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Eddie Lau's pioneering success in fashion and image design both locally and abroad is such that he is rightly regarded as a modern-day Hong Kong legend.
The Hong Kong Heritage Museum is honoured to receive Lau's generous support in donating many of his prized possessions to the museum for public display. To enable the public to appreciate this valuable collection and witness the contribution made by this renowned designer and member of Hong Kong fashion industry' hall of fame, the museum has organised a solo exhibition of Lau's work, which will run from tomorrow (July 17) to January 13 next year. About 70 of Lau' works will go on display, including more than 20 stage costumes specially created for Anita Mui.
Titled "Fashion.
Lau went to London in the early 1970s to study fashion design. In 1977, he was invited to take part in the Ready-to-Wear Festival organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council where his designs, branded under his own name, were paraded in the grand finale. The same year he returned to London to join a fashion festival and he subsequently presented his work at overseas fashion shows every year, consolidating his status as an international designer.
"EDDIE LAU" fashion boutiques established by Lau in Hong Kong and Japan and his series of "KAI" fashion collections in collaboration with Chinese Arts and Crafts (HK) Ltd, have proven very popular with buyers and customers alike. He was also the first Hong Kong designer to give solo fashion shows in China, further elevating his status in the fashion industry.
Eddie Lau started out as a tailor's apprentice in Hong Kong in 1962, and despite his official retirement in 1999 Lau never left the profession. He devoted his life to the industry and continued to work until 2012. His career has been inextricably linked with Hong Kong's fashion industry, with which he shared three golden decades from the 1970s to the turn of the century. In almost 50 years as a professional designer he has been invited to design uniforms for worldwide airlines on three occasions, and has also been invited to design haute couture and stage costumes for various celebrities and singers.
In image design, Lau has worked with numerous artists in the entertainment industry and is also known as the best friend of Cantopop superstar Anita Mui. During Mui's early career Lau designed her outfits, her image on album sleeves and her stage costumes for concerts. Her breathtaking charm was coupled with the unique images designed by Lau. She stayed in the spotlight throughout the 1980s and together created the "ever-changing" image of Anita Mui.
Fashion design, one of Hong Kong's most important creative industries, represents a key area that the Hong Kong Heritage Museum seeks to research and publicise, and the museum is constantly looking to build its collection in this field. Lau is the first major fashion designer to make a large donation, making his works the focal point of the museum's collection. With the comprehensive information provided, the developments, trends and changes in Hong Kong's fashion industry from the 1970s to the present day can be traced, making the collection of enormous benefit to the museum's research efforts.
Divided into two parts - fashion design and image design - the exhibition focuses on fashion and haute couture designed by Lau dating back to 1979 and the numerous concepts of image design he created for the local music industry. Lau has donated a number of Anita Mui's stage costumes as exhibition highlights. Visitors will also be able to discover the behind-the-scenes stories of each of the images created for Mui and get an overview of the pioneering steps - taken by Lau and Mui - that led to the establishment of image design in Hong Kong's music industry. Other exhibits include treasured personal photos and other material dating back to his childhood, as well as sketches, press clippings and video footage recording his achievements, which will enable visitors to gain a fascinating insight into the journey taken by this Hong Kong legend.
The Hong Kong Heritage Museum has published an exhibition catalogue for visitors' collections. Aside from illustrating Lau's fashion design, airline uniforms, haute couture and stage costumes, it will allow visitors to review spectacular local fashion designs. Priced at $185, the catalogue is now available in the Hong Kong Heritage Museum's Gift Shop.
For more details about the exhibition, please visit the webpage on the Hong Kong Heritage Museum's website at www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk/eng/exhibitions/exhibition_details.aspx?exid=208, or call 2180 8188.
The Hong Kong Heritage Museum is located at 1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin. It is open from 10am to 6pm on weekdays, and from 10am to 7pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The museum is closed on Tuesdays (except public holidays). Admission is $10 and half-price concessions are applicable to full-time students, people with disabilities and senior citizens aged 60 or above. The group admission fee is $7, applicable to every purchase of 20 tickets or more. Admission is free on Wednesdays.
Car parking is available at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. Those who prefer to use public transport may take the MTR to Che Kung Temple station, which is within three minutes' walk of the museum.
Ends/Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:01
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