LABEL LOVER

CYNTHIA & XIAO

Cynthia Mak and Xiao Xiao met on the first day of their course at Central Saint Martins—xiao was specialising in Fashion Design with Knitwear while Cynthia focused on Fashion Design with Marketing. Following a graduate collection that caught the attention of Italian Vogue, Cynthia went on to work at Alexander Mcqueen, Vivienne Westwood, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, and Roksanda Ilincic before returning to her hometown, Hong Kong, where she worked at IT and Lane Crawford. In 2014 she partnered with Xiao, who was designing for fashion companies in Beijing, to launch a womenswear line that focuses on bold graphics and clean shapes. Their spring/ summer 2017 collection is inspired by outer space and features flowing curves and natural drapes. Fine metallic embroidery and contrasting metallic bindings give the collection a futuristic quality. The smooth curves are juxtaposed with eye-popping patterns, a vibrant colour palette, and contrasting fabric mixes influenced by Memphis design.