In Hong Kong, Future Threads Examines the Changing Codes of Menswear

As Fashion Asia Hong Kong celebrates its 10th anniversary, the cross-border exhibition looks beyond established codes, bringing emerging Italian and Asian designers into conversation.

Menswear has long been governed by unspoken rules and codes: tailoring, shirting, workwear, and the suit. At Future Threads: Menswear’s New Waves Between Italy and Hong Kong, 10 young designers explore how those established forms can be reinterpreted through new materials, proportions, and approaches to dress.

Presented in Hong Kong as part of the third edition of Hong Kong Fashion Fest, the exhibition brought together designers from Italy and Hong Kong, examining different perspectives on tailoring, materials, functionality, and gender. Curated by Sara Sozzani Maino, international new talent and brands ambassador of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, it marked the first strategic collaboration between the Hong Kong Design Centre and the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana.

The exhibition takes “Inflection” as its central idea: a small shift that changes how something familiar is understood with 10 independent labels expressing it in different forms.

For Matteo Lamandini of MTL Studio, it means reconsidering the traditional suit. His Italian label, founded in 2018, draws on the formal dressing he encountered growing up. For the exhibition, he presented a suit made from striped cotton poplin, a fabric more commonly associated with shirts, alongside a two-tone grey suit. “By introducing a material that is more commonly associated with shirts into a traditionally tailored context, I wanted to shift the perception of what a suit can be,” he says.

Wilsonkaki approaches menswear through the realities of Hong Kong. Designer Wilson Yip describes the city as a place where “old and new, formal and casual, local and international constantly exist together.” That contrast informs his approach to clothing designed to move between different environments. For him, “Inflection” is “a change of direction, a small shift that changes how something is perceived.”

Ponder.er, founded by Alex Po and Derek Cheng, focuses on the relationship between clothing and gender. The Hong Kong label uses fluid silhouettes to reconsider traditional menswear. “It was never about putting womenswear on men, but more about twisting classic pieces into fluid shapes for all genders and sizes,” the designers explain.

“We think men are definitely ready to be as playful and experimental as women when it comes to fashion and style,” they add.

The World Is Your Oyster takes another approach, combining retro references with contemporary silhouettes. Founded by Calvin Chan and Joyce Kun in Hong Kong in 2015, the label works with Japanese and Italian fabrics and develops its collections around a gender-neutral aesthetic.

Across the Italians designer, experimentation takes different forms. Domenico Orefice combines Italian craftsmanship with sportswear and high-tech references, while Grossi approaches traditional menswear through textile research, deconstruction, and influences ranging from manga and comics to Italian counterculture.

Materia places function at the centre of its design process, focusing on movement, accessibility and everyday use. Victor-Hart works between workwear and tailoring, exploring the relationship between utility, structure and contemporary identity.

Together, the designers highlight the possibilities of bringing Italian and Hong Kong perspectives into conversation. Wilsonkaki sees an opportunity to combine “Italian precision and craftsmanship with the adaptability and perspective of Asia,” while Ponder.er points to the different ways each region approaches textiles, materials, and experimentation.

“We think we will see a lot more diversity in menswear and it will be an exciting and unexpected ride,” say Po and Cheng. “We definitely hope being part of this new wave of emerging designers, we together can produce more designs that will allow these boundaries to be broken and introduce new looks to the world of menswear.”