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 :>