As the brains behind minimalist, luxury label HAN, Khim Hang is in high demand backstage at his Mercedes-Benz Australian Fashion Week show.
Just hours before models strut his creations down the runway, he’s putting the final touches on a collection he describes as an ode to his French Cambodian ancestry.
“I’ve been really inspired by my culture and my heritage,” Khim said.
“I’ve been doing a lot of research about Cambodia in the 1960s… and for me it’s a reinterpretation of what this culture once was, and what it is now.”
The brand is stocked in six countries and this is the second time it’s featured at Fashion Week, but it hasn’t always been this glamorous for the HAN designer.
Khim's parents came to Australia from Cambodia, fleeing Pol Pot’s regime.
Five of his father’s seven siblings were killed by the Khmer Rouge.
“I know what it’s like to struggle, I know what it’s like to be poor,” Khim said.
Khim is now committed to fair trade within the textiles industry and has opened his own factory in Phnom Penh.
“We pay people double the minimum wage and we also provide childcare facility for our staff’s children,” he said.
And he isn’t the only young designer drawing on his heritage at Fashion Week.
Haryono Setiadi said his show was all about a youthful attitude, incorporating memories from his childhood.
“I was inspired by a traditional weaving technique from Indonesia,” he said.
For other more established designers there’s even more hype.
Wedding dress couturist Steven Khalil is celebrating 20 years of his label, one which has attracted international attention.
He’s also debuted his first solo couture collection.
“Seeing your work on the world’s stage like that is an incredible feeling - it’s elation,” he said.
“It’s a dream come true.”
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