LCQ5: Strengthening support for fashion design development
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Question:
Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) is an office set up by the Government. It is dedicated to spearhead the development of local creative industries, including fashion design, and provides funding and support. Many members of the fashion design sector have relayed their wish that the Government would strengthen its support for local fashion design development, and make use of fashion design and fashion as a carrier of culture to tell good stories of China and Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of fashion design start-ups and designer brands benefited, in the past five years, from the Design Incubation Programme and the Fashion Incubation Programme supported by CreateHK;
(2) whether, upon the conclusion of the two-year incubation period of the two aforesaid incubation programmes, CreateHK has continued to follow up and compile statistics on the situations of the development of the graduated fashion design start-ups and designer brands (e.g. compiling statistics on the percentages of their being still in business three to five years after the conclusion of the incubation period), as well as provided them with continued support; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) of the amounts and the rates of changes, in each of the past five years, in respect of the Government's allocations for (i) the development of creative industries as a whole, (ii) CreateHK and (iii) the two aforesaid incubation programmes; whether it will allocate additional resources to the two aforesaid incubation programmes in the future, so as to step up its support for fashion design development; and
(4) whether the Government will, in the coming five years, promote through CreateHK cross-genre and cross-sectoral collaboration between the fashion design sector and creative industries such as culture, arts as well as film and television (e.g. requiring local films which receive funding from the Film Development Fund to collaborate with local fashion designers)?
Reply:
President,
The HKSAR Government has been committed to promoting the development of creative industries. Launched in 2006 and 2016 respectively, the Design Incubation Programme (DIP) and Fashion Incubation Programme (FIP) aim at nurturing outstanding local design-entrepreneurs, fashion talents and brands, and offering financial assistance and incubation services over a two-year incubation period to help them build up business network, publicise products and conduct marketing promotions.
My reply to the Hon Tan's question is as follows:
(1) and (2) Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) has been providing funding support to Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) for implementation of the DIP and FIP with admission of 134 and 25 incubatees respectively in the past five years. To understand whether the programmes can help the graduated incubatees expand networks and business opportunities, HKDC will invite the incubatees to fill in a questionnaire upon the completion of each phase of the programmes. The overall effectiveness of the programmes will be evaluated based on the incubatees' participation record of activities and local and international competitions, etc. As at the end of September 2022, the percentage of the graduated incubatees which are still operating two years after programme completion reached around 95 per cent.
In addition, HKDC maintains close liaison with the graduated incubatees after the completion of programmes, to follow up on their development, including interacting with them on social media platforms and inviting them to continue taking part in various exchange and promotional activities, such as "Fashion Challenges Forum" and "10 Asian Designers to Watch Exhibition", etc. It is hoped to enhance the graduating incubatees' understanding of the development of design industry and their exchange with the industry players, and assist them to build up their reputations and expand business networks.
(3) The Government has all along attached great importance to the development of creative industries. The number of creative industries-related establishments, practitioners as well as economic contribution has increased in recent years. In the past five years, the Government injected $2 billion and $1 billion respectively to CreateSmart Initiative (CSI) and Film Development Fund administered by CreateHK, of which a total funding of $118 million was allocated to the DIP and FIP over the past five years.
Apart from the FIP, CreateHK has been supporting the development of local fashion industry and fashion designers through the projects and programmes under CSI, including supporting the industry to bring emerging fashion designers to fashion weeks and events held in overseas places and the Mainland, organising a number of fashion shows in CENTRESTAGE and holding a physical fashion show synchronising with a catwalk of virtual models. We also support emerging designers to launch digital fashion collections, organise a master class for upgrading designers' tailoring craftsmanship and fashion design competitions and summits, and provide sample making service for local fashion designers, etc.
The Government will continue to keep close ties with the industry through CreateHK, and initiate or organise diversified projects and programmes which are conducive to the development of fashion industry, with a view to promoting local fashion industry and nurturing fashion designers.
(4) This year's Policy Address has showed the Government's commitment to foster cultural development of Hong Kong with initiatives to enrich arts and cultural contents. We will explore the enhancement of CSI and encourage more cross-sectoral and cross-genre collaboration on creative and culture programmes with CreateHK playing a leading and co-ordinating role. Over the past years, CreateHK has subsidised a number of cross-sectoral collaborative projects amongst the fashion design industry and other sectors, including:
- In 2018, CreateHK co-organised "Nova Power" with HKDC, Hong Kong Film Arts Association and Association of Motion Picture Post Production Professionals, featuring 10 outstanding film artistes from the films of First Feature Film Initiative. Five local fashion designers from the FIP and five new costume designers collaborated to design new images for the 10 artistes' participation at the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market 2018 and the Red Carpet of the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards Presentation Ceremony.
- CreateHK has funded Renaissance Foundation for "Ear Up Busking: Music x Fashion Creative Scheme" through CSI since 2019. Each participating local fashion designer styles a budding music unit for the busking performances.
- In 2019, CreateHK subsidised the Hong Kong Ballet for a fashion design-cum-ballet project, "WearDance", in which local emerging fashion designers and choreographers were paired up to design new dancewear for the Hong Kong Ballet.
- In 2022, CreateHK subsidised Fashion Farm Foundation to organise the "Fashion Forward GBA 2022". One of the programmes of this event, "Fashion Beat", showcased a number of music groups from the Mainland wearing designer brands from Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area in their performances in Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Foshan and Shenzhen.
The Government will continue to promote cross-sectoral and cross-genre collaboration among the fashion design, arts and culture, television and film and other creative industries. We will also foster creative exchanges of different sectors with the cultural field with a view to injecting new impetus to the cultural and creative development of Hong Kong.
Ends/Wednesday, November 16, 2022
Issued at HKT 15:43
Issued at HKT 15:43
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