Bonita Cheung

Fashion designer Bonita Cheung does not mess about: she specialises in unrestrained, no-holds-barred couture dresses featuring ultra-luxe fabrics and a theatrical way with volume, silhouette and embellishment. That unapologetic old school glamour has made her work a favourite with a whole host of celebrities and socialites, including Michele Reis, Gigi Lai, Cathy Lee Chui, Tang Wei, Karen Mok and Gigi Leung.

Her solo career began in 1998, when she launched her label Tassels, making her debut the same year at Hong Kong Fashion Week. She followed it up in 2002 with another label, this one using her own name, which sold ready-to-wear fashion at Harvey Nichols. In 2009, they were joined by her third label, Ni-Chi, this one a collaboration with socialite Reina Chau.

In addition to creating collections for those three, she’s also been involved in organising some spectacular public events to promote the Hong Kong fashion industry. In 2012, she collborated with the Danish Fashion Institute to put on the Hong Kong edition of the World’s Greatest Catwalk show, which broke records with its 3.2km catwalk, running along the Victoria Harbour waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui; 340 models took part, with each of them taking 45 minutes to walk it.

She has also acted as a curator and project director for the Hong Kong Fashion Designers Association, working on events that publicise the city’s designers. In 2018, for example, she showcased the work of 75 of them when she curated the Juxtaposed Fashion X Music event.