The beaded dreams of Hannah Kong
Passing by the boutiques of Hannah Kong at SM Aura or Podium, your eyes can’t help but be drawn to a well-lit space with candy-colored clothes lining the walls.
And that’s exactly what they are—eye candy. It just so happens that work has taken me to Podium and SM Aura rather often lately, and in a sea of shops, the ones of Hannah Kong are like islands whose glittering sands invite you to step ashore.
The glitter is there, so subtle and refined, yet in pastel colors that remind you of fruit sherbet or gelato. The next thing you think is that the stitching on the ready-to-wear separates is so clean, the styling so carefully considered and that surname “Kong” so uncommon—this must be a foreign label.
It’s only when you venture further in and see stylish cropped tops with terno sleeves, in a breezy print that makes them suitable for any age, that you realize the designer must be homegrown.
And homegrown, indeed, is 37-year-old Hannah Kong. She looks so youthful you would be forgiven for wondering how such a young woman could be behind an effortless brand style that speaks of maturity and long experience in the field.
Long experience is something Hannah definitely has, having grown up in the industry. Her father, well-known STAR columnist Francis Kong (whose articles on “the business of life” I even save) used to handle Company B, a denim brand.
“We lived on the fifth floor, there was no elevator in the building so I would see the buttons and rivets being made. So that was all in my background,” Hannah tells me. “I remember my dad would go on sourcing trips, we would travel to Italy, he would buy me samples.”
She smiles, recalling all of this.
“He’s very maarte, the real fashionista in the family,” Hannah adds. Her father also ran Replay, another denim brand.
This background made quite an impression on Hannah because she enrolled in a fashion course in San Francisco, then came back home and completed her fashion degree at Benilde, then went to France and studied couture embroidery.
“I really fell in love with it,” she gushes, “so when I came back, naturally it was more evening wear and bridal (design). I have been in custom-made for more than 10 years now.”
For the bridal and custom pieces, clients meet with Hannah at her atelier in Poblacion. “But I wanted to try ready-to-wear after being in custom for so long.” Thus the pop-ups at Podium and SM Aura.
You can see her passion for embroidery and beading delicately tracing patterns that weave their way across floral laces and a landscape of solid fabrics. She favors lines that are classic, feminine and dainty.
“I had a dress made with your mom, Malu Veloso,” she tells me, and I am not surprised. She and my mom share that aesthetic.
We take in a collection that gives an ever-so-subtle nod to the prevailing trends. But the shop soon fills with women of varying ages who clearly feel comfortable in Hannah’s soft, feminine silhouettes.
“Editing is the hardest part of the job,” says Hannah, “because you can throw a lot of things on a dress, like lace, beadwork—parang tapal—so editing is the hardest when you want the dress to look elegant.”
It is precisely that restraint that allows Hannah’s beading and embroidery to stand out. Sometimes it takes the least amount of glitter to make a dress—and a designer—truly shine. And Hannah Kong’s beaded dreams do just that: they shine like stars in fashion’s sky.