Lui Hon’s self-titled fashion label is as surprising as he is.
For a man who made his debut on the first season of Australia’s Project Runway, Hon is the only contestant from both seasons who has gone on to make a definitive mark on the Australian fashion industry. It’s surprising, because he is quite a humble man.
But it’s perhaps that quiet ambition that serves Hon well – he’s just been nominated for the second time for the auspicious L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF) Designer Award, which is announced later this March.
‘The Lui Hon look is about layering,’ Hon told OUTinPerth on the phone from his Melbourne home.
‘It’s about comfort and versatility and very effortless luxe. I was raised by strong women who have tenacity, courage and inner strength continue to inspire the type of muse I design for.’
One of the most exciting elements about Hon’s work is the fluid sexuality inherent in his garments. Some pieces are distinctly female in nature. Others, however, have an ambiguity that allows them to be worn by men and women alike.
It’s a sense of freedom that many, many other labels lack, but which Hon nails perfectly season after season.
‘It’s not quite deliberate,’ he explained of the unisex nature of his clothes.
‘The people that I am trying to design for I always appreciate the inner strength within a female. So I try to pull that strength out in my design process. The male will have the opposite role. Certain pieces can be worn on the male, or the male can relate to some of my pieces.’
This is just one facet of his work. The other are the secret buttons and ties that many of his clothes conceal. A leather jacket comes with wraparound ties at the back, allowing you to hug it close or wear it lose. A cowl necked top comes with hidden buttons at the sleeves, so it can accentuate the shoulders or be worn undone to create a more dramatic drape and shape.
‘I call them the hidden mechanisms,’ Hon said of his concealed fashion functions. ‘They allow for the wearer to be more engaging with the garments and allow them to be more versatile.
‘When I put them on someone a little bit slender or somebody who is married with children, who has a different body shape, those hidden mechanisms give the wearer a little bit more freedom during the wearing process and creates versatility, accommodating to the body shape, or allow a garment to crossover a few genders as well.’
This winter Hon is experimenting with some new fabrics with his AW11 range Noise In My Head. It’s a collection that takes complexity and makes it simple. Texture replaces colour. Form and function are achieved through restraint. Wool is lined with leather to create more structural drapes.
The overall effect is dramatic and accomplished, elegant and strong.
‘The highlights this winter are the knits. Every winter I try to have knits and leather because I’m very drawn to those natural elements. And this time I also explore in (Toscana) fur as well.
‘I just learn to work with all these very natural elements: the feel, the touch, and sometimes the smells too helps begin the design journey.’
While we’ll have to wait and see if Hon takes out the LMFF Designer Award, one thing is certain: a new look website is coming at the end of this month. It’s an opportunity, Hon says, to bring Australian Made to the world.
‘It’s almost like a local brand in a global context,’ he added. ‘I’m looking forward, especially because in winter, I’m using a lot of wool, and this allows me to promote Australian wool in a different way.’
Lui Hon is available from Elle and S2 in Perth or online through Little Flirt, www.littleflirt.com.au
Noise In My Head AW11 will also be available online from the end of March through the new launched Lui Hon website, www.luihon.com.au
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
