Oftentimes nothing gets the creative juices flowing like steeping oneself in a particular historical moment. It allows you to transport yourself out of your current time and situation, like smoking drugs does, but you keep your faculties and intact — which seems important for a mastercraftsperson like a fashion designer. You also become aware of the ways in which traces of the past linger in the world of the present.

Snow Xue Gao focuses on the Hong Kong of the 1960s, a time period that is immediately evoked at the show by playing music from Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love. The show was set in the Jing Fong restaurant, made iconic (for me anyway) by the escalators that lead to the entrance), and culminated with games of Mahjong. The designer’s fidelity to the time and place that serves as the inspiration remains is very nicely balanced with contemporary flourishes. The result is a show and a collection that is completely unique.