Photos : Nick D for @precursorprints
這年頭也許會重現周世顯和長平公主可歌可泣的愛情故事，一對相愛的情侶面對重重難關但終於重聚，最後相相殉國。不過2020年的周世顯和長平公主應該不能再古裝打扮了吧？要是公主想要時尚一點、高貴一點，一套Chanel可能正合她形象。但世顯就要努力賺多點錢了。再不然的話，看看香港這邊DEMO的Twist Jacket吧！同樣的高貴但不同的款式和感覺。先來看看我們和DEMO設計師Derek Chan的訪問，好好了解一下DEMO 先吧！
<< 中文譯本在英文之後 >>
Ever felt the need for a Chanel jacket in your wardrobe? Well gender-fluid Hong Kong brand, DEMO likes to work in a tweed that is very visually similar. Why not? It's not like it's the sole provision of Coco's either! It's cool to see the various iterations that Derek Chan, the designer of DEMO has put it through, and we finally had the opportunity to sit down for a short Q&A with him!
SPITGAN : First of all, I would like to ask you about your inspiration for your SS20 collection.
Derek Chan : The collection “Fragrance Fade” is inspired by a love for Cantonese opera. The SS20 collection tells a story of love and loss. It references the piece, 'Fragrance Sacrifice', a poetic and romantic story of two lovers who sacrifice themselves for their love, and turn into a pair of beautiful flowers. You can see there is a lot of opera elements in the design details, including floral panels and moons. The contrasting colours convey the shades of the forest and the light of the moon. Our gender-fluid designs feature our new mastery of materials with tweed, used in fringes, cuffs and collars.
SP: You have mentioned in the past that everyone’s inspirations stems from their desires. What is your desire?
DC : My desire is to show the versatility, and diversity of men through clothing and styling. I am bored that men are always restricted by these social boundaries. We are always framed under a certain stereotype or ideal constructs. This break-the-boundary concept is one of the core directions of DEMO.
SP : You gained popularity in a very short time. Were you lucky, or were you prepare for it?
DC : I don’t think I gain popularity in a very short time haha. Compare to some good designers who garnered attention and popularity through some renowned contests; I think I am more like a step-by-step person, and I like to be. This makes me more mature and sophisticated.
I won’t say I am lucky or 100% prepared, but I will say I am well prepared and have luck because those are the factors to be successful. Like what Chinese say, ' 天時地利人和 '.
SP : Because of your quick succession, are you worried that there will be another brand to replace you soon?
DC : I am not worried to be replaced, but I worry that I am not doing good enough compared to my past me. I'd rather to compare myself instead of others. I think what make a brand successful is the uniqueness. Uniqueness makes you irreplaceable. Your uniqueness should be something related to your spirit which is difficult to be replicated.
SP : Describe your ideal customer. Who do you imagine them to be? Their qualities, interests, lifestyle.
DC : Intellectually beautiful (知性美), assertive, open-minded, artful, artistic, poetic. Examples pop-up in my mind: Troye Sivan, Bando Tamasaburo, 任劍輝，Ezra Miller, Leslie Cheung, etc.
SP : Do you design for Asian women?
DC : Yes sure. I will do so in the upcoming collection, but like I said before, I don’t like the stereotypical boundary of gender. I don’t want to name the collections as women or men. I rather to make it gender neutral, better still, ANDROGYNE.
SP : Do you remember the first buyer who bought your collection/pieces? Please describe that moment.
DC : YES! It was quite unbelievable 'cuz it is not easy to get orders from a famous department store! Especially since DEMO was just a new, growing brand at that moment. I am still very thankful, with grateful to meet those people who supported me, and bought into my ideas at the very beginning.
SP : I remember your collection at first was not very wearable. How did you find the balance between creative and commercial?
DC : Experience. It is not easy to have this balance and I think it is something that you WANT and TREASURE. When you are young, you have creativity, but you don’t have much experience on with commerce, so you will WANT it. But with time, your sub-conscious (understanding) of commercial factors will help to 'wash' out your creativity, and this will be the moment you TREASURE what you have.
SP : Please also tell us about the pieces you designed for the Mini collection. These were our favourite; and you used quite different materials for them.
DC : Something for show, and not bound by commercial factors, is always my love and where I feel most adventurous; like my Mini pieces! I was representing the 2000’s for the Mini collection. The first direct thing that popped in my mind was (五光十色). This is the reason why I use this futuristic material. With this idea, I then began to think how to incorporate it into DEMO's signature tweed texture. I cut the material into small tiny fringes to create these effects, and finally these two outfits.
SP : Why didn’t you use any Asian models in your collection?
DC : I did use! Nick Sung is one of the Asian models that always represents DEMO. Sometimes I prefer Asians, more than Caucasians 'cuz it is more relatable to me.
