Hannah Kong: Fairy Godmother to Fashion

Take a look at these gowns. Really zone in and focus on every bead, every precious stone and every evenly spaced stitch as if each dress were a work of art.

The longer you look, the more the dresses look like the creations of a fairy godmother — dresses a real-life Cinderella will gladly wear to a ball where she’s bound to have a magical evening.

Instead of a wand, she has her needles. Instead of spells, she has her imagination brought to life by Parisian training in haute couture and embroidery. And instead of whimsical songs to inspire her, up and coming fashion designer Hannah Kong claims that it’s the old soul in her that sets the tone for her designs.

Beatrice by Hannah Kong_bodice detail

(Beatrice)

On May 24 at the Aruga by Rockwell, Hannah Kong unveiled her debut collection to an audience repeatedly asking only one question – how is it that bridal and occasion wear like Hannah’s aren’t more famous?

Give it a year or two and her creations will fly off the rack as if by magic.

“I was exposed to fashion as a kid. So I’ve always loved anything that has to do with fashion but I was actually confused about what I wanted to do. I went to De La Salle University first, I did Economics. After a while, I felt like, ‘Okay, this isn’t actually for me.’ I was failing my subjects. I was looking for something else,” Hannah explains.

Like many artists, Hannah had a beckoning passion just waiting to be answered.

She loves period movies. She collects vintage clothes. She identifies with a time when women dressed in designs like hers on a daily basis. Mix all that with the fact that her father used to run a garments business and her mother customized many of her clothes as a little girl and you have the perfect trigger for a fashion designer.

It wasn’t long until Hannah heeded the call and found herself hard at work at the Ecole Lesage in Paris. More than any of the technical training she went through, Hannah emphasizes that it was the renewed appreciation for attention to detail, taking her time and turning the whole design process into an art that make up her work philosophy. Her time in Paris was so memorable that many of the dresses in her 12-piece collection were named after teachers, classmates, roommates and some of her first clients.

Stephanie by Hannah Kong_bodice

(Stephanie)

IMG_4347

(Hannah Kong at the center poses with models who bring her creations to life during her debut show)

“The thing I’ll never forget from Paris was learning to make the details as great as possible. Most of the time, we don’t have that luxury here. For me, I want my dresses to be beautiful and pretty from afar and up close. I want to be even more meticulous,” she says with conviction.

This show marked a big step up for Hannah’s career, as she previously just depended on word of mouth and friends in the industry to help promote her work. Although amazingly, big time celebrities like Jodi Sta. Maria, Toni Gonzaga and even Kelly Rutherford who played Lily van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl have already worn her creations this early on — even when it was just last year that Hannah started to “officially market” her designs by setting up a Facebook page! (Kelly Rutherford wore a necklace designed by Hannah when she was still making jewelry).

The young designer just let out a girlish giggle and got a dreamy look when asked to imagine the heights she could reach now that her debut show will surely give her work the traction it deserves.

From the very first old rose evening gown crafted out of French solstiss lace Hannah handmade for her mother, Hannah has gone very far from where she started.

Emmanuelle by Hannah Kong_back detail

(Emmanuelle)

5. Couture embroidery is a time-intensive artform

(A seamstress working on a beautifully embellished gown)

For one thing, if Hannah used to do all the cutting, pattern-making, sewing and fitting herself, she now has her own team of seamstresses she trained herself and whom she deeply respects.  Like her, they too have a great sense of creativity. She shares, “I learned to trust my people and the trust blossomed into something beautiful. I also found that sometimes their ideas are much better than mine, since they’re the ones actually handling the pieces.

At this stage, she is both overwhelmed by the initial tastes of success and training herself to face what lies ahead.

Her biggest fear so far? “I’m scared that somewhere down the line, I will be making gowns that aren’t ‘me.’ I really don’t want to do it just for the business. It’s a part of me that I’m giving out, I do it for the love of the art and I don’t want to lose it,” she confides.

It’s only natural to feel a little worry, but Hannah chooses to see her future as bright and rosy. “Hopefully, I’ll have an off the rack collection and make this a seasonal thing. Hopefully the craft is more appreciated by then, and also the hands that work on the pieces,” she concludes.

It hasn’t been a month since Hannah’s debut show, but its success gives little room to doubt that she will, indeed, be the belle of the fashion ball.

Muriel by Hannah Kong_fullshot

(Muriel)

Edith by Hannah Kong_back detail

(Edith)

Sophie by Hannah Kong_bodice detail

(Sophie)

Annie by Hannah Kong_fullshot

(Annie)

Charlotte by Hannah Kong_bodice detail

(Charlotte)

Florence by Hannah Kong_full shot

(Florence)

Caroline by Hannah Kong_bac detail

(Caroline)

Chloe by Hannah Kong_fullshot

(Chloe)

Shirley by Hannah Kong_fullshot

(Shirley)