DESIGNER BIOGRAPHY

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Ranee_K graduated at Parsons School of Design, New York and later interned at Donna Karen. In 2012. She earned her Master Degree of Science (Conservation) at The University of Hong Kong, specializing in preservation and sustainability of cheongsam and its bewitching history. In 2014, Ranee furthered her Fine Art Degree at RMIT focusing on the intriguingrelationship between fine art and fashion.

 

Ranee first launched her own fashion label “ranee_k” in New York. Since then, Ranee was actively involved in various fashionprojects, corporate & uniform design, brand endorsement and art & community projects world- wide. Companies and brands that she has collaborated with include Shanghai Tang, Fancl, The Peninsula Hong Kong and Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd etc.

 

Over the years, Ranee has won numerous internationally acclaimed awards in the fashion and design field, including “MarieClaire Fashion Icon Award”, “Ten Outstanding Designers Award”, “40 under 40 Outstanding Young Design- ers in Greater China Award”, and Harper’s Bazaar “Young Talent Designer Award”, etc.

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BRAND MISSION

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Rejuvenation of the cheongsam as a young and contemporary daily wear style combining art and sustainability is the mission of Ranee_K.

 

Since the beginning of her fashion career, Ranee has drawn inspiration from her Chinese root to create chic designs thatreflect Oriental sensibilities with a Western twist. Ranee’s love of the enchanting history of cheongsam led her to a Master De- gree in Conservation focusing on the research and methodology of preserving the charm of Hong Kong styled cheongsams as a living heritage and its sustainability.

 

After completing her Fine Art degree at RMIT, Ranee started to extract and transform ideas in art to create cheongsams com- bining art, culture and sustainability. Ranee keeps traditional cheongsam craftsmanship, infused with trans-formed messagesfrom daily observation, art, and finally wrapped up with the twists of innovative cutting to create pieces uniquely

 

Ranee_K.Moreover, Ranee believes that sense of place comes from the community. She likes to work with local talents, schools and NGOs in educating ideas of sustainability, and working with manufacturers to create new designs and fabrics that are sus- tainable and environmental-conscious.

 

Last but not least, Ranee would like to incorporate her concept of “Cheongsam X Art X Sustainability” when she works on branding, marketing and design collaborations with both public and corporate sectors.

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DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

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Ranee creates her cheongsams with the concept of contrasts in the world: The East and the West, the past and the present,power and femininity. Drawing inspirations from her Chinese root, Ranee’s design also reflects the phenomenon of Chineseculture and contemporary lifestyle.

 

Through transforming traditional cheongsams using sculptural cutting and juxtaposition of materials, her designs harmonize traditions and contemporary life styles by providing functionality and comfortability.

 

She enjoys extracting structural forms, colors and textures of art and architecture into cheongsam designs. She believes that body form and charac- ter of each individual are divergent and 3-dimensional, therefore use of contrasting materials during sculptural cutting essentially creates a sense of uniqueness. Her pieces play alongside with layers, which are both aesthetic and contextual, with juxtaposition of material and twists of cutting.

 

Moreover, Ranee is interested in transforming elements of art to create her design of cheongsam that brings out the reso- nance of beauty to all audience.

 

Making cheongsam raises her awareness of identity, existential presence as well as her co-existence in this global world. Ranee always looks for inspirations from everyday life and always love to combine recycled or forgotten domestic objects in her “Cheongsam Re-Create” projects to arouse the awareness of fashion sustainability.