Co-organized by HKSS, the Seminar on Fashion Entrepreneurship took place at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on 14 Mar 2015. The event was well-attended by over 100 students who showed keen interest in the fashion business industry. A host of distinguished guest speakers including Mr. Lear Tsui, Event Director of Solid Models and Productions; Mr. Nick Wei, Regional Sales Director of OptiTex; and Ms. Victoria Law, Founder of Ztampz and Bread n Butter shared their story, career paths and entrepreneurial knowledge in the fashion business industry.



During the seminar, Lear shared with us his exciting career journey as a top-model, a choreographer, an event producer, as well as a show producer. Our students were deeply inspired by Lear’s experiences in directing different types of high-end fashion events, such as fashion show, press presentation, exhibitions and in-shop event across the global.



Our second speaker, Nick talked about his professional work experience in the garment technology sector. The major transformation in garment production and technology change in the textile industry in the past 30 years, from off-shore production, fast fashion to mass customization, has certainly shaped Nick’s career path. He advised students to explore new opportunities in the evolving garment industry, such as e-commerce and selling clothes through social media.



Victoria shared her startup experience in Ztampz and Bread n Butter. Five critical elements of being a successful entrepreneur were highlighted by Victoria: 1) Guts; 2) Experience; 3) Strong passion = hard working; 4) Business senses; and 5) financial support. She also talked about some unexpected and daunting business challenges e.g. the SARS epidemic and the financial meltdown in 2008 and how she managed to cope with them.



The event was a huge success, facilitating high-spirited interaction between the students and the speakers at the end of the seminar. We wish this event has allowed participants to gain valuable advice on career development and insights into starting their own businesses in the fashion and textile industry in the future.