My First Fashion Show

Because of the overwhelmingly heartbreaking news about Japan a few weeks ago, I haven't been able to update my blog. It didn't feel right for me to post about good things that are happening in my life while others are suffering. I have a strong connection with many friends from Japan and with this tragedy happened in Asia, I felt especially emotional. But sad times should pass, and life must go on. I am announcing another good news today! (though it is a bit late) -----

I am going to be one of the 18 designers in West 18th Street Fashion Show this summer in Kansas City! Yes. As a fashion designer, not as a model :) This year is going to be the 11th Annual West 18th Street Fashion Show. I am so honored to be selected to be part of it. I am also very very excited that I also got to create my first collection!  :D (YEAHHHHhhhh!)

This year's event poster & theme

For those who are not familiar with West 18th Street Fashion Show, here is a little info about it:
The West 18th Street Fashion Show is an annual fashion show in Kansas City, held at dusk on a Saturday night in June. Each year, the event organizers and a credentialed selection panel choose 18 designers from a large pool of applicants to be featured designers. It is a free event held outdoors in the middle of 18th Street in the Crossroads neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, on the block between Baltimore Avenue and Wyandotte Street. It is no coincidence that the event is held on 18th Street, which has become a hub of art and fashion in Kansas City. Take a stroll down 18th Street, and on any given day you will no doubt see artists, musicians, funky fashion, and eclectic local boutiques such as Birdies, Spool, Peggy Noland, and YJ’s Snack Bar.

‣ more info    ‣ past event pages

Every year, West 18th Street Fashion Show has a unique theme, and designers are asked to incorporate their interpretations of the theme into their collections. This year's theme is Summer in Spain. I am especially excited about the theme because this theme is pretty much the reason and the motivation for me to apply. I just have so many ideas about what I want to do with my collection! :D (Hint: I am a color-mania!) I have to say thank you for every one who believed in me. I also need to thank you West 18th Street Fashion Show for this opportunity! I am sure this is going to be a great experience and I am going to learn so much from it :) I can't wait to see my models walking down the runway with my first collection!

Please stay tuned for more updates! I am going to meet with the other 17 talented designers today for the first time! I am looking forward to the creative simulations that I am going to get out of the meeting. :) heehee.

p.s. I promise I will post "I WON!!!? – Part 2" soon! (And a lot of behind the scene pictures!) Sorry that my entries are out of orders. I need to post them while they are still fresh :) Please understand and stay tuned!

I WON!!!?

This is the photo I submitted for the contest.

Last year September, I saw a tweet about the eBay LookBook Contest where people could submit a photo of their fashion look and compete for the grand prize of $5000 pay pal shopping spree, a Lucky Magazine style consulting, and a photoshoot with Micheal Waring Photography.

"Wow, that sounds fun!" my first reaction. Then I said to myself, "Why not?"

The next day, I asked my good friend at work, Sara, to help me take some photos during lunch time. (Thank you so much, Sara!) At that time, I already had some locations and photography style in mind — I wanted to have an urban look & feel to my photos. I loved how the color of the bricks contrasted with my outfit. Unfortunately, the sun was really bright during that time, and there were a lot of overcasting shadows. But Sara did a great job on the photos :>

I wasn't sure how to pose in front of the camera at first.. But I grabbed a couple of the fashion catalogs with us, so I referenced their poses during the shoot. haha. Sara also did an amazing job instructing me. Here are some of the photos from that day:



At last, we both agreed that I should submit the one that I looked straight to the camera, which showed confidence in my style (see the first image).

About my style, I guess I really like to mix and match patterns, colors, and textures together on my everyday outfit. Pattern & color usages in textiles and interior design have always sparked my creativity during the mix & match process. Because of my skin tone and hair color, I carry bright colors & patterns pretty well. Therefore, I am not afraid to wear colors or patterns that might seem "risky." Besides, mixing the unexpected items / color scheme together often help create a unique and fresh look ;>

In this look, I have a couple of different patterns & textures mixed together : the crochet of my blouse, floral prints on my skirt, dot pattern on my tight, and the geometric print on my purse. That is 4 different patterns & textures. haha. Is it a bit much? Maybe. Of course, when you choose to mix more than one pattern together, they can't all be equally "loud." Some need to be more subtle to help balance the whole outfit :> In this case, my blouse & tight are playing the subtle parts.

Back to the contest >>
The voting of the contest lasted till the end of October. When I found out about the contest, it was already the end of September, so I only had about 3 weeks to pull some votes. Only the top 25 participants with the most votes would be eligible as finalists. I knew it was late when I submitted my entry, but "Why not?" I posted the photo & link on my facebook, I tweeted about it, and sent personal messages to my friends, even my friends from Hong Kong. I was really excited about the contest and was constantly monitoring my votes. haha. I really have to thank you all my friends, and family for their support. They were probably annoyed by me for asking them to vote 5 times a day for me! ha ;p

At last, I ended up with 366 votes. But I wasn't sure if I was one of the top 25. Because some people were still voting after the due date and when I checked I was right around 26, 27. Just when I was wondering if I was qualified to be one of the finalists, an incident happened. Life became hectic, and I had put the contest aside..


