Pang Chai celebrates fashion heritage in Hong Kong

Markets and bazaars are linked to brashness, noise, and an atmosphere of impatience. However, the Yen Chow Street Hawker Bazaar tells another story.

For more than 40 years, the Yen Chow Street Hawker Bazaar has been the paradise of local fashion designers and students. The bazaar offers an assortment of a wide variety of fabrics sold by more than hundreds stalls.

“Pang Chai, an alias for the Yen Chow Street Hawker Bazaar was developed in the late 1970s,” explains Elita Lam, Head of the Department of Fashion and Image Design at the Hong Kong Design Institute. “It is situated in the core of the Sham Shui Po fabric district, with nearly 190 stalls that sell thousands of meters of stock fabrics and trimmings, offering designers and students a source of reasonably priced classic and novelty materials to support design experimentation. It is regarded as a local material treasure that attracts not only local designers but also foreign fashion design students and visitors.”

The atmosphere and the relationship between the stall owners and customers have made this more than a place of business; it has become a treasure trove for fashion designers.

The bazaar will be dismantled and relocated because of recent urban development, bringing this fashion show and exhibition to fruition with the hope to record the collective memories of this local fashion heritage site.

“This project will bring together students and alumni to develop a fashion collection and create artifacts in appreciation of the local fashion culture, weaving the scattered pieces together to form a memorable story,” says Elita.

The Department of Fashion and Image Design of HKDI is hosting a fashion show and an exhibition by inviting fashion design students to showcase their art installation in the exhibition. Outfits are designed by alumni, who used resources from the stalls in the bazaar, will be put on display.

Date 31 March to 06 April
Time Monday – Friday 9am – 9pm; Saturday 9am – 7pm
Address Jockey Club Upcycling Centre at St. James’ Settlement, 85 Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Free admission