Ranee Kok believes every woman is beautiful and her designs are meant to show off the best of the female form. Rebecca Lo talks to this HK designer who believes in "user-friendly" clothes.

On a sunny afternoon, a tall and slender American woman walks into Ranee K on Hong Kong's Aberdeen Street with a problem. She had discovered that the patterned qipao mini dress she bought, one of the shop's best selling items, had a slit that rode too high when she tried it on at home.

"I love this dress and really want to wear it, but I don't want to flash everyone when I walk down the street," she laments.

Calmly and cheerfully, Ranee Kok assured her that they would work out a solution. The young Hong Kong fashion designer is known for "making it work" in Tim Gunn-speak, and offers a high level of customization to make her fashions as user-friendly as possible.

She has just re-opened her shop earlier this year after a hiatus while she had a baby boy, and the shop is a riot of colors, textures and styles, just like its owner. Today, she is dressed in brilliant pink and neon yellow because it is a sunny day. She is a firm believer in wearing clothes that match how she is feeling.

"Not all my dresses are suitable for everyone's body type," Kok notes as she admires the silhouette of a Chinese woman trying on the same qipao as the American while making it her very own.

"Every woman is beautiful - she just lacks confidence. I help her find the design that is right for her body and her style. No matter if she's a mother or a career woman, she should love herself and what she is doing. My fashion is designed to take a woman from her life at work to a cocktail function, and even to her wedding."

A look around her shop reveals formal wedding gowns and qipao along with maternity wear and a baby collection. Many of Kok's designs are inspired by traditional Chinese garments, and she updates them with contemporary fabrics and details, and adjusts the hemline to make them more practical to walk in. She also carries a small selection of jewelry, bags and accessories that bear her signature East-meets-West touch, along with handpicked international labels that are complementary to her shop's philosophy.

"When I was growing up, I used to make patterns and sewed on an ancient manual machine with a foot pedal," Kok recalls. "It was my hobby and my interest." After obtaining her first degree in accounting and finance from the University of British Columbia, she admitted that she "couldn't deal with being in an office looking at a computer screen all day."

On holiday in New York City, she had an epiphany while shopping in Soho.

"I thought: If I could open my own shop, it would be amazing," she recalls. Kok went back to school, this time to Parsons School of Design. While a student, she interned at Donna Karan, and got her feet wet learning about the business side of how orders were placed during Fashion Market Week.

After graduation, she returned to Hong Kong and found a space on Peel Street where she lived and worked.

"It didn't even have a toilet - only a hole," she exclaims with a laugh. But it proved to be a lucky place. She came up with a number of designs and called some New York boutiques with her ideas.

"A lot of them said okay and actually placed orders," she says. "I was terrified!" Somehow, she got them all completed, found a showroom to represent her in the United States and was scheduled to return to New York for Fashion Market Week on Sept 10, 2001. Her connecting flight from Vancouver couldn't be completed.

"No one knew what was going on at first," she recalls. As news about 9/11 broke, she cancelled her New York trip and went to Banff instead before returning to Hong Kong.

She eventually moved out of the shop, but still used it as her studio and workshop. Many people would drop by with a bottle of wine and stay to chat for hours. She began participating in local charity events to raise funds for causes including Tung Wah Hospital, Mother's Choice and Ronald McDonald House while expanding her repertoire to consultation and uniform design.

Her clients have included The Peninsula's Salon de Ning and Maxim's Group. And though she doesn't design ready-to-wear for men, she will take on custom orders.

"Not many people do my type of fashion," she says. "Many people's perception is that the qipao is rigid and uncomfortable. And I didn't wear any traditional Chinese garments when I was growing up. When I first started designing, I would lean towards more architectural or minimalist looks. But I began to appreciate Chinese culture more when I was in New York.

"Americans are pretty conservative in general, but not the ones in New York! I learned to appreciate my culture and felt more patriotic. And my designs became more and more Chinese. There wasn't any plan - but sometimes no planning leads to the right choices."

Since she became a mom in 2009, Kok has paid more attention to children's clothing. She tries to find a balance between home life and running a successful fashion label, often going to the nearby market to personally shop for the best fish and organic vegetables to whip up a home-cooked feast.

"I'm still the same designer," she states. "I've begun practicing calligraphy and love the process. It's amazing how one ink color can contain so many nuances. I apply this insight to my fashions."

You can contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 08/07/2011 page14)