SP : What can we look forward to from you in the near future?
DC : I am bored with regular collections now. I want to have a 'spark' with other parties. I will create a capsule collection with Charles Lam, a very famous male influencer to discuss some topics on gender-statement. Stay tuned! I will share more to with you later!
<< 中文譯本在下面 >>
SP : 不如先講講你最新的SS20系列吧。
DC : 今次SS20最新系列《帝女花之香夭》是從同名經典粵劇故事中得到啟發的，這是一個淒美的愛情故事，講述一對戀人為愛犧牲，最後化成美麗的花。這個故事用美麗的大自然作背景，悲傷的戀人之間瀰漫著離別的情感。縱使這是個悲劇，人們卻感受到當中情感的美麗。這個系列便展示了美麗又悲慟的強烈對比。我們把粵劇的元素滲入設計中，包括花卉鑲邊，代表了樹林的陰暗與皎潔的月色，對比強列的色彩。
SP : 你曾經講過「每一個人的創作靈感是來自於他或她的desire（慾望）」，你的慾望是什麼？
DC : 我的慾望是通過我的服裝展示男性的多樣性。現實社會中的男性總是受到許多社會界限的束縛， 我們總是困在一定的刻板印像或構圖之下。這個突破邊界的概念是我在DEMO中的方向之一。
SP : 很多設計師在這圈子做了幾十年都未必有你到現時為止的成果，我會說你是極速上位了。你覺得是純粹好運還是你早有準備？
DC : 我覺得我沒有極速上位吧，哈哈！相比起一些在大型比賽中得到關注的優秀設計師，我覺得我同個比較循序漸進的人，我也很喜歡一步一步的慢慢成長。這讓我更加成熟和老練。
我不會說自已是幸運還是100%準備，但我會說我已經準備好而且有點幸運，這些不同的因素讓我成功。這像我們說你「天時地利人和」集合而成。
SP : 當你經歷過自已的極速上位，而現在social media主導的世界也走得好快。會不會擔心好快有其他品牌取代自已？
DC : 我不擔心自已會被取替，我反而會擔心自己的表現比過去還不夠好。我寧願跟自已作比較而不是別人。而我也覺得要令品牌成功的關鍵在於獨特性。 獨特性會讓我成為無可替代的，而獨特性也應該與您個人的信念相關，這是難以複制的。
SP : 你覺得誰會買你的作品？
DC : 我想這個人是擁有知性美的，果斷、豁達、充滿創意的、藝術的、詩意的。我腦海中浮現的例子有：Troye Sivan、Bando Tamasaburo、任劍輝、Ezra Miller、張國榮等等。
SP : 你的設計大多針對亞洲女性嗎？
DC : 我會在即將到來的系列中做到這一點，不過就像我之前所說的那樣：我不喜歡性別的刻板印象。 我不想將這些系列定性為女裝或男裝。 我寧願使其性別中立，雌雄同體的感覺。
SP : 你還記得第一個買你系列/作品的人嗎？當時有什麼感覺？
DC : 當然！因為要得到著名的百貨公司訂單並不容易，尤其當時DEMO還是一個成長中的品牌，是十分難以致信的事。我很感激遇上從一開始就支持我和我的設計的人。
SP : 我記得你最初的系列的穿著度不高，你是怎樣在這麼短的時間內平衡創意和商業考慮？
DC : 經驗！要保持平衡絕對不容易，之後有著「想要」和「珍惜」的取捨。初時你會有很多創意但缺乏商業經驗，你會做出你「想要」的設計。但隨著時間的流逝，您對商業考慮因素的潛意識將洗刮你部份創造力，這將是您要「珍惜」擁有的一切的一刻。
SP : 告訴我們您為Mini collection設計的作品。 這是我們的最愛，您使用的材料完全不同。
DC : 我喜歡和冒險，總是喜歡表演，而不是受商業因素的束縛，就像迷你！ 我當時代表的是Mini系列的2000年代。 我想到的第一個直接問題是五光十色。 這就是為什麼我使用這種未來派材料的原因。 有了這個想法，我便思考如何將這種材料整合到DEMO特色花呢紋理中。 然後，我將材料切成小條紋，以創造出那種效果，最後是這兩套衣服。
SP : 為什麼你的系列並沒有用上任何亞洲模特兒？
DC : 我有用！Nick Sung是其中一個亞洲模特兒經常代表DEMO的！我比較喜歡用亞洲模特兒多於歐美的模特兒，因為感覺上和我更有關系。
SP : 你對將來的想法是？
DC : 我開始對平常的系列覺得悶了，很想和不同的人合作一下。我將會和一位很有名的時裝博客Charles Lam合作做一個迷你系列，等我遲一點再分享更多給大家啦！
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