Creator of ‘biotech’ fashion brand LAByrinth, Elaine Young creates jewellery, clothing and objects inspired by, among other things, genetic codes and biotechnology, as seen in her Amula DNA jewellery range, the design of which is based on the user’s choice of human, plant or animal DNA; and Host, a line of graphics, clothing and objects made from microscopic images. In enabling people to ‘wear the wonders of the invisible world’, Young reminds us not to take things we cannot see for granted. Her creations were showcased at 100% Tokyo, Detour Hong Kong and recently featured in the exhibition Medicine and Art: Imagining a Future for Life and Love — a collaboration with the Wellcome Trust, the world’s largest independent charity funding for human health research.

Inspired by Hong Kong’s cityscape, Eva Cheng spent six months creating Fragments of the Sky — a fashion collection that earned her the title of overall winner at the Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers’ Contest 2011. In her designs, Cheng plays with repetitive patterns and presents intricate silhouettes using traditional Chinese paper-cutting techniques. The challenge of designing her collection, she says, is to cut and sew the fabric precisely in order to create a three-dimensional ‘blooming’ and layering effect in the outfits. Her preferred colour palette uses the contrasts of black and white to juxtapose the city’s skyline and buildings, which emerge as fragmented, laser-cut images.

Fashion designer Jo Soh — also a stylist, illustrator and design lecturer at design colleges in Singapore — is a graduate of London’s Central Saint Martins. She founded her own fashion label, Hansel, in 2003. The label — carried in boutiques in Australia, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur — combines playfulness and minimalism, with Soh’s signature style of juxtaposing strong and subtle shades. Soh was named Fresh Designer Label of the Year at the Singapore Fashion Awards 2004, and chosen to participate in London Design Festival 2006 on behalf of Singapore. In 2009, she was named Singapore’s Designer of the Year at the Elle Awards 2009.

Octo Cheung, one of two design graduates honoured with the Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2010, is also the bronze award winner of the 8th China Knitwear (Da Lang) Competition. A graduate of the Hong Kong Design Institute, Cheung has created innovative techniques in fabric-making, covering knitwear and leather. Her award-winning ‘Break the Mould into Nirvana’ collection, for example, erodes woollen materials into lace-like fringes. Inspired by history and nature, Cheung’s Troy-inspired graduation collection presents soft wool ‘armour’; and her eco-friendly ‘Light! No!’ collection uses lace as leaf veins and light bulbs as accessories.