Back in 1997, Hong Kong's fashion icons were performers who dominated the music stage or big screen, like queens of Canto-pop Anita Mui Yim-fong and Faye Wong, or Wong Kar-wai's long-time muse Maggie Cheung Man-yuk. Whether in performance or daily life, these celebrities brought bold, avant-garde looks as well as simpler, trendy pieces to the forefront of Hong Kong fashion,.
Eclipsed by the rise of K-pop and Mandopop, Canto-pop’s popularity went dark for many years, until it found its voice again. For decades, it felt as if the historical performance on July 1, 1997, at Hong Kong’s handover, also immortalised the peak of Canto-pop: When superstars the 'Four Heavenly Kings' and George Lam Tsz Cheung, Alan Tam Wing Lun, Sally.
Benita Chick Ben Yue doesn’t hesitate when asked where she wants to be interviewed ahead of Pride Month, when LGBTQ communities around the world come together in celebration of their freedom to be themselves. “Let’s meet at The Eaton – it’s really supportive of the LGBTQ+ community,” says Chick of the retro-inspired hotel in Jordan, Kowloon that’s also an incubator.
On May 17, 1997, Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Released in Hong Kong cinemas right before the handover from Britain to China, the film charts the demise of the relationship of a gay couple who have relocated from Hong Kong to Argentina. More straightforward than the films that had made his name, Happy Together benefited.