Hong Kong wouldn’t be Hong Kong without its night markets—as essential a feature of the city as its neck-craning glass towers, or its emerald carpeted Peak. While they’ve long been familiar territory for designer Chet Lo, who is drawn to them for their eclectic offerings and fizzing energy, it was on a recent visit that he came to appreciate their charm through fresh eyes. “Growing up, I’d visit Hong Kong every year,” he explained in a preview, “but this was the first time I went with my partner—it was almost like I was there for the first time myself, exploring different night markets, and reliving those locations through his eyes.”
Of course, the theatricality of the city’s neon-lit night-time warrens has been broadly popularized, largely thanks to the great auteur of Hong Kong cinema, Wong Kar Wai. For this collection, though, Lo drew upon impressions gleaned during his own (re)discovery of his familial hometown as well as these stylized depictions of it, leaning into the pageantry of Peking opera, too.
From the first look—a halter crop top and mermaid skirt in spiked emerald merino knit, quivering coque feathers sprouting from their tips—a sense of showmanship and character prevailed. “We loved the idea of the performative nature of being able to move in your clothes,” Lo explained of the jiggling plumes, brought to life by certain models’ exaggerated gait.
It was a sensual proposal, too, with skin peeking through sheer, spiked panels that ran along the shoulder blades of angular tailoring; body-length ladders along vermillion column gowns; and barely-there striped nylon dresses and linebacker-shouldered vests. Granted, those latter looks will require daring wearers, but the motive here had more to do with expressing “presence, deliberate and unapologetically public,” rather than gaudy provocation.
Though the season’s inspiration distilled into the collection itself, where it made itself most literally felt was in the show’s set. In the ballroom of the London outpost of the Mandarin Orienta—one of Hong Kong’s grande dames—Lo staged his very own night market, inviting 10 London-based creatives of ESEA heritage to present (and, well, market) their work to the audience. “Honestly, I just felt really tired of presenting my work in the same way every season. People come in and leave straight away, but this season I wanted to make it fun, but also empower London’s young Asian community,” he explained.
Moreover, profits generated from the show will be donated to the Asian People’s Disability Alliance, a charity that offers care support and services to disabled, elderly and other isolated Asian people. “I actually work with them part-time,” said Lo, “but so many people just don’t realize that these organizations exist.”
Lo’s initiative resonates with an undercurrent of community-mindedness that’s been running through London’s fashion scene amid the strife of recent years—just see the market that Martine Rose staged at her spring 2026 show. “Being able to uplift other young designers that are in positions that I’ve been in is kind of the best thing I could do with my brand right now,” Lo said. It’s about more than earning karma points, though: “With this collection and show, I wanted to show the different worlds that the Asian community is in and the different types of work that we do,” the designer said. “It’s not just qipaos and cheongsams. There’s a real modern take to our work.”
