I take pleasure to share with you the exciting BODW 2016 programme and the speakers’ line-up that we have for you.

In this edition of BODW 2016 (28 Nov – 3 Dec), the BODW 2016 Forum will take place from 30 Nov – 3 Dec. There will be a new FASHION ASIA 2016 HONGKONG Forum on 28-29 Nov. and 10 Asian Designers To Watch through the week.  

Design is beyond aesthetics, functionality and efficiency. The great act of designing calls for our ability to read deep into people’s behaviour, to understand our environment and culture, and to co-create solutions for better quality of living, user experience and well-being. Creativity aside, design is serious business too. 

Facing our future with competition, uncertainty and complexity, BODW embodies great minds, innovative designs and projects that inspires us to re-imagine new possibilities for our city and economy.

For the BODW 2016 Forum, we have a string of business and creative minds from Chicago to substantiate the ChicagoMade spirit of re-invigorating and futuring. Altogether, we have a global mix of speakers, such as:

·       Design Thinking guru Tim Brown (USA)

·       Carlo Ratti of MIT Senseable City Lab (USA)

·       Vertical Wall Garden Designer Patrick Blanc (France)

·       A Great River Chicago Architect Carol Ross Barney and expert in architecture of public places and spaces (Chicago, USA)

·       Illustrator Victo Ngai – Forbes 30 under 30 illustrators & Society of Illustrator Gold Medalist (USA/HK)

·       Infographics & Data Visualization Designer Wesley Grubbs (USA)

·       Designing Smart Cities from Open Data to Array of Things John Tolva (Chicago, USA)

·       Reinterpreting places and spaces, Architect, urban designer & landscape architect Winy Maas (NL) 

·       Urban Transformation Artist & Sculptor Janet Echelman (USA)

·       Beyond typography Graphic Designer, Ahn Sang-soo (S. Korea)

·       Future Work Designers Jeremy Myerson (UK) & Philip Ross (UK)

·       Beyond Product Design for brands & startups Nicol Boyd & Tomas Rosén (HK)

·       Future Wheelchair Designer Satoshi Sugie (Japan)

·       Brand-defining & Venture-oriented Product Designer Scott Wilson (Chicago, USA)

·       Futuring hospitality with digital by Richard Hatter (HK)

·       Charting Future Architect Jeanne Gang (Chicago, USA)

·       Naman Retreat Designer, Vo Trong Nghia Architects (Vietnam)

·       Eating Designer Marije Vogelzang (The Netherlands)

·       Designer Martin Kastner (Chicago, USA), Future Laboratory’s list of 100 most influential individuals in contemporary design, with collaboration with the world’s finest chefs, bars, hoteliers

·       Award-winning architect of Korean Pavilion at World Expo 2010 Shanghai & Venice Biennale 2014, Minsuk Cho (S. Korea)

·       Under-Secretary for the Environment Christine Loh & Design Architect Thomas Schinko: T-Park as a new green force for the community (HK)

·       Vicky Chen (designing Hayashi as a cultural window to Tainan, Taiwan)

·       WKCD updates by CEO Duncan Pescod (HK)

·       Renowned museum leaders and curators including Alice Black of The Design Museum (UK), Zoë Ryan of The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, USA), Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher of SFMOMA (USA)

We also have an exciting line-up of speakers from brands to talk about innovation and enterprising creativity, and strategic deployment of design, digital, art and technology for business strategy, branding, experiential customer engagement and stakeholder value delivery. Participating brands include Tencent, Porsche Design, LG, Aesop, Camper, Airbnb, Hotel ICON, Bucketfeet and many more. 

During the week-long event, there will also be a new FASHION ASIA 2016 HONGKONG Forum (on 28-29 Nov) where around 300 brand creators, strategists, designers, marketers, buyers, media and industry professionals gather to discuss fashion disruption and revitalisation. The 2-day fashion conference focusing on “Commerce Re-shaped” and “Brand, Image & Media” will address key Fashion Challenges faced by brands and retailers and the changing roles of players of the fashion ecosystem in the new economic order.

There will be a mix of talks, interviews and panel discussions. We anticipate the following speakers such as:

·       Burak Cakmak (Dean, School of Fashion, Parsons School of Design)

·       Tom Chapman (Co-founder of MatchesFashion.com)

·       Caroline Issa (Chief Executive & Fashion Director of TANK Magazine)

·       Andrew Keith (President, Lane Crawford & Joyce)

·       Jason Wu (Fashion Designer)

·       Stefano Martinetto (CEO of Tomorrow Showroom)

·       Antoine Floch (Co-founder and Creative Director of MAN/WOMAN Showroom)

·       Fan Yang (Founder of YCO Foundation)

·       Christopher Raeburn (Fashion Designer)

·       Chris Morton (Co-founder and CEO of Lyst)

·       Patrick Li (Founder and Creative Director of Li, Inc.)

·       Ryuta Shiiki (Founder & CEO of Dream Link Entertainment)

·       Luke Grana (Co-founder and CEO of Grana)

There will also be a week-long showcase of “10 Asian Designers To Watch” at PMQ. Among the 10 designers selected, 3 are from HK and others from Mainland China (3), Japan (1), S.Korea (2) & Malaysia (1). They are selected by an international judging panel, out of a list of names contributed by the Fashion Advisory Group members and our consultants/advisors. Each of the 10 designers will present a pre-season /capsule collection with 5 looks to showcase their brand stories, creativity and craftsmanship.

Excellent learning, exchange & networking opportunities. BODW 2016, in association with the new Fashion Asia 2016, will make this week a unique programme of its kind. Together with exhibitions for the public and trades, namely the IDT Expo (HKTDC), other concurrent programmes such as Business of Intellectual Property Conference (HKSAR Government, HKTDC, HKDC), Global Design Network Conference (Federation of HK Design Associations, HKDC) and the deTour (PMQ, HKDC) community programme, this week will attract 100+ international and local speakers, 100,000+ participants from around the world, as well as global media representatives.

The BODW 2016 Gala Dinner will take place at HKCEC on Fri, 2 Dec. There will also be a Fashion Gala Evening on Mon, 28 Nov at Hotel ICON. 

Design is about attitude, aesthetic & cultural sensibility, strategy, competence and solution. Tackling challenges, we need human-centred design, creative mindset, empathy muscles, collaborative synergy and business rigour.  

With a broad scope of Design embracing fashion, product, communication, tech, workspace, food, and culture and the city, the programme is for decision makers, strategists, brand and creative leaders, city planners, innovators, architects, designers, marketers, educators, entrepreneurs, technologists, trend forecasters, researchers, students and the public.

Don’t miss the BODW 2016 programme, see you there!  

Buy tickets now (early bird till end-October)   www.bodw.com; www.fashionasiahk.com 

(BODW substantiates the stewardship and sponsorship of CreateHK in advancing design, fashion and creative industry development. It, together with our other programmes and platforms, underpins the unique public mission of Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) in shaping wider and strategic use of design as integral part of our city, economy, living and the culture.)