I was first in my category—eclectic :>


A few weeks later, I received an email after I came back from an out of town job interview. The title was eBay LookBook. "OMG!!!!!! Did I win?" I said to myself. I opened the email and the first sentence was "Dear Chi Hiu, Congratulations! We’re pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a potential Grand Prize Winner (subject to verification of your eligibility and compliance with the official rules) in the EBAY Fashion lookbook CONTEST."

"OMG. Does that mean I won? or I am the top 3 finalists? Or..?" I had to read the email more than 10 times to make sure I got the right idea. After that I called Sara. But it went to her voice mail, so I left a crazy-woman-screaming-hysterically voice mail and called my another friend. "I NEED TO SHARE THE NEWS WITH MY CLOSE FRIENDS!!! I (MIGHT) WON!!!" I wish I could call my family right away, but it was 5am in the morning in Hong Kong when I received the good news. haha.

So yes. I won. I officially won. I just want to say life is full of bad and good surprises. And this is definitely the good one. I'm so lucky that I won. I remember when I told one of my close friend about the good news, she said "OMG. I actually know someone who won this kind of contests. This is a real deal!" hahahaaaa ;> yes. I can't believe it myself either.

On the next post, I will write about my trip to NYC for the photoshoot with eBay & Lucky Magazine. Please stay tuned!

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I've also decided to post pictures of my daily fashion style regularly on this blog :> This is a little project that my friend, Drew, is going to help me with. He is a really talented motion graphic designer and photographer. Check out his vimeo at http://vimeo.com/imagoodboy

This blog will primarily focus on design & fashion. Of course, anything (such as cultures or other subject matters) that inspire my design & fashion sense will also be documented in this blog.

Please stay tuned for more updates :>

The Power of Smiley Faces

I was honored to be asked to write an article for my office's internal e-news couple weeks ago and I got to write about anything I wanted.

I thought and thought and thought. This topic just stuck in my head and I felt that I had to write something about it...

To those who don't know me very well: I am well-perceived as a bubbly person. At least from the outside. I like whimsical designs / products. Anything that has a smiley face on it, I would love it (most of the time). Something about the smiley face on a product catch my attention every time. I start to wonder why I am gravitated towards the smiley-face product one after another? Looking around the office, I realize I am not alone...

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Take a look at your desk and those around you. Notice all the smiley faces? Apart from the original yellow Smiley, these faces come in different shapes: wedding photos, little dolls, kids’ drawings or pictures of grinning friends. Most of us use smiley faces to adorn our work spaces and set the mood, so we can feel cozy and inspired. And, in design, there is something intriguing about the fact that people gravitate toward smiley faces. As a result, more and more products carry them.

When I started at Barkley about a year ago, I decorated my desk with items that would keep my energy up – most of them have a smiley character on them, and they are mostly from Asia. It is very common to see smiley-face products in Asian cultures – anything from an orange juice bottle to a sponge is personified to smile back at you from the shelf. I thought that happens mostly in Asia, but I soon realized this smiley trend happens all over the world. In fact, just the traditional yellow smiley face alone is registered and used in more than 100 countries for 25 classes of goods and services. I wondered what explains the craving for smiley packaging and why the little yellow faces are so powerful. As it turns out, there is evidence that shows a smiley face can make us happy even when we are not.

examples of smiley-face products from the internet.

A number of studies have shown that making a facial expression such as a smile can produce effects on the body that are similar to those that result from happiness. These studies indicate that people don’t smile because they are happy, they are happy because they smile. According to the facial feedback theory, our emotions can be regulated by behavior, particularly by facial expression. Thus, if we smile, we will feel better.

The smiley packaging is popular in different countries for one simple reason: people want to be happy. Products carrying the smiley face deliver people happiness via an emotional connection. As the inventor of the yellow smiley face, Harvey Ball, said, “Never in the history of mankind or art has any single piece of art gotten such widespread favor, pleasure, enjoyment …” People can easily lift their mood by just getting smiley-face products. Yet, in my mind, people seem to have gotten in the habit of purchasing smiley faces rather than making them.

So think about this and next time you rely on an item or a packaging design to brighten your space – smile back. It will decrease your heart rate and lift your mood. It might even help those around you feel better. It’s such a simple and beautiful act. As Harvey Ball said, “… nothing has ever been so simply done and so easily understood …”

So just smile :)

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This article is not just about the power of smiley-face products. It is about the importance of making a smiley face in our daily life. I hope people will realize that they can make a positive difference to their mood and others just by performing a simple smile :)

p.s. special thanks to my amazing friend, viva, who helped me so much in writing this article =]