In conversation: Designers Celine Kwan and Chet Lo trade inspirations and industry talk

We paired fellow Central Saint Martins graduates Chet Lo and Celine Kwan, two rising Hong Kong talents shaking up London fashion with nostalgic prints, spiky textures and unfiltered vibes, and got them talking about their friendship and industry heartaches. Disney, togas and kawaii Chet Lo: So how did we become friends? Celine Kwan: We were in foundation [a pre-degree course in art and design] together. CL: Yeah, and I was walking in the hallways, and I heard a b**** singing – was it like “Colours of the Wind” or something, a Disney song? CK: No, I hate Pocahontas. CL: OK, well, you were singing. CK: It was probably Beauty and the Beast or something like that. CL: There was a Disney song you were singing, and I just popped my head around and joined in. CK: You know what, we have different stories because my first impression: we were both in the same dorm room, the sketch house. You had a really interesting haircut. CL: It was really bad. CK: I don’t think you remember this because I was like, “Oh my God, are you in foundation as well?” And you were like, “Yes,” but you were a little bit … CL: Was I a b****? CK: You were, like, a toga party person, and I was like, kawaii, you know, with the pink and the yellows. CL: Yeah, I think the Disney thing brought us together, because we were singing and both were like, “Oh my God, slay – we’re hot.” CK: And that’s how we became friends, I think. CL: But that first interaction – when we first, first met – that was when I was like, “I’m here to make fashion, not friends.” I shaved the sides and back of my hair. I was stupid. Like, it was not a good vibe for me. CK: Oh my God, you didn’t have tattoos. CL: I had no tattoos. I was a virgin. It was not good [laughs]. CK: I actually was at the same place when you lost your virginity. CL: Oh my God, you literally were – it was in your room. CK: Ew. Rebel soon CK: I think what was different for me is I came to the UK with Asian-parent expectations. My mum wanted me to be a lawyer; they wanted me to do academic things. But I always had that rebellious streak. How about you? CL: Wait, did they send you to the UK because you were rebellious? CK: No, not exactly – they wanted me to have a change of environment, which I’m really grateful for. Because if I was in Hong Kong, I think we would’ve burnt the city down. CL: [Laughs] CK: No, girl, I would’ve been an investment banker. Oh my God, I would’ve slayed. CL: You would’ve been so rich [laughs]. CK: Unlike now [laughs]. CL: I hated New York by the time I was leaving. I just didn’t really like it, it was too hectic. Also, because my parents moved from Hong Kong to New York, I was like, “Oh, I’m doing what they did, being an immigrant basically.” I wanted to be super independent. I was a token gay in high school and I was also one of the first ones out. But then you go to CSM [Central Saint Martins] where that’s everybody’s story, and someone’s always better – you know? I wasn’t used to that. I basically had a mental breakdown. CK: I had that in second year. CL: Oh my God, like, they push you so hard to “find yourself” at CSM. CK: But they don’t mean that. I wanted to do cute stuff, but they wanted lingerie drapes or something. I’m not that girl. I like things simpler, maybe with a dog on it. They don’t get it. CL: They kept giving me identity crises. Building camaraderie CK: As much as we want to say there is a sense of community in London, I feel it more in Hong Kong. I think Hong Kong is a bit less competitive, while in London, I think it’s a bit more difficult. CL: It’s more cutthroat, and it’s hard to shoot the s*** with somebody and actually have fun. A lot of it is very fake. CK: I definitely want to build this community even more, especially with our Asian brothers and sisters. I think that’s really important. CL: Yeah, I think that’s the goal – like, in the future, to actually build a proper community of Asian designers to support young talent, [and hopefully] we’d have the same support from bigger talents. I think the nice thing – when you speak with younger designers – is you get to share the heartaches and the glow-ups with everybody. But I think sometimes with