Designer savors acclaim from European debut

The fall/winter collection by Gideon Tam at Copenhagen Fashion Week. Provided to China Daily

Though winter isn't usually a fruitful season, the past winter brought a bountiful harvest to Macao-born designer Gideon Tam. He made his debut catwalk show at Copenhagen Fashion Week and then showed his collection at Paris Fashion Week in early February.

The fall/winter collections he took to Copenhagen and Paris focus on knitwear for men between 20 and 40.

Working within a controlled palette of black, slate, sophisticated gray and beige, all the way to the purest, brightest white, Tam handles a variety of natural fabrics, such as yarns, cotton, cashmere, merino and camel hair to design cardigans, crew-neck sweaters, track pants, blazers and shirts.

Tam is one of the eight emerging designers out of 80 chosen by Hong Kong's Fashion Farm Foundation to present in Paris.

His show and collection also received wide acclaim in Copenhagen from buyers in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.

"I've gotten recommendations several times from international buyers and press that I trust to showcase Gideon at CFW. I was more than thrilled with his show and collection and we need to do it again," the Copenhagen show's CEO Christian Gregersen says.

Hellen Liu Ning, brand development manager with Vipshop.com, was also impressed by Tam's design.

"The collection is more about key items rather than the complete look. Most of the items are wearable and elegantly humble, but the use of natural fibers like merino and cashmere gives a luxurious feeling to anyone wearing them. It gives men confidence and makes them stand out," she says.

Tam's tailor mother ran a knitwear factory, and he grew up with all kinds of textiles and textures.

He says he had a high requirement of his clothes compared with other boys of his age.

Later he studied art and design at the Leeds College of Art for two years and then Kingston University in England for three years, winning several design awards.

After graduating from Kingston in 2001, he joined a traditional French luxury fashion brand as a knitwear designer, where he gained valuable knowledge of working with natural fibers.