Inheritance, Activation and Innovation

Celia studied interior design in university, but by chance, she joined the family business of traditional Chinese tea. But how to bring Chinese tea into the world of young people? How to revitalize the brand from the traditional hands of the older generation, out of the box, and break the thinking? she is like a piece of tea on a tree to a finished product, it goes through many processes to become a cup of tea that can be tasted.

Maggie is responsible for Incubation & Ecosystem at The Mills Fabrica. She manages Fabrica’s incubation programme by providing connections and exposure. She also curates the startup community through organizing ecosystem building initiatives and developing a new HK Startups Ecosystem Network.

Before joining The Mills Fabrica, she worked at a startup incubation hub leading the corporate innovation projects in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. She started her career as a banker, with over seven years of experience in credit analysis, client relationship management, corporate & digital strategy in Asia Pacific office. She covered apparel / footwear manufacturers, property developers and government entities.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in the USA.

Prof. Philip Yeung Kwok-wing is currently the Executive Director of Clothing Industry Training Authority in Hong Kong and an Adjunct Professor of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). Prof. Yeung holds a PhD degree from the Queen’s University of Belfast and has been awarded Fellowship from the Society of Dyers and Colourists and the Textile Institute in the United Kingdom, the Hong Kong Institution of Textiles and Apparel, and Textile Association in India.

Prof. Yeung embarked on his teacher career at the Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) of the Hong Kong Polytechnic since 1973. He became Professor and Head of Department in 1995 and was appointed by PolyU as the Vice President in 2000 responsible for the academic planning and development of the University. Prof. Yeung owned a number of patents and published over 130 papers in journal publications and presented at international conferences over the years.

Currently, his research interest is in sustainable textile product development, and he is also actively conducting consultancy projects in the application of quality management for the industry.

Debbie was graduated from University of London, Professional Golfers College (U.S.), University of Hong Kong and University of Hong Kong Polytechnic. She is a qualified lawyer in UK, HK and a golf professional in the U.S.

Her intense passion in art and craft compelled her to take a sharp turn in her career and become a full-time artist two decades ago. She has been experimenting with different media including mosaic, pottery, glass and fibre in her artwork. She custom makes art wearables in felt for individual clients as well as creates decorative pieces for commercial organisations, fashion shows, exhibitions and costumes for celebrities and performance artists at stage. Apart from teaching in different design colleges in Hong Kong from time to time, she has been a visiting lecturer in The Central Academy of Fine Arts (中國中央美術學院), China Fashion Designers’ Association, Penland School of Crafts (U.S.).

She has also worked as art consultant for hotel chains and curated art exhibitions. Her work has been exhibited and collected around the world including China National Silk Museum (中国絲綢博物馆). Her recent project involves reviving cheongsam which is an intangible cultural heritage of Hong Kong and sustainable handmade fashion items.

Ms. Stella Lee (Ms. Lee) graduated in Business Administration from Queen’s University of Brighton. From her youth, Ms. Lee had developed a profound interest in art. She studied art and fashion design in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In 1990, she won the Runners-up prize in Hong Kong’s Fashion Design competition. Thereafter, she established a fashion boutique with her own brand and line of fashion products.

Subsequently in order to take up a new challenge onto a higher plateau, Ms. Lee embarked on an entirely new field-financial service. She worked hard to delve into financial investment knowledge, coupled with fortitude and determination, and is now an executive director of Global Group Securities to help the company penetrate the Greater China market. Concurrently Ms. Lee is frequently invited to be a guest host for various television and radio programmes as well as a writer in investment columns of economic dailies.

Ms. Lee serves the community in various capacities. Apart from being an Executive Committee Member of The Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, Ms. Lee is an Elected Member of Hong Kong Brand Development Council, and an Executive Director of the CMA Exhibition Services Limited. In addition, Ms. Lee is a Technical Advisor of Employees Retraining Board (Financial Services). She brings with her years of experience from the commercial field and provided ERB valuable contribution from the financial sector.

Other than work and community service, Ms. Lee devotes herself to the promotion of education. She is the manager of Yan Ping Ind. & Comm. Ass. Lee Lim Ming College, Kowloon City Baptist Church Hay Nien (Yan Ping) Primary School etc.

Yeung Chin is an ex-student and member in Alternatif Fashion Workshop. He obtained his MA Fashion Design from the University of Westminster London in 2009. He won a top creative award in Hong Kong Young Designer’s in 2003 and YDC Special mention award by HK Design Centre 2009. His local performance include Hong Kong Fashion week fashion show from 2003 to 2008. His oversea performance in the London Cheers Exhibition 2009. he was hired by Li Ning as a senior fashion designer in 2007-2008 and G2000 as a Chief Fashion Designer. He is a visiting lecturer in Hong Kong Design Institute now.

Upon founding his namesake brand ANGUS TSUI in 2014, Tsui sought to create a label that would advocate for and utilise environmental sustainability in every aspect of its design process—without compromising on aesthetic or quality.