London, it doesn’t feel so much like you’re actually shooting the s*** and connecting. It’s more like comparing. But it just depends on who you get along with. Like I know that with you, I get along with you, so I’m able to relax and be myself. CK: So basically what we’re saying is, there is a side to a brand that you cannot really share openly that easily. Yeah, for me as well. But we’re trying to build it, that’s the main thing. Fear and forgetting CK: Common struggles? Money. CL: Money, b****. Money sucks. CK: Also, not knowing the business side of things. Is that a common struggle? We did not learn that in school. I didn’t think it would be so real for a small brand. CL: You don’t understand the stress of it until you’re in it, and it’s f***ing awful. I’m like a whore for money. I’ll do anything. … I think, for me, the mental side of things is hard because it’s up and down constantly. CK: I also think the pressure for newness is very stressful for young designers. People are always afraid they’ll be forgotten or the fan base will lose interest. I guess it’s the same for every creative. How do you inspire … support one another? I guess like this – like we have lunch and are honest, which we haven’t done enough, but I think it does help. CL: Definitely. Also, sometimes it’s stupid, but just online stuff like when you like stuff on my Instagram or whatever, that’s actually nice. CK: Oh really? I share everyone’s work and no one does that for me, so I get really hurt. CL: I think it’s a really sweet attribute that you have. CK: Aww, thank you. I think for you, you’re very authentic – you would never lie to me. I think that is supportive to me. CL: I don’t like lying. We’re bad at lying. International identity CL: I really like to work based on my identity, I love being sad and moody. Actually, the first couple of collections were happy, and then one season I was like, “I’m super depressed,” and since then every collection’s been super dark. CK: Are you OK [laughs]? Is that the East side of you coming out, or the West? I feel like Asian designers do have a certain style when we design. I don’t know. Is that controversial? For me, my clothes really resonate with Asian girls. CL: I think my Western side … it’s really dark. CK: For me, I didn’t realise how East-influenced I was because I grew up watching anime, cartoons. I love to draw, I even started animating myself. So I think that influenced my work naturally. But I think my West is that tongue-in-cheek funniness, ’cause I don’t think that’s very East. CL: I think I can see a lot though – like the Asian side, how incredibly cute and saccharine it is. CK: But I’m sorry, I have to mention this – mastering cute is so f***ing impossible. It can look tacky so easily. CL: Isn’t cute like the new sexy or something? I think cute is sexier than sexy. Spikes and stories CK: If I’m being honest, I didn’t think about building a brand with an identity. I just did what I liked. How would you sum up your brand identity? CL: I guess it is actually just whatever I’m thinking that season. I communicate more with stories or concepts that I want to tell. And it’s always kind of sad and emo, but with the spikes, basically. CK: Do you feel pressured to bring the spikes in every season? CL: I do, yeah. CK: I guess what we’re saying is – if you do what you like, the brand identity just comes out naturally. Sources of inspo CL: I’m inspired by random s*** really but it’s always about me because I’m in love with myself [laughs]. CK: I’m not gonna lie, me too [laughs]. I don’t even know your creative process. We don’t talk about this – like why would we? CL: Actually, yeah – whenever I talk to my friends, I never like to talk about work. I think it’s a bit passé [laughs]. … Well, I love my mum, I really want to do something for her. Not that she’s dying or anything, but I think about her experiences. She was an office lady-turned-painter, so I went through office attire, argyle prints, classic stripes, and mixed them with painterly vibes and textile manipulation, juxtaposing those worlds to marry the two concepts. That was my process, if that makes sense. What about you? CK: I think I took a lot from my memories as a girl – that’s because, for example, Hello Kitty: I