The Bite Magazine - Spring 2016 - Issue 15

first collection in what we believe to be a style reminiscent of the late Antonio Lopez, adding his unique logo to the drawings. He studied art since he was a small child and received a postgraduate Product Design degree from the Univer- sity for the Creative Arts. “All of these experiences have given me a general concept of my career in fashion,” he told us. It was also from growing up in a small village in China obsessed with accessories that inspired Wong to get into design.“People in my hometown are really good at making different types of unique, fabulous and amazing handmade accessories. I think the living conditions from my childhood made me really get into fashion design.” He also says that the ‘attitude of being who I am’ is really important and matters from both respec- tive of his design and personal life. He added, “It is part of who I am. I really need an environment that makes me feel comfortable and where I can express myself which matters a lot to me.” One of the great things about having his own label is that it allows him to give his collections a ‘home – where they belong and what they are’. “It is kind of a ‘starting point’ and all the things I am going to do just circles around it, so it is very cool and necessary to have my own label.” When asked to describe his design signature, he simply said,“Be your- self and do whatever you like.” And to add to his accolade of amazing designs, Wong helped design the album cover for former X-Factor finalist Lucie Jones and said, “It was a really cool experience to work with Lucie.” Although he is fairly new to the fashion world and may think he hasn’t accomplished much at this stage, we think designing an album cover, being a judge for a high profile contest, showing his first collection at London Fashion Week last year and with lots of interviews going on is a very bril- liant start to his career and we certainly believe him when he told us, “I promise more interesting activities will happen in the near future.” When it comes to constructing a piece, Wong says it depends on the design but it usually takes around three months to make everything happen. Also, it’s not just great ideas or the designs that make a perfectly quality article but the actual process of bringing the ideas and the design papers into reality that is very important, with attention to detail on the production process. He counts Vivienne Westwood and Alex- ander McQueen as the “two talented designers that have inspired him a lot” and adores designers that can tell stories with their collection. Wong also counts models Cara Delevingne, Herieth Paul and Candice Swanepoel as his favourites because, “I think their face shape, sexy lips and personality could match my col- lections perfectly. I hope I will work with one of them some day.” The designer also says he would like to work with Rita Ora and Jessie J and added,“Both of them are talented, stylish and pretty.They also have sexy lips that could match my sunglasses quite well. I would love to do some col- lections for them.” So what could these chosen individuals expect if they were to walk Wong’s collection? “I know the features of my designs well, so I always choose simple outfits to match my sun- glasses and style.” Something we probably haven’t really thought about in depth is that when designers sketch or construct their designs it is a way of expressing them- selves. Whether it is through clothes, accessories or other fashion designs, Wong says it is a language. “I love both of these styles [sketching and construc- tion], if it is unique and stylish.” Design is also a way in which he can communi- cate with the world, tell a story through his collections, and express himself in his work. Some of his goals include a desire to be a fashion icon and to do more col- lections as well as being a fashion teacher one day for a while. But there’s one thing he will never stop doing and that is “trying to create new fashion and new styles.”Whilst he loves all colours,Wong decided to use gold, silver and black in his first collection.“I think these colours are simple but with power, mixing these colours together you could really see some chemistry going on here. I would love to try more colourful materials in my next collection.” However, when it comes to material, Titanium is Wong’s absolute favourite to work with because it is “new, light and easy to colour. I used a lot of Titanium in my first collection and I really love it.” And as we conclude our designer profile on the wonderful Victor Wong, what advice would he give to aspiring design- ers? “Do whatever you really love to do and put your heart and soul into you design. Be unique, try something new and keep chasing your dreams.”Very wise words sir! www.victorwong.co.uk bitedesignerprofile