Opening Ceremony, as one may know, is a multi-faceted fashion brand thanks to the unique direction by co-founders Humberto Leon and Carol Lim. The brand in fact began with a collaborative initiative between the two friends, to bring Hong Kong street fashion to the American market, and from there inspired by the spirit of the Olympics to introduce the fashion dialogue of a new city each year, just as a new Olympics host city showcases itself to the world every four years.

This time round, we meet Lim and Leon as they collaborate with Hong Kong department store, Lane Crawford, debuting an exclusive collection with Lane Crawford and its existing brands such as Alexander Wang, K Jacques and Band of Outsiders, just to name a few. However, collaborations are nothing new to the designers, just this year their collaborations with Rodarte and Chloe Sevigny at their store in New York’s fashionable Ace Hotel alone has stirred plenty of excitement amongst the fashion pack worldwide.

See our review of New York Fashion Week Autumn 2011 here.

To learn more about Lim and Leon and their success with Opening Ceremony, we meet the designer-duo for a chat.

Asia Tatler: The concept behind Opening Ceremony was triggered in Hong Kong, can you share your experience?

Humberto Leon: Opening Ceremony started in 2002 with a trip. At the time, we both worked in corporate fashion brands, I worked for Burberry, Carol worked at Bally. We came here on vacation and was so inspired by the energy of the way people buy in Hong Kong: they will shop in Lane Crawford, Joyce, IT and buy designer brands but will also go to the markets, buy gadgets, walk the ladies market to buy scarves and other fun things. This eclectic mix of shopping energy inspired us.

AT: How would you describe one another?

Carol Lim: Humberto is extremely funny, very creative and a risk-taker.

HL: Carol is surprising, logical and up for a challenge.

AT: What is the dynamic like between the two of you?

CL: When one person is going crazy and needs to reined in, the other person does that for them and vice versa. We are really good at bouncing ideas off each other. It’s anl open conversation and we have a very similar point of view and goals. We’ve known each other since we were 18. If we have any issues, we address it, talk through it and move on.

AT: What famous dynamic duo would best describe your relationship?

HL: Tom and Jerry… Wait, they don’t get along. Little Twin Stars, they were the same but different and brothers and sisters.

AT: Why do you think you have become so massively successful? What is it that you do that makes you unique?

HL: We both went into this not knowing anything, we both went into this naïve and but in our own way decided to do it our own way. There is no set formula for how we do it, it’s a fresh take on retail. We purposely look for a lot of designers that nobody knows and I think that is against general retail rules. We share a lot of the things we make exclusively with retailers and I think that is different from most.

We’ve approached it in an embracing way, you can tell we love to shop and love fashion, we work with our friends, we also seek a lot of inspiration from our childhood. It is very real.

We have a wide range of interest: art, music, film, food, it allows a lot of creative meetings. It also means that our audience is varied and that has also helped us.

See our interview with American fashion designer Charlotte Ronson here.

AT: How do you pick who you collaborate with?

HL: We look to experts who are good at what they do, i.e. Chloe (Sevigny) is a fashion icon who is ahead of her game in terms of style, she is the perfect person to work with, I can't think of anybody better. Then we work with the Mulleavy sisters of Rodarte who can’t be any more different, and they defintely have set a different tone in fashion. We’re here to start conversations.
 

AT: What is your take on Hong Kong fashion?

HL: Hong Kong has always been on my mind, the city is very cosmopolitan, its very ahead of our time. People have always been very open-minded with dressing, like the little grandmas and how cute they look is an inspiration, there is something really cute about these granny sweaters.

CL: The fashion is very democratic the way people mix things on the street, even if you don’t have a lot of money, you can show your style, taking traditional things and making it stylish.

AT: How has your childhood played a part in Opening Ceremony?

HL: We grew up in the suburbs, there is a lot of nostalgia to it. We always draw inspiration from trends and fads from our childhood. The time we grew up is a time before the internet, back in the day you had to dig to find vintage stores and music.

AT: With collaborations and your own label, where in fashion do you fit in?

CL: It is hard to say, we love so much about design, we’re interested in buying that high-end item, as well as that hole-in-the-wall brand. Occasion dressing is on our mind, we like to represent different occasions. We design and buy for our stores as we shop for two people.

AT: So how do you prepare your occasion wardrobe in the morning?

HL: We have our own strategy, I tend to wear the same thing over and over again, I’ll wear it twice in a row find different ways of wearing the same item. Then, I get sick of it, and I’ll be like, I want to stay away from the item.

CL: There is no set formula, one day I’ll pick up something off the ground and throw it on and be ready in two minutes, at other times, I will plan the night before, and rediscover things. It depends on my mood.

AT: What’s the best part of being a designer?

HL: The freedom to make whatever you want, to make something exciting and new, learn new techniques and figuring out how to translate inspirations into clothes.

See our interview with New York designer Yigal Azroul during his visit to Hong Kong here.

AT: So let us learn a bit more about you, can you share the following:

Favourite artist:

CL: This is difficult, we have a lot we like. Andrew Kuo would be my pick.

HL: Rob Hewitt

Album of the moment:

CL: Destroyers – Chinatown

HL: Morrissey – Kill Uncle

Favourite book:

CL: The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

HL: The History of Esprit: it tells of Esprit’s story from the beginning. The story of the brand from its original founder was a big inspiration for us, it was our first foray to fashion, we have a lot of vintage Esprit.

AT: What recommended places and food items can you give our readers?

HL: We love things that are simple, living the way locals do. We love yau cha guai (friend bread sticks), bo jai fan (rice casserole) and cheung fun (dough rolls). There is another place called Mak’s noodle which serves wontons in tiny noodle bowls. We also really like Tsui Wah.