I agree that there is a little truth in what Career Doctor says, BUT, I genuinely agree with the sentiment of V and Vong. I myself am British Chinese, and also a socialist and artist at heart. I apply my creativity in my line of work, which is IT, believe it or not.

I do think that, it may be good for your soul to come to London, Paris or even Milan to "soak" in the industry, and allow others to genuinely believe in you. Cos you are young. Learn cutting techniques, business processes, the industry and how it works.

When you tap into an area of genuine belief in what you do, and the style that you want to create, you will slowly start to think "hm... what styles work best in HK, and must HK people wear a style that does not represent the Confucius and Taoism of the culture, but a copycat style of the West? Cos are HK girls really that risque even though they do not genuinely feel and believe in the comfort of their own clothes?"

I think you will find that, once you cracked that problem, you will find that you can begin to design clothing which is going to BE in demand for the Chinese market. Cos frankly, the Chinese market is merely following a style which suits the West more, and this modern contemporary style really belongs to Japan. There *needs* to be a new modern style for Chinese people alone, which represents their own culture, roots, and heritage. This does NOT mean "cheong sams" which is what Western designers think about Chinese clothing. I also detest a certain famous Asian designer, the designer label cos that is a mockery to the Chinese talents with its cliched Chinese styled fashion and housewares. It is ridiculous that it has made it to the designer list in the West. As it is more about accepting a designer, than championing local talents and their interpretation of the Chinese culture.

If you cannot find your way to Europe, then I genuinely advise you to work for some suit making companies whereby you can learn the cutting trade, and how to make shirts. Target your raw materials, whether it is cotton silk or whatever. Then also target which company do work and start to specialise in this. Try and get celebrities to wear your clothing and design to champion it. Obviously have a set of back-up design first, and a good portfolio for any potential exposure that can land you into a label situation. Also, consider approaching companies like Uniqlo, cos they are VERY good at championing local designers and allowing creativity to come through into their products. We have them here in UK. You can always create your own label (figure out the legal side and the copyright issues and things like that, GUARD these designs), and then see if any trendy companies like Uniqlo, or H&M will champion your designs. You need to get interviews with their buyers. Understand the kind of materials that their existing stock comes from, and this will allow you to understand whether your design can be feasibly turned into items on their racks.

Good luck, and do not lose that gut instinct to want to do more. Ask yourself your goal, and break that goal into workable ideas, chunks, approach, details. Learn learn learn about the fashion industry.

I truly believe a designer, like an artist, will find the way of living (call it inspirations) better suit themselves as time passes. I see some individual fashion designers build up their own brands with all their hearts and ideas. I think what you lack in mind is the "responsibility to your job", a designer should have a strong desire to build sth or to improve the life of people. But not only to sell money from your idea.

I think of most fashion designer they want to express their ideas in their items. Always strong and even touching.

So, I suggest adding the burden to the job duty will help you in creating a meaningful working life of designer.

If you are from central saint martin, you should not come back to HK, you should work in UK and France, joining famous brand names like celerbrities' brandnames like YSL, Gucci, Hermes etc.

Some junior high school students in HK flied to US to wash dishes and then they get into top schools like MIT, Stanford. You have to gamble with your life.

C, you should check out the article "Worthy of the name" in Young Post today. It interviews Lio Beardsley, a local illustrator (with a foreign adopted last name) who has been drawing for Anna Sui and other famous brands since 2004.

I think you'll find this part of the article inspiring:

Beardsley admits it can be very disheartening for young artists to see their creations "tweaked". But they should not be discouraged, she says.

The only way for artists to show their ability is through hard work, Beardsley believes.

"In life there are no shortcuts. Hard work pays off. When I first started on my job, nobody knew me and I had very little say. You have to gain your clients' trust with your work," she says.

"I believe if you have the talent and are dedicated, sooner or later your ability will be recognised. To be successful, you need to try to do everything to the best of your ability, be honest, sincere and put your heart and soul [into your work]."

Too naive? I'd say you're unrealistic!

Why don't you tell me what kinds of jobs, if you're lucky enough to find one in the first place, can you find in Paris or New York?

HK fashion industry is nothing but copying? Don't insult our local designers, OK? It takes more than creativity to survive, and even if you're a creative designer doesn't mean your design sells, you need to know the market and customers' taste and needs. How about Zara or H&M for an example, how would you rate them? Offering what customers' like – trendy clothing at affordable prices and yet chic and stylish, makes their businesses profitable. Is that not successful?

You should know from day one there's no one-step-to-the-sky approach, take a look at those world renowned fashion designers, how they fought their way up, how some talented designers faded out or simply vanished in a couple of seasons or even less. You should know these stories far better and more than I do, right?

So many top designers started up as apprentices for some fashion labels, working under some big names' shadow, years after years doing all the jobs behind with "no-name", did they walk out? No, they persist and endure, sweat and tears, keep learning and practising, accumulate experience, build network and reputation, preparing themselves ready for challenges, that's how they succeeded.

"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration", don't tell me you're more a genius than Mr. Thomas Edison. Go search youtube for Michael Jordan's Nike advertisement "Failure", a true man rendition of Mr. Edison's famous quote, hopefully it will be able to wake you up.