Studying Fashion Design at Nottingham Trent University and Fashion Design and Development at the Hong Kong Design Institute, Tsui was inspired to bridge high fashion with sustainability. Working closely with upcycling pioneers Orsola de Castro and Ada Zanditon in London, he learned the craft of sustainable design techniques and continues to incorporate these into his work today.

Tsui established his own educational charity project, ANCares, which coordinates workshops, seminars and exhibitions on the topic of sustainability with NGOs such as St. James Settlement, Friends of the Earth and Redress. He has worked directly with companies such as Swire Properties, Cathay Pacific and H&M to create upcycled uniforms and accessories via sustainable processes. Among other awards, Tsui has received a Bronze Award at the 2017 DFA Design for Asia Awards, the Common Objective Prize at the 2017 EcoChic Design Awards and the 2014 Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award.

Leo CHAN, MH, is a serial entrepreneur, General Practice Surveyor and interior designer, Leo co-founded an architectural and interior design company Urban Anchor Limited in 2006. In 2010, Leo co-founded a local fashion brand AMENPAPA. Leo is a Board Member of the Hong Kong Entrepreneur Organisation and a Deputy Supervisor for the Woofoo Leaders’ Network. He also serves as a Vice-Chairman of the Create Smart Initiative (CSI) Vetting Committee, a Member of the Advisory Group on Implementation of Fashion Initiatives and a Member of the Police Married Quarters (PMQ) Studio Unit Assessment Panel.

Alexander Chan is currently the Co-Director of The Mills Fabrica- a leading Hong Kong based incubator, fund and space/lab/store dedicated towards promoting innovations and sustainable businesses at the intersection of technology and style (“techstyle”). Alexander currently leads investments (Fabrica Fund) and also helps with incubation support and government/ policy related affairs at Fabrica.

Alexander is also an occasional contributor to SCMP, HKFP and Stand News in Hong Kong where he writes on issues related to innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability.

– Prof. WONG has over 30 years experience in the luxury fashion field

– Over 20 years with the building industries with high end interior decoration. Recently he focuses on Sustainable Development of Animals Based Industries, including meat, animal fibers fashion and pets industries

– Founder & Chairman of “Belt & Road Youth Foundation” (HK Charity # 91/15440)

– Served for 6 years as an advisor to the HKSAR Agriculture and Fisheries & Conservation Department’s Endangered Plants & Animals Species Advisory Committee

– Chairman of Audit Committee and Director of a 60 years-old International Trade Federation

Prof. Wong welcomes enquiries on Sustainability & Ethics on
1. Luxury fashion fields
2. Building & construction
3. Animals Based Industries

Contact: thomas_c_c_wong@hotmail.com

Morgane oversees the education facet of Redress’ flagship programme, the Redress Design Award. Trained as a chemist and holding an MSc from the French Textile Engineering School ENSAIT, she has a deep understanding of materials in general and a strong knowledge in textiles. She has over 8 years of experience in the apparel industry with companies such as Adidas and PVH, holding positions in sourcing, product development and more recently product & digital innovation. A certified Design Thinking practitioner with IDEO U and a firm believer that sustainable practices are the only future possible, Morgane is driven by creating human-centric innovative solutions that generate positive impact. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and pushing the sustainability agenda.

Catherine Cole is the Chief Executive Officer of MOTIF, the apparel knowledge hub that connect professionals around the world with the skills and industry expertise they need to transform their business, lives and careers. Based in Hong Kong, Catherine has over 25 years of experience working with multinationals and start-ups across Asia in business development, marketing and strategy roles for companies such as Samsung, Evergreen International Airlines and Typhoon Consulting. Her passion is at the intersection of technology and education, especially as it relates to lifelong learning and upskilling in industries as dynamic as fashion.

Kennis joined Hong Kong Design Centre at 2017 and she is now committed to developing a number of fashion and design projects including FASHION ASIA HONG KONG, Fashion Incubation Programme (FIP) and Design Incubation Programme (DIP) driving the collaborations across the fashion industry, design and business fields, together with different organisations and institutions as the strategic partners to grow those programmes. As the former Head of Marketing in Lane Crawford, Kennis possesses solid work experience deriving from job scopes spanning across digital advertising, strategic marketing, brand management and event management in the luxury fashion industry.

Jesse Lee launched an upcycled Denim collection in 2020 with The R Collective transforming select Levi’s®️ aged inventory and irregular and leftover samples in a creative design effort to prolong denim’s lifespan. He won the Redress Design Award 2018 Second Prize Mentorship with Orsola de Castro as well as the Hong Kong Best Prize the same year. He holds a degree in Fashion Design from Kingston University (UK) and is currently studying a MA program in Menswear in University of Westminster (London, UK).

Dr Bernard Chan Pak-li was Political Assistant to the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development from March 2013 to June 2017.

Before joining the Government, Dr Chan spent about 10 years working in the technology sector, gaining experience in intellectual property trading and crossover collaboration. From 2008 to 2013, Dr Chan served as a member of the Kwun Tong District Council.

Dr Chan holds a bachelor degree in electrical engineering and a PhD degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University, USA.