Frida Affer vs. Phoebe Tong : Discovering Hong Kong

What would an Italian stylist ask a Hong Kong stylist?
We, at Glossom, were wondering this so we asked Frida Affer, a young talented Italian stylist, to interview Phoebe Tong, a Hong Kong based art director and stylist.
Here’s the result of the meeting of two different fashion cultures.




Frida : Could you talk about your cultural and professional background?
- I was born and raised here in Hong Kong. During my translation degree in Hong Kong I lived in Milan for a brief period of time and once I had completed my degree I realized that translating/ interpreting was not what I wanted to do, so I went to London where I got a second degree in advertising. Subsequently I moved back to Hong Kong where I worked in various creative fields and participated in a few art exhibitions. Recently, however, I have felt like I’m ready to take on another challenge and pursue what I have always wanted to -- to be an Art Director/Stylist.
 
 
Frida : Who or what has influenced your work?
- It’s difficult to pinpoint a specific thing as an influence. There are so many creative people and so many beautiful things everyone comes across everyday that can be inspiring. I think it has more to do with how you look at things in certain moments.
 
Frida : Do you draw some inspiration from Hong Kong?
- Hong Kong is part of me and I am part of it. Subconsciously every decision I make is in some ways influenced by this. I think that having lived abroad and met people from all over the world along with my life experience is what ultimately gives me inspiration however.
 
Frida : What was the starting point that drove you to create the video Q?
- The director, Daniele Manoli, whom I have been collaborating with for years contacted me regarding a short movie he wanted to do. He explained that the concept was about Quadrilateral (a shape that has 4 angles) and that he wanted it to be fashion forward. I then came up with the idea of creating objects (because of the mathematical theme) to symbolize the basic geometric shapes. So the first scene features a sphere (the ball connected to the chain), the second a cube (the helmet) and the third a tetrahedron (the shape with the fringes). And because it needed to be fashion forward I made them as accessories to compliment each outfit.
 
Frida: How can you describe your styling selection in the video?
- First of all I wanted to feature the styles of S/S 2010, but instead of just showcasing the style I wanted to exaggerate it and turn the model into a fashion victim. Therefore the ‘marine style’ was given a treatment where navy ropes were tied around her neck in a fashion of traditional imprisonment where the prisoner would have to wear a ball and chain around his/her neck.
For the second scene I used the idea of chic-rock and created a black leather helmet with studs on it. The last scene is more of an ethnic scene with hints of both Mongolian traditional folk style and African tribal style.
I was initially given the location for each scene and I wanted the outfits to clash with the environment.
 
Frida : What are you trying to communicate through your faceless work?
-The director had already decided this before we got started. The facelessness is a portal where we go inside to a deeper level of the same person. As we go further inside the person gets more liberated which I helped express with the means of the props and clothing. In the first scene the ‘victim’ is completely trapped and the mood is eerie, as we go to the next level she is more liberated and in the final stage the colours come out and she is almost liberated, however as you can see in the movie it returns to the first scene and the loop continues endlessly.
 
Frida : A video can perfectly explain the mood of collections and stays longer in the viewer's mind, do you think that it may improve a fashion show in the near future or replace it?
- I think that in the future this element will be more and more combined and definitely the video will enhance the mood and the collection. For me the fashion show is such a beautiful tradition that I really hope that it will never be replaced, however as we have seen recently there are so many innovative ways of doing shows and I think that video will be a big part of pushing the boundaries of fashion shows. 
 
Frida: Glossom, like other platform for creatives, reflects a new concept of fashion that is free from spatiotemporal superstructure, is this a message for a future that requires a different hierarchy aspiring to beauty?
- I think that platforms like Glossom are the future, along with blogs and other internet based fashion. The hierarchy has definitely been challenged already as traditional fashion magazines are losing their power and there are new brands which have found success through the internet first and then made their way into the mainstream.
 
Frida : How would you describe your view about the Chinese fashion world?
- There is actually a rich culture and tradition of fashion that I was brought up with. However, few of the Chinese designers ‘made it’ on an international level. Nevertheless times are changing and there are some designers who’ve had some recent success abroad such as Alexander Wang, Jason Wu, Joanna Ho etc. And I can see that China is developing its exciting force in fashion so you can expect a lot of new things to come out soon.   
 
Frida : What do you think about your professional growth in Hong Kong?
- Unfortunately Hong Kong still cannot fully appreciate the value of creativity and effort in this field, so it’s not easy to get more professional growth. But I’m lucky to have client requests from abroad, mainly Europe and America, and continue to have new offers.
 

Interviewer Profile : Frida Affer is a 23-year-old stylist based in Milan. She has worked with several stylists as an assistant and has produced a number of solo projects. You can discover her portfolio on Glossom.
www.glossom.com/fridaaffer