Culture Is Code : How 10 Designers Are Deconstructing 'Asianness' at Clockenflap
From Vietnamese gang aesthetics to Kyoto shibori—FASHION ASIA HONG KONG 2025 maps the new coordinates of regional style.
When ancient Kyo-Yuzen dyeing meets military workwear, and Vietnamese street rap clashes with high fashion—FASHION ASIA HONG KONG 2025 teams up with Clockenflap under the theme “The Fashion Compass” to map out the future of Asian fashion with 10 spotlight designers of the year.
Recently landing at the Central Harbourfront for the Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival, the “10 Asian Designers To Watch” exhibition—themed “The Fashion Compass”exhibition served as the main platform for these visionaries. Within this diverse showcase, a special collaborative project featured celebrated local stylist Chloe Mak, who curated festival-ready looks from the winners’ collections, which were then transformed into illustrated artworks by Jenny Chui.
Hypebeast interviewed this year’s 10 selected designers to dive deep into how they are redefining “Asianness” in the contemporary fashion world through unique cultural perspectives, heritage craftsmanship, and musical inspiration.
Refusing to be Defined: “Culture is Code, Not Costume”
On the global stage, Asian design is often simplified into dragons, phoenixes, or traditional totems. For this year’s honorees, challenging these stereotypes is priority number one.
Hung La, the mastermind behind the Vietnamese-heritage brand LỰU ĐẠN, chose a “dangerous” path. Deeply influenced by his upbringing in the US during the 80s and gang cinema, he is dedicated to reshaping Asian masculinity and gang aesthetics. “I don’t want the polite exoticism of dragons, lanterns, or bamboo. I see culture as Code, not Costume,” Hung La states bluntly. He notes that the core of LỰU ĐẠN lies in power, attitude, and survival, even envisioning a “shared country” with its own rituals.
Penultimate
Penultimate
Also challenging cultural symbols is the Chinese designer brand Penultimate. Designer Xiang Gao shares an intriguing observation: Why do we wear T-shirts printed with the Queen of England or Kurt Cobain, but not our own cultural heroes? Consequently, in her SS23 collection, she boldly printed the portrait of Shennong—a mythical sage in Chinese legend—on hoodies. “It made me think, why don’t we wear our own cultural heroes?”
Oscar Ouyang
Oscar Ouyang
Oscar Ouyang, meanwhile, represents the quintessential “Third Culture Kid” perspective. Educated in fashion in the West but rooting himself in East Asian anime and craftsmanship, this hybrid background allows him to create a new aesthetic language that feels both familiar and alien.
Auditory and Visual: From Ryuichi Sakamoto to Hip Hop Cassettes
With the exhibition returning to Clockenflap, music became a shared language of inspiration for the designers, directly influencing their approach to structure and materials.
Khoki
Khoki
Koki Abe, designer of the Japanese brand KHOKI, reveals that music is his escape from reality during creation. Recently immersed in the works of Ryuichi Sakamoto, the boundless quality blending classical and pop inspired his design approach of combining traditional Kyoto Shibori (tie-dye) craftsmanship with Western military wear. This conflict-ridden fusion of ritualistic craft and functional clothing is precisely where KHOKI finds its unique space.
LỰu ĐẠn
LỰu ĐẠn
In contrast, LỰU ĐẠN’s rhythm comes from 90s Hip Hop and Cantopop. “Every LỰU ĐẠN collection starts with a playlist—whether it’s old Canto-pop or Vietnamese New Wave ballads that sound like they’re being eaten by static,” Hung La describes. This rhythm exists within the silhouettes, much like a 2Pac or Mobb Deep bassline hidden beneath oversized denim.
Tamme
Tamme
Japanese brand Tamme’s Tatsuya Tamada is heavily influenced by Shoegaze rock. Its immersive atmosphere resonates strongly with his structural aesthetic of deconstructing and reorganizing clothing. Inspired by Japan’s post-war ability to adapt and evolve, he responds to society through the restructuring of garment forms.
ShaSha Wong of swaying/knit favors experimental pianist Hauschka, whose prepared piano sounds—hovering between mechanical and manual—mirror the “strength within softness” of her knitwear. She infuses the Eastern philosophy of “Liubai” (leaving blank space) into her knitting, using spatial sense to express quietude and restraint, forming a unique visual language.
Fluid Identity: From Craft to World
For this group of designers, geography is not a limitation, but nourishment.
Act N°1
Act N°1
Luca Lin of ACT N°1 grew up in Italy to Chinese parents. This dual background allows him to naturally translate elements of Chinese ink painting and porcelain into fluid print designs. young n sang insists on using traditional looms in their Korean studio to hand-weave fabrics, treating hand-beading as “miniature art installations” injected into the clothing. They pursue an “Ageless” philosophy that spans generations, refusing to simply copy tradition but creating designs that integrate into a contemporary context.
Kit Wan Studios
Kit Wan Studios
Hong Kong’s KIT WAN STUDIOS positions itself as a “storyteller.” Often creating stage costumes for musicians, Kit’s work carries a “Chaotic beauty,” fusing elements from Hong Kong, Scandinavia, and even outer space. He refuses to be simply defined by his place of birth: “I imagine Helmut Lang not just as an Austrian designer. I am Kit Wan, a creator telling stories across various fields.”
Chinese designer Zhong Zixin draws from the rattan weaving and wooden bead curtain crafts of her southern hometown, transforming memories of cooling summer homes into fashion details.
Zhong Zixin
Zhong Zixin
Industry and Community: From “OEM” to “Voice”
Swaying Knit
Swaying Knit
Beyond aesthetic exploration, these designers are rethinking Asia’s role in the fashion supply chain. Japanese brand KHOKI proposes a view against “individual heroism,” believing Asia’s uniqueness lies in valuing the community connection of teams and artisans, rather than the Western reverence for “Individual Genius.”
This reflection on “manufacturing” also appears among Chinese designers. swaying/knit believes Asian designers are at a pivotal moment shifting from “culture receivers” to “culture exporters,” attempting to reshape the value chain of “Made in Asia.” Meanwhile, Zhong Zixin emphasizes that being situated in the world’s largest textile base, designers must shoulder the environmental responsibilities behind the supply chain.
Young N Sang
Young N Sang
From LỰU ĐẠN’s attempt to build a “shared country” to young n sang’s pursuit of an “Ageless” philosophy, these visions prove that Asian designers are no longer satisfied with mere design; they are attempting to seize the power to define the future.
These 10 designers are using their own languages to prove to the world that Asian design is no longer a one-way export, but a global dialogue about craftsmanship, music, and self-identity.
