I’m used to it. It’s a system
that you can learn in some ways, and sometimes
if you compromise a little it makes everyone a bit
happier and it’s just easier. The outcome may not
be 100 per cent perfect, but the smooth can run
more smoothly – so the outcome is far better.”
He travels back home “pretty often” for
inspiration for his wholly modern east meets
west designs. “I grew up in Hong Kong when it
was part of Britain. It’s an eclectic mix, I feel
it’s a cultural melting pot. Growing up I watched
all the Japanese animated films, but I’m also
familiar with Disney, we obviously also have
Chinese heritage – and a bit of British, too.”
Other than his own designs Ryan likes to wear
Miu Miu and Sonia Rykiel, and even when he
was growing up he liked to dress differently to
everyone else. “In Hong Kong we didn’t have a
prom, but we did have a graduation dinner, I
remember I wore Levi’s jeans, Converse, an Adidas
jersey jacket and a T-shirt to mine. Everyone else
was in a suit or whatever. I was like, ‘Yeah, a
T-shirt, whatever – I don’t care’,” he laughs.After graduating he was chosen by Lulu Kennedy
MBE to show under the Fashion East umbrella.
“Lulu is one of the few people who really believed
in me early on and it was an easy transition
between that and NewGen,” he says of the two
initiatives that help emerging designers in London.
We ask him about his fun show titles like ‘I
Want a Complete Set of Sylvanian Families’
(“That’s based on a quote from Sex & the City”)
and ‘I push doors that clearly say pull’ (“That
was the Ally McBeal collection, it represented
challenge and aggression”).
“Those were for my old collections, we are
more chic now – more grown-up,” he says, laughing.
“It was important to have those crazy moments
earlier on. Especially when I first started, they had
a sassy vibe, I was based in east London – it’s east
London humour: I was young, I was a rebel. As you
get older you know who you are and become more
confident. So I’m more sophisticated now.”
We catch up with him again backstage at his
AW19 show at the 15th-century Dutch Hall, a
renovated church in the City of London and
he explains the narrative behind the show.
“At the end of the day, life is about ‘getting
the guy’, very rom-com,” he says. “She’s Jane
Austen and Carrie Bradshaw. She’s the type of
women who watches the Royal Wedding live
on the telly and dresses up
to go to Sketch for lunch.
“We wanted to do something
that’s straightforwardly pretty
and beautiful, the perfect
combination of sexy and cute!
Clothes for lunch dates or movie
nights and some debutante
dresses and prom gowns. Hence,
everything is floral, pastels and
frilly – super romantic. In a way the
collection is a celebration of who we
are as a brand and our greatest hits.
I suppose because of the ‘Saturn
Returns’ there is also a cosmic Kusama [Yayoi, the
artist] happy witch and fairy theme going on, too.”
He has long collaborated with London milliner
Stephen Jones and this season they created
exaggerated marabou ski bunny earmuffs and
equally exaggerated fluffy hats that were inspired
by Swan Lake and Cecil Beaton’s costumes for Gigi.
And growing up even more, he exchanged
sneakers for Gina heels. “The shoes are made in
collaboration with Gina – riding boots fit for a
royal hunting session, in lace mesh and dusty
pink. There were some stairs at the venue but the
models managed in those high heels,” he laughs.
“And keeping up with the current times as our
nation is celebrating a new royal baby; we went
even one step further by collaborating with
Silver Cross [that the models pushed around the
catwalk], they are the royal family’s favourite pram.
It was just really fun to create this sophisticated
lifestyle around my women,” he smiles.
Now the show is finished what does he have
planned next? “I can’t wait to go to Tokyo again
and I’ll be watching ‘Marie Kondo’ for my office
and home.” We’re looking forward to seeing
this referenced in his next – very tidy – show. ■‘THAT’S WHY
I WORK IN
FASHION,
BECAUSE I
LOVE THE
DRAMA, THE
ZSA ZSA ZSU’ADDITIONAL PHOTOS: GORUNWAY