Following its Hong Kong debut in 2022, PMQ's FabriX came to London and Paris this fall, partnering with the British Fashion Council (BFC) and the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) at the London Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week. Powered by DRESSX, the world's first AR photo kiosk has been opened to all visitors to try or own a metalook in a blink of an eye. The showcases brought together a strong line-up of 20 international designers hailing from Hong Kong, London and Paris, including Ancuta Sarca, Chet Lo, Harri, Masha Popova, Paolo Carzana; LGN – Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, Ponder.er and Florentina Leitner.
Presented by PMQ and with Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as the Lead Sponsor, FabriX is Hong Kong's pioneering digital fashion initiative. Born of the dual desire to weave a new reality for fashion and introduce the next generation of local creative talents to global fashion audiences, FabriX is a unique platform that supports designers throughout all stages of the digital design journey: from sketch, design and 3D digital production to listing on global digital fashion marketplaces.
Partner with British Fashion Council (BFC) and Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) to present a pioneering digital fashion experience at both Fashion Weeks. FabriX offers the traditional fashion design veterans a future-proof creative medium to explore, alongside an innovative way to engage with customers and showcase their designs. Following its Hong Kong debut last fall, FabriX was launched earlier in London, partnering with the British Fashion Council (BFC) to present a first-of-its-kind digital fashion experience throughout London Fashion Week SS24 under BFC NEWGEN. As an initiative that supports the best emerging fashion design talent, the BFC NEWGEN offers financial support, showcasing opportunities and mentoring to develop critical skills to future proof their businesses. The BFC NEWGEN fashion shows took place at The Old Selfridges Hotel, located behind the Selfridges on Oxford Street in London, which fully demonstrates the DNA of London Fashion Week that makes design talent shine.
As this year marks the 30thanniversary, the BFC NEWGEN exceptionally launched FabriX with PMQ. 'FabriX 2023 – Digital Fashion Roadshow: London', took place from 15th to 19th September, featured a curation of 17 design talents including the original 12 Hong Kong designers and a roster of five exciting London-based creatives, each celebrated for their experimental and unique identities.
Following the London showcase, the FabriX now arrived Paris, partnering with Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) to present the digital fashion experience throughout Paris Fashion Week at the SPHERE, Palais de Tokyo. The Paris edition features a curation of 15 design talents each celebrated for their experimental and unique identities, including the original 12 Hong Kong designers and 3 strong Paris-Based creatives.
FabriX is curated by a team of experienced creative drivers including William To (Executive Director of PMQ), Shin Wong (Overseas Creative & Program Consultant, PMQ and FabriX Project Director) along with Fashion Curator Declan Chan, bringing the public a new dimension to the virtual fashion experience.
Declan Chan comments: "Over the past decade, I have been engaged in different ways to help promote Hong Kong fashion and designers. With the emergence of digital fashion and the metaverse, it seems we have finally found an innovative vehicle to do this on a truly global platform. Through this roadshow, a creative exchange is made possible with the help of both the BFC and FHCM, and the addition of European designers from two major fashion capitals. We look forward to a wider audience discovering and appreciating the breadth of Hong Kong creative talent through this fun, digital kiosk and hope FabriX can encourage other cities to look at new ways to support and promote their local fashion industries."
Shin Wong adds: "FabriX came about as a result of the effect of the pandemic on emerging designers, who faced difficulties participating in international trade events and saw a severe decline in in-person sales opportunities. With the generous support of Create Hong Kong, FabriX came to life in 2022 as a platform that allows young designers to seamlessly transform their collections into captivating augmented reality experiences. It has also facilitated unprecedented collaboration between designers and tech experts from across the globe. With our AR kiosk, statistics have shown a remarkable increase of 70% in consumer engagement through the introduction of digital try-ons. We're thrilled to bring this experience to London and Paris, and look forward to seeing FabriX develop as a dynamic platform for audiences to explore the entire spectrum of designer offerings."
Powered by DRESSX, the world's first AR photo kiosk features the digital masterpieces from 3 Paris-Based creatives and 12 Hong Kong designers!
Similar to London Fashion Week, the FabriX experience will be open to Sphere's visitors throughout Paris Fashion Week, in the world renowned Palais de Tokyo, bringing a holistic digital fashion concept to the industry crowd and other fashion week participants. Presenting a new 'try before you buy' development becoming increasingly popular within the flourishing virtual fashion sphere, the showcase is designed to mimic a real-life shopping experience. Guests will be able to 'try on' each of the participating designers' bespoke digital looks via AR filters, in the custom FabriX kiosk, with the option to customise and purchase their chosen garment via leading digital fashion marketplace DressX. Digital looks include Ponder.er's SS24 runway PARA denim jacket, using one of the brand's signature smocking and fraying techniques; 2023 Andam Grand Prize winner, Louis-Gabriel Nouchi's iconic asymmetrical neckline opening textured tank top or Florentina Leitner's spike Sunglasses and mesmerising catsuits.
The launch party of 'FabriX 2023 - Digital Fashion Roadshow: London' was held at the showplace of BFC NEWGEN fashion shows in the Old Selfridges Hotel on 17 Sept. Attending guests included collaboration partners and KOLs from fashion industry. London Fashion week : https://londonfashionweek.co.uk