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Rafe Totengco
COURTESY PHOTO
COURTESY PHOTO
Accessories designer Rafe Totengco dishes to WWD about his recent visit to Hong Kong:
Let me tell you about Hong Kong. It's fast and furious. It makes New York look like Boca. I've been coming here for so many years it's like my second home. As soon as I land, I hit the ground running. There are places to go, people to see. I always run over to Causeway Bay to check out all the small boutiques that carry local designers. They're on trend and cost a fraction of the price compared with the major labels.
Like New York, there's always something happening and new spots to check out. I attended a private tour and preview dinner at Hullett House, David Yeo's 10-bedroom, all suite boutique hotel in the old historic police building in Kowloon before they opened it to the public. Each room is lavishly decorated with a different theme.
Then Hong Kong "It" girl Audrey Chiu hosted an intimate dinner for me at the members-only China Club. The ambience is so Thirties Shanghai, complete with a lounge singer dressed in a fitted silk Qipao. The walls are filled with contemporary Chinese art that owner (and Shanghai Tang founder) David Tang amassed over the years. After dinner, we headed over to another members-only watering hole, Kee Club in Lan Kwai Fong, for a night cap.
This trip was extra frenetic because aside from my usual work, I'm also here to do a trunk show for Harvey Nichols. All of Hong Kong's best-dressed girls showed up and shopped! By the end of the evening even the display mannequins were bare! To celebrate, we went straight to Dragon-I, one of Hong Kong's coolest nightclubs. This place attracts a very attractive model crowd, which is always a plus in my book, and they also serve really good Chinese food. Tao miu (pea shoots) are in season and I can't eat enough of them. Next stop was the Roxie, a new members-only club. Joel Madden was in town from L.A. and spinning to a very enthusiastic crowd of clubbers. As I was making my exit, I heard a Black Eyed Peas song come on. "I got a feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night...". It was and I'm ready to do it all over again!
xoxo, Rafe
Then Hong Kong "It" girl Audrey Chiu hosted an intimate dinner for me at the members-only China Club. The ambience is so Thirties Shanghai, complete with a lounge singer dressed in a fitted silk Qipao. The walls are filled with contemporary Chinese art that owner (and Shanghai Tang founder) David Tang amassed over the years. After dinner, we headed over to another members-only watering hole, Kee Club in Lan Kwai Fong, for a night cap.
This trip was extra frenetic because aside from my usual work, I'm also here to do a trunk show for Harvey Nichols. All of Hong Kong's best-dressed girls showed up and shopped! By the end of the evening even the display mannequins were bare! To celebrate, we went straight to Dragon-I, one of Hong Kong's coolest nightclubs. This place attracts a very attractive model crowd, which is always a plus in my book, and they also serve really good Chinese food. Tao miu (pea shoots) are in season and I can't eat enough of them. Next stop was the Roxie, a new members-only club. Joel Madden was in town from L.A. and spinning to a very enthusiastic crowd of clubbers. As I was making my exit, I heard a Black Eyed Peas song come on. "I got a feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night...". It was and I'm ready to do it all over again!
xoxo, Rafe
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