Fashion Designer : Lorriane Tam
Q1. What things are indispensable for you in life?
Lorraine : Fashion, socks and colours. I’ve always been passionate about fashion, and I hate black and white. Black and white is full of darkness, and joyless. If the world is left with only black and white, for me it’s like losing everything. I have a passion for socks, and like to collect all kinds of socks, and this is where my dream to become a sock designer began. After that, I set up my own brand and sold my favourite socks, so they mean a lot to me.
Q2. Your favourite colour is purple. Why do you like purple so much?
Lorraine : I don't know why, but I fell in love with purple at first sight, there’s no reason for it. Purple gives me a sense of relief. When I’m confused, the colour purple can make me rational again. It’s so special to me.
Q3. Socks are an important part of your brand. What is your connection with them?
Lorraine : It's a very intimate item for me because I only wear leather shoes when I go out, so wear socks every day. A good pair of socks can brighten my mood.
Q4. What inspires you?
Lorraine : Many designers say they find inspiration in their daily life, and actually, so do I. I like to talk to people, listening to their stories and attending social events. Music also gives me a lot of creative inspiration. I listen to Korean and Hong Kong songs, and love listening to rap music; I like the flow of the songs. Because I fall asleep listening to slow songs, I play fast songs when I work. Rap inspires my creativity because I like the mix of street and worker styles. But the most recent song on my loop isn’t rap, it's Fun Fair by MC Cheung Tin Fu.
Q5. You named your brand MOODLAB. Is there any connection between the bright colours in your design and mood?
Lorraine : There are many ways to express yourself, and for me, colour is the way to express my mood I’m in on any given day. I set up my brand to encourage people to express their personality and mood through colour. The colour that represents my mood recently is dark blue, which is a more stable colour in my mind.
Q6. Why do you insist on handwritten brand cards?
Lorraine : I think that handwritten cards give off a warmer touch and show sincerity to others. I write a message for each customer and refer to our relationship. So even when I may be very busy and have a lot of shipments, I still insist on writing cards by hand. What I focus on is building relationships with people, and brands should not be cold. A customer once said to me, "I’d love it if you would offer certain styles," and I used that as inspiration to design and launch a sock with a tattoo pattern that came from the pattern on the customer's foot. I love having this close relationship with my customers.
Q7. Your brand lends itself to collaboration. Who would you like to collaborate with?
Lorraine : I like Yayoi Kusama a lot and have fantasised about collaborating with her. Many of my creations are inspired by her, so doing an art piece with her is on my bucket list.
Q8. Has the experience of participating in YDC 2022 changed the direction of the brand?
Lorraine : The brand started with socks, but I did menswear when I was studying fashion design and wanted to show people that I don't just design socks. YDC gave me confidence in fashion and added to my experience in menswear. In the past, I was more of an avoider of fashion, but YDC was like a call to action, and I felt it was time to get back into fashion design. People were very positive about my designs, which gave me a lot of encouragement. YDC has also changed the direction of my brand, which previously focused on socks. While I will continue to create socks, my goal this year is to make clothes.
Q9. Tell us about your new collection and plans for the brand
Lorraine : I call the new collection "home-street wear". The definition of "home-street wear" is that it can be worn at home or on the go, and is both comfortable and stylish. In the future, I’d like the brand to have a store, but with the general trend of customers preferring online stores, it will be very difficult. As customers like chatting with us, I’d love to have a regular pop-up store. The exhibitions, meanwhile, will showcase the direction I want to develop in, such as the Germs Pom Pom Jacket from my YDC collection. I’d like to make artworks in this field in the future, and gain recognition in the art world, not just fashion.
Interview & text : KC
