“A budget tells us what we can’t afford but it doesn’t keep us from buying it” William Feather
“Whoever said money can’t buy you happiness simply didn’t know where to shop” Bo Derek
Hong Kong is the most fashion conscious city I have ever visited. The people are impeccably dressed. Each hair on their head is exquisitely styled. Every lick of make-up is flawlessly applied. Every knot and bow precisely tied. Hong Kong is style, tone, trend and etiquette in constant motion. I found it very hard to keep up with. I tried for a day but quickly went into a head-spin. Put it this way. My fashion is a tiny pond. Hong Kong's fashion is a giant ocean...my friends will queue around the corner, like they do over here for the cute little animal toys they give away with McDonalds, to testify to that. The vagabond has a lot to learn when it comes to vogue.
If you ever get to Hong Kong and want to satisfy your fashion appetite just pop down to the International Financial Mall (IFC), or stroll around Queens road Central or far that matter just go anywhere in Central and you will be bombarded with colours, blasted with a variety of fabrics and bamboozled with the names of long list of brands. They've got the lot. Pashmina fine-silk scarfs, Kate Spader exorbitantly priced hangbags, golf-ball sized Tiffany diamonds and very interesting TagHeur astronaut watches. They have Patrizia Pepe, Firenze, Armani, Mango, Praerie, the very cool Ozoc, Robert Cavall, Valentino and Kenzo’s menswear. They have a giant de Grisogono store, Royce Nama chocolate shops with expensive cube collections, a selection as long as your arm of weird and wonderful, but always pricy, Montblanc pens and the widest range of Burberry this narrator has ever seen. And that’s only sticking your toe in the ocean. Hong Kong has the flair to keep up with the boutiques in Paris. The id inspirati to match the some of the most famous catwalks in Milan and the fantasia to rival some New York’s most talented fashion designers.
Have I mentioned technology yet? They love technology over here, to the extent where it is obsessional. Technology is more advanced, comes in a wider selection, is cheaper and is more fashion conscious than in Ireland. There are countless numbers of Mpeg players. Apples standard, mini and shuffle players are popular. So are iRivers rich in functionality classy set of products and the tiny, keenly priced and cleverly designed Oregon Scientific range. Everyone has a phone and only the best will do. Nokia, Ecrisson, Sony and Motorola billboards are plastered everywhere and constantly in your face. A large number of the business community seem to be opting for pocket pcs. Most of the younger and more image conscious section seem to go for whatever is the latest product, that is small, sends photos, and they can hang from a chain around their neck that will bounce nicely, clicking gently, along side there even smaller mpeg player. It’s amazing to watch. You could spend, easily, an entire day just sitting in a side street restaurant eating a seaweed dumpling, downing some snake blood, gormandising a few rice cakes and clumsily prodding a few chicken feet knuckles on a bed of rice, watching everyone strut around competing in their daily fashion war.
There is so much fashion in Hong Kong I was upset when I couldn't see a brand on the ever-present ubiquitous face masks the Hong Kongians wear to protect themselves from the low lying smog and pollution that create a murky bulbous arm of funny coloured clouds that drape from the skyscrapers like a cheap dress. But I believe that this is set to change… I heard a Chinese whisper the other day that somewhere in the serpentine backstreets and winding alleyways of this fascinating city that Nokia, Nike, Sony and Apple are rushing to get their brands first in line. That Toshiba, Adidas, McDonalds and Calvin Klein are working on miniature logos and that Dragon Eye Beer and Hong Kong Bank are going to have a strategic alliance to switch from cotton to Egyptian silk fabrics!!! Just like the real estate that soars and pierces the sky it seems that every inch of space on the Hong Kongians body is worth its weight in fashion gold.