grew up with it. I had a Hello Kitty-themed room. I also watched a lot of cartoons – loads of anime. CL: No, but it makes sense. Cartoons are beautiful. CK: I just love it so much. I love Kiki’s Delivery Service, Howl’s Moving Castle. Sailor Moon – ate, no crumbs. Totally Spies! CL: Oh, obsessed! CK: Kim Possible was hot – she had a fat ass. You’re very Shego. CL: Who’s that? CK: [Gasp]. You’re not a true fan. Creative competition CL: I like that we can leave our mark a little bit. You make a collection inspired by something that means so much to you, and it’s photographed. Your creativity is out there, and it’s yours. CK: What excites me most is when I see someone wear [my creation]. Not celebrities, not influencers – just normal people. CL: I think we’re both very tactile people. We like making stuff, so it’s a blessing to do that and make money out of it. CK: What do you hate about it? CL: How broke I am [laughs]? I hate the industry. It’s such a competitive, dog-eat-dog world. It’s not a very friendly environment. CK: Yeah, it’s not friendly at all. I struggle because I don’t think I’m a mean person in nature, and in fashion you have to be cutthroat, mean to survive. I hate that. CL: I am mean. CK: No, but you’re a kind person too. … I don’t like the hours. Oh, actually, I don’t like the fashion schedule for young designers. It doesn’t work. CL: Yeah. Also, I don’t like large companies and how it’s all about overproduction. That model is unnecessary and ruins it for us. CK: It does. And the musical chairs of creative directors, it shows creative people are expendable. I H-A-T-E that. Michelle Yeoh, King Kylie and Strawberry Shortcake CL: My pop culture icon is Michelle Yeoh. CK: Oh my God! “M, M.” Both: “Flip it around, Wicked Witch!” CL: I love Michelle Yeoh. I’m obsessed. I would do anything for her. CK: You know who’s inspiring to me? Everyone from Kill Bill. That’s my pop culture inspiration, and Strawberry Shortcake. Tamagotchi, Nintendogs, Cooking Mama. Tumblr moment – oh yeah, I was such a Tumblr girl. King Kylie. CL: Oh, King Kylie – love her. CK: Yeah, also Hello Kitty, Usahana. Oh, you know who? Anna Sui. CL: Oh yeah, she’s amazing. CK: She’s a style icon. Hire me! Who’s your style icon? CL: I was really obsessed with Wong Kar-wai. And I love Tony Leung. CK: Anita Mui? I mean, we can be boring and say Marlene Dietrich but no, we’re not gonna do that. Bucket lists CL: I really want to go to the Met Gala once in my life just to say I’ve done it, and then never do it again. CK: Do you want to dress someone? CL: Yeah, I want to dress somebody – Michelle Yeoh or Tony Leung. CK: My bucket list is really boring. I want to drive. CL: Girl. CK: (Laughs) I don’t know how to drive. What’s another bucket list [item]? This is a really good question because I never thought about it. CL: Yeah, you need to have goals. CK: I don’t want to say boring stuff like parachuting or Mount Everest. CL: No, you’re just gonna die. CK: Yeah, these people pay US$100,000 to do it. CL: It’s stupid. I want to go to that underwater hotel in the Maldives. No, I really want to be in a private jet [laughs]. I also really want another dog. A house in the Cotswolds. I’m just listing things I want. CK: I want to do a TED Talk. CL: Oh yeah, you should – you have a lot to say [laughs]. CK: I want a bench in a park. I wanna cut a ribbon or something. CL: To your own store? CK: Wait, that’s a good bucket list [item]. Having a store is good. I want a flagship in the middle of Harajuku [in Japan]. I want a f***ing huge Holly (Kwan’s signature dog mascot) in the middle, like Gentle Monster style (referring to a similar popular store installation featuring a large dachshund) – that’s cute, so c***y. CK: I want to go to a Brat party by Charli. CL: Oh yeah, that would be cute. CK: I want to work with all the Sanrio characters. CL: That’s really sweet. I mean, I’m sure after the success of [your current collaboration], you’ll manifest it. CK: Well, thanks. You’re so nice. CL: I hate you [laughs]. CK: I think we should have a podcast. CL: We would get cancelled.

In conversation: Designers Celine Kwan and Chet Lo trade inspirations and industry talk

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Disney, togas and kawaii