As the clock ticks toward showtime at Han the Label's 2016 Sydney Fashion Week appearance and a series of pre-show deadlines pass, Hang's air is of enjoyment rather than stress.
"I don't really get that nervous, the designer says, because you have to enjoy it even when there is pressure."
He could be forgiven for anxiety; at 23 years old, Hang is not only extraordinarily young to be staging his own runway events, he is managing a multi-tiered business - and shows like this can make or break a collection.
Kanye West's 'Heat' blasts over the speakers as the fashion set moves in - the music is by all accounts "obnoxiously loud" - little do they know, this is no miscalculation.
"In fashion, it's the idea of a straight runway, the music is considerate, people sitting in rows, like that's not cool, that's boring," Hang pronounces as he considers his latest show.
Khim Hang's round catwalk is unique in that it allows everyone to be in the front sweat. Source: Supplied
'Boring' is not on the cards today; it's a grungy affair with a maze-like runway of timber scaffolding, wet concrete and smoke machines.
The collection draws a smattering of VIPs away from the main drag, but social hierarchy is eschewed when they take their seats, because Han bucks a significant fashion mainstay; there is no front row.
This roundtable philosophy is carried throughout the business; Hang works with a core team of five, but although they're on the payroll, these are not employees - this is an entourage.
"Oh I love that, that is so true because we are so like that," Hang says with enthusiasm, "the people who work for me are my family."
"You get to a stage in business when you stop working in your business and you're working on it, and you're trying to grow it and you need the right people in there because they are like family."
Khim Hang with his entourage before a show. Source: Supplied
Khim Hang was born in Melbourne to Cambodian refugees who fled the Khmer Rouge during the regime of dictator Pol Pot.
They instilled a strong work ethic in their two sons, but when Khim took up a needle and thread in his early teens, suffice to say they were less than thrilled.
Hang's was an unlikely adolescent rebellion, staying up late at night to mask his growing interest.
"I started making clothes for myself. Sewing jeans, hand sewing jeans actually. And that's not like, it's impossible, I would never do that again I don't know what I was thinking.
"But it was the starting platform and it just grew from there and just kept growing."
"Ever since I was 16 I knew this was going to be a business. Fashion is a business, fashion is a very lucrative business."
That defiant vision paid off; at 19 years old, he left University to launch Han the Label, soon becoming the youngest ever designer to showcase at an Australian Fashion Week.
The money followed.
Khim as a child. Source: Supplied
Hang's five-year plan is to grow the company to a net worth of $56 million, and eventually reach billion-dollar status.
"All I said to myself is I would be happy if I made 100,000 a year. And 100,000 naturally came - quite quickly actually," he admits. "And then you sort of look at it and it's really nothing, and then it occurred to me that it is all about creating a goal."
Part of the label's growth strategy is to target consumers directly via runway parades and online, rather than rely on retail outlets.
The business follows a vertically integrated production model, with various arms of the company dedicated to distribution, manufacturing, innovation and design.
The designer divides his time between his home in Brisbane, the US and Cambodia, where the brand's garments are manufactured.
Ethical Fashion
The workers at the factory are paid incentives per piece, in an arrangement Hang says brings them a little over double the standard minimum wage.
"It may not sound like much here, but the extra money makes a big difference in Cambodia, and I think it is important to help even if you don't have to," he says.
At various points of the day, Hang references his idols; Pharrell and Kanye West, for their vision and diversity, but it is clear his real heroes are closer to home.
"I hear the stories from my parents about their lives - devastating stories - and I want to make them proud."
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