DEMO

“Diversity is about the uniqueness of different fashion styles and garments. Every person expresses themselves in different ways, and putting on clothes is a means of self-affirmation.”

Fashion designer Derek Chan founded DEMO in 2013, pushing traditional gender boundaries with soft, masculine designs that blend classic and contemporary elements. Derek’s designs allow people to express different facets of their personalities by wearing Demo.


1/ Demo was founded in 2013 with the concept of gender fluidity at its core. How has this concept evolved and changed since then?

When the brand was first established, the fashion industry emphasised the dichotomy between men and women. The mainstream opinion was that women’s clothing should be sensual and accentuate curves while men’s clothing should be masculine. Over the years, people have grown to embrace their inner masculinity or femininity and have become more courageous in showing different facets of their personalities through clothing. We are riding this wave and we are challenging the definition and boundaries of gender through different details in our designs so that people can show off their uniqueness, and explore more possibilities by wearing Demo.

2/ Hins Cheung has worn custom-made Demo on stage at the Hong Kong Coliseum. How is the process of crafting a custom-made collection different from making a ready-to-wear collection? Are you planning on developing Demo into a bespoke brand?

Apart from our ready-to-wear collection, we also have the Métier Collection, which is where we unleash our creativity and craft designs from our imagination without considering the commercial aspects. In this collection, each garment is tailor-made for our customers so every piece uniquely reflects the person wearing it. This is the difference between DEMO's Métier Collection and our ready-to-wear collection. Of course, none of these collections can replace our main line, but this is where we would like to take our brand in the future as it would allow us to communicate our brand philosophy through design and also expose us to some unexpected clientele.

3/ As a designer who was born and raised in Hong Kong, how has local culture influenced your creations?

Many of our past collections have been inspired by Hong Kong. Our Spring/Summer 2021 collection “Star fades, legacy remains” is inspired by ‘70s and ‘80s local pop culture and our Spring/Summer 2020 collection “Fragrance Fade / 香夭” takes inspiration from Yam Kim Fai’s Cantonese opera “帝女花”. When we search for inspiration in Hong Kong, we always keep our design philosophy of diversity and soft masculinity in mind. When you look at our previous collections, such as those inspired by Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung, you can find traces of their bold and androgynous identities. In “Fragrance Fade / 香夭”, we also took reference from Yam Kim Fai’s role, where she had to bring a male character to life as a woman.

4/ Not only does Demo’s clothing blur the boundaries of gender, it is also where traditional and modern aesthetics collide. What is this inspired by?

The DNA of our brand has always been “contemporary classic”. While concepts of “classic”, “contemporary”, “masculine” and “feminine” seem like polar opposites, we believe that they do not contradict each other. Just like Tai Chi, a balance can be created once you blend two elements together. Many of Demo’s collections are inspired by other dualistic themes, for example, softness and strength, East and West, man-made and natural — how we bring these polar concepts together to create a balanced collection is what defines Demo and where we are headed. Of course, what I have just mentioned are only ideas and vague thoughts, but my inspiration comes when actual data, movies, books and art have been compiled and researched.

5/ Demo means “Demonstration of yourself”. How does the brand’s clothing help its wearer to express themselves? Why is self-expression important nowadays?

We always say "Shine bright" and "Be the star in the dark", which is what I keep in mind when I design. I hope every design can shine the spotlight on the person who wears it. When someone chooses to wear Demo’s designs, they are expressing themselves in the design details that attracted them to the garment. For example, a person who is brave enough to put themselves out there can choose bold, eye-catching designs, while people who pay more attention to substance and detail will choose clothes that are more subtle and intricate. When I design, I take into consideration different people’s needs but one thing does not change: I want my clothes to make people shine and to allow wearers to express their true selves.

In today’s society where everybody is in pursuit of fairness, equality seems clichéd. I think it is important that every person is sure of themselves. When someone is confident, comparison will not weigh them down — this is also the importance of self-expression.

6/ In comparison to Demo’s old collections, what is the biggest breakthrough and innovative aspect of your latest collection?

Whenever I create a new collection, I will always try to challenge myself and think about what is lacking in the previous collection. For example, the colours in the last two seasons are richer and bolder than before and the garments are styled in a more exaggerated manner. Rather than saying that it is about innovating and making grand breakthroughs, I think it's more about reflecting on how I can improve and what is interesting to the audience and customers.

7/ How do your latest designs reflect the development of diversity in today’s society?

Diversity in design can be reflected when a piece of clothing is unisex in its design and the technology used to design it. If we don’t categorise clothing as menswear or womenswear, clothes are just a medium of self-expression. However, when I design these clothes, I don’t want to make them genderless but rather androgynous and have the wearer bring out the characteristics of the garment through their personal style and personality. The garment will become a vessel through which he or she can express their own individuality.

8/ What do you think is the importance of diversity to the future of fashion?

Diversity is not only important for the future development of fashion, but also for society as a whole and for different industries and sectors. For example, we often hear about biodiversity, which is about the variety of life on earth at all levels. When we put this concept of diversity into fashion, what we want is to not homogenise style. Diversity is about the uniqueness of each style and garment, so that each wearer can express themselves differently, which is a means of self-affirmation.