Full-On First Half: Education and Collaborations in 2026

I'm often being asked "How much do you do?" and it is a bit much, hence I haven't updated, but it's time for a look back before I continue forward. From 2023 to 2025, I made a ton of changes to our daily practices in the workspace. While that work is ongoing — as sustainability is always evolving — I felt a need to step further back and apply myself in the macro space, to make a difference beyond our day-to-day operations.

I was initially looking at a sustainability master’s at Harvard Business School, but as it wasn’t feasible for me to spend at least a term on campus in Boston, I started exploring other alternatives. That’s when Joy Phi from Crimson Collective, who completed the master’s at Harvard Business School, invited me to a webinar and shared details about the sustainability course she was building with HKU. Taught by the same professors I was eager to learn from at Harvard, it consisted of six focused three-hour sessions — concise, to the point, and delivered with the signature efficiency of Hong Kong. I was sold immediately. The course ran in March and it was one of the best learning experiences I’ve had. It bridged our daily micro practices with a deep dive into the macro topics our business navigates, including using tech and AI for good, and unpacking complex areas like carbon credits that had always been hard for me to fully grasp.

With a refreshed mindset, I redesigned my Sustainable Fashion & the Future of Design course for high school and university students. In April, during Earth Month, I gave a presentation at Harrow International School to Year 12 and 13 students. Their thoughtful questions on fabrics and fibres, supplier responsibility, brand and consumer roles, and how AI is disrupting the industry truly excited me.

Through Own Academy, I also planned a four-day masterclass for the American International School. We visited my factory in Shenzhen to see firsthand what small-batch, mindful manufacturing looks like. We went to an ancient village where the students made their own natural tie-dye tees, heard from Vice at Z-Emotion (a company my team has been working with on pattern-to-digitalisation solutions), met Olivia from Livvium at the Exposed Layers phygital exhibition, and viewed Saint Francis University’s graduation pieces alongