From shop cats to Jordan nightlife, slices of Hong Kong turned into wearable art

Hong Kong’s kaleidoscopic cityscape captured in Harvey Nichols’ fashion collection featuring Polish artists Mateusz Kolek and Pat Guzik

Shop cats, shrines, neon lights and narrow streets are all quintessentially Hong Kong—and now you can have them as wearable art thanks to I Wonder When It All Began, a collaborative project between Harvey Nichols and local art gallery ZtoryTeller. Created by Polish couple, digital print artist Mateusz Kolek and fashion designer Pat Guzik, the artworks depict Hong Kong’s cityscape through paintings and fashion. The result? A kaleidoscopic collection of outfits and accessories inspired by everything from the neon lights of Jordan’s cyberpunk nightlife to the bright red and orange goldfish of Goldfish Market in Mong Kok.

These are the colours that made Kolek and Guzik fall in love with Hong Kong in the first place. They had always admired the city from afar through the lens of Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love (2000), and in 2016 the couple finally got to immerse themselves in this city when Guzik became a finalist in a local sustainable fashion contest and was offered a four-month stay in Hong Kong as the prize.

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Above “I Wonder When It All Began” by Mateusz Kolek (Image: courtesy of the artist)

Their first home in Hong Kong was an apartment in Battery Street, Jordan.

“When we went out for walks in the first few days, we noticed something strange on the streets—a lot of people were wearing cyber-style outfits. I thought, ‘okay, this is Hong Kong’”, Guzik say. Little did they know they were living right next to the film set of the 2017 Japanese sci-fi movie Ghost in a Shell starring Scarlett Johansson. Looking back at their first foray into the city, Kolek says, “We felt really lucky and that something big, magical and very important was about to happen [to our lives]”.

Seven years later, the couple has come a long way in creating projects in and about the city. The collaboration with Harvey Nichols is an ode to the couple’s relationship with Hong Kong and Krakow, Poland; as well as a throwback to how their creative ties with Hong Kong began. “We treat our art and fashion as a platform to share stories, values and work”, says Guzik.

“Clothes are something that you wear every day, but how about if what you wear has a story behind it?” Kolek adds.

Out of this vision was born a series of paintings by Kolek, which inspired Guzik to create a collection of candles, scarves, tops, dresses, shirts and berets. Together, they are the artists’ love letter to Hong Kong.

One Minute Before

Above “One Minute Before” by Mateusz Kolek (Image: courtesy of Mateusz Kolek)

This painting captures Jordan, their first neighbourhood in Hong Kong.

“All those neon lights were so hypnotising that we wanted to use them to make a symbol with a heart-shaped lock and key to represent our story”, says Kolek. The girl in the painting is a fictional character who is ready for a new adventure. “She keeps her heart open.”

Missing U

Above “Missing U” by Mateusz Kolek (Image: courtesy of Mateusz Kolek)

Guzik describes herself as a romantic person, and Kolek’s painting Missing U, which shows the protagonist lying on a bed, is inspired by how Guzik misses him when he’s travelling. Besides his favourite books, Kolek has featured a lot of quintessentially Hong Kong elements in this piece, including an In the Mood for Love poster, a rice cooker, a barber’s pole and a neon light signage outside.

The couple also really like cats. “They’re emotional and warm animals. They give the feeling of falling in love”, Kolek says. “So, this cat is longing for the cat on the other side of the street. Will they ever meet?”

Love Is All A Matter of Timing

Above “Love Is All A Matter of Timing” by Mateusz Kolek (Image: courtesy of the artist)

“What we love about Hong Kong are all those narrow, sometimes steep streets that remind us of mazes”, says Kolek.

He picked Tai Ping Shan in Sheung Wan, known for its old temples, as the setting for their characters. “Possibly they’re meeting for the first time; possibly he may be someone special to her, but we don’t want to make it too obvious”, he says. And the artist uses cats to convey the idea of how they are aware of one another’s presence but are waiting for something to happen.

“Love is all a matter of timing”, he says. “So, you’ve got to keep your heart and eyes open.”

Jubilat

Above “Jubilat” by Mateusz Kolek (Image: courtesy of Mateusz Kolek)

This is one of the first pieces Kolek drew after he returned to Krakow, his home city in Poland, after working on the Hong Kong series.

“I really like the night lights and the reflection of lights in the rain”, he says. “There’s something about a rainy city that’s quiet, magical and melancholic for me. I wanted to find something in Krakow that resembles but is at the same time different from Hong Kong.”

For that, he picked Jubilat, one of the oldest and most popular shopping malls in Krakow that dates back to the 1970s. “It’s my favourite building. It’s not the prettiest, but it has survived so many changes. Every time I pass by it, there’s something interesting going on.” Through this painting, he wanted to show that a city keeps evolving all the time even if we don’t notice all the changes ourselves.

From February 7 to March 7, 2023. Harvey Nichols, Pacific Place, Admiralty, and Landmark, Central

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Topics

Art Fashion Wearable art Harvey Nichols How did it all begin

Tatler Asia

From shop cats to Jordan nightlife, slices of Hong Kong turned into wearable art

One Minute Before

Missing U

Love Is All A Matter of Timing

Jubilat