Joanna Chu Liao is the daughter of garment makers. She reveals to Rebecca Lo why she gave up a career in accounting to return to her love - fashion.

Those familiar with Jo's Ready to Wear will most likely be familiar with Joanna Chu Liao, the brand's founder and lead designer. Liao personifies her brand in a way that no devoted fashion aficionado could.

In person, her chic bob and all-black attire make her look like a no-nonsense businessperson, yet such soft touches as a striking chain of stones around her neck allude to the designer in her. And she is constantly on the phone, as it is nearly time to pick up her son from school and she is coordinating that without having to cut short our interview.

Joanna Chu Liao's designs combine different textiles, and often there are leather, fur and cashmere all in one garment. Photos provided to China Daily

Liao, like her customers, is a busy working mom. It just so happens that her line of business is fashion. She operates a boutique design house that does not adhere to the demands of the cut-throat market, making ready-to-wear dresses and separates in small batches. Along with her Causeway Bay by-appointment-only boutique, she sells a handpicked number of garments through Harvey Nichols.

Liao has adored fashion for as long as she can remember. Like many girls growing up in 1970s' Hong Kong, Liao was fascinated by clothes, dressing up and looking pretty. Her father worked in the garment manufacturing business, often late into the night to meet order deadlines.

"We didn't have computers at the time and I didn't go out much," she admits. "My father is a workaholic, and mom worked by his side. He would always have dinners and lunches with designers from New York City. I thought they were such exciting people. Invariably we wound up with stacks of fashion magazines at home: trade ones like WWD (Women's Wear Daily)."

Her father initially produced OEM, or original equipment manufacturer, where his garments were sold under another label. Although Liao's mother felt that her daughter had the natural talent to pursue a career in fashion design, Liao herself was hesitant.

"When I was deciding what to study beyond high school, all the best designers were from abroad," she explains. "Hong Kong was their manufacturing center. There were no strong local brands. I didn't want to copy others or design cheap apparel. I wanted to do good quality, high-end designs. I wanted to be the best. But I saw how much of a challenge that would be at the time."

As she wasn't aware of fashion institutes such as London's Central Saint Martins, she chose the University of Toronto.

"I played it safe," she shrugs. "I ended up with a bachelor's of commerce, passed my accounting exams and worked for the Toronto branch of PriceWaterhouse Coopers for 18 months. It was very boring!"

However, she gives credit to her Canadian stint, as it helped her acquire the business acumen to pursue her own dreams in a practical way. After Liao and her husband Philip moved back to Hong Kong, she began working at her parents' factory.

"Our family began producing our own labels in the mid-'80s," she recalls. "We had a German designer on-board. I began by watching and assisting her. She was technically very good, and taught me how to make paper patterns. She was also excellent at beading, and taught me the modern translation of embroidery and beading techniques."

When Liao began to produce her own samples, she gained confidence that her self-taught approach to fashion was going to find its own niche market. "I'm good with sketching and designing," she says. "But I don't sew very well."

Liao also was raising two boys at the same time that she was getting her feet wet in the design world. "It was certainly a struggle," she recalls. "We produced a label for a Japanese company, and provided manufacturing and design services. I often had to fly to Tokyo and Osaka, as well as Paris.

"We were so lucky to have a great Nepalese helper, who is retired now. And I'm very hands-on with my boys. I often work late at night so that I can spend time with them when they come home from school. I grew up without my parents around, and I don't want that to happen to my kids. Family is very important to me, and I believe that kids need their mom. It's tough to find a balance between that and my work."

Liao founded Jo's Ready to Wear three years ago, after a number of years designing under the label Flair by Jo for the Japanese market and distributed for Marc Jacobs. Her team consists of two other in-house designers, plus experts who sew and make patterns. She has a staff of 12 people, including her younger sister Paulina, who helps her with marketing.

"All of my clothes are manufactured in Guangzhou at my father's factory," she says. Only between 12 to 20 pieces of each design is produced, and many of her customers are loyal ladies who frequent her boutique once every week or two to check out new arrivals. "We make garments as we go."

Liao believes that one of Jo's Ready to Wear's strengths is its design-driven yet wearable fashion. "I think of it as wearable art," she says. "Some fashion isn't so user-friendly."

She is also good at combining different textiles, and often there are leather, fur and cashmere all in one garment. "The combinations give garments richness and depth," she says.

Many of her designs showcase her love for details, such as intricate beading, lace and embroidery embellishing the garments in unexpected ways. She has no problem with pairing leather and brocade, or floral applique on tweed. For the pieces that she does not manufacture, Liao will source from like-minded designers such as India's Deepak Chowdury for hand-painted artisan scarves.

Liao is a firm believer in effortless elegance. "Women shouldn't spend hours in front of the mirror," she says.

"They should be able to go into their wardrobe, pick something out and look beautiful in it. My clothes are reflections of the contemporary woman - whether they are dedicated moms or career ladies. They don't need a corset to look good. All my clothes are designed to coordinate."

Liao will also occasionally design custom pieces by request, such as for weddings and special events. "We did a dress for (Taiwan actress) Lin Chi-ling and she wore it to a daytime event," she notes. "But we don't rely on movie stars to promote our brand. Our customers - all smart, well-traveled, international women - do that for us already. They are real-life women who look like models."

Contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 01/05/2014 page7)