The Han Dynasty

Khim Hang was 19 when he became the youngest ever designer to show a collection at Australian fashion week in 2012. Now 23, he is ready to take on the globe.

Khim Hang plans to make Han the Label a billion dollar empire

23 year-old Khim Hang was the youngest ever designer to showcase at an Australian Fashion Week in 2012 Source: SBS Small Business Secrets

In the world of Khim Hang, or ‘Han’ everything is by design.

As the clock ticks toward show time at Han the Label's 2016 Sydney Fashion Week appearance and a series 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 Hang is not only extraordinarily young to be staging his own shows, 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 by all accounts is "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.

'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 egalitarian philosophy is carried throughout the business; Hang works with a core team of five, but although their being 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 was born in Australia 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.

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."


Share
Follow Small Business Secrets
Sharing business secrets of inspiring entrepreneurs & tips on starting up in Australia's diverse small business sector. Read more about Small Business Secrets
Have a story or comment? Contact Us

Sharing business secrets of inspiring entrepreneurs & tips on starting up in Australia's diverse small business sector.
Watch nowOn Demand
Follow Small Business Secrets
4 min read

Published

Updated

By Camille Bianchi
Source: SBS Small Business Secrets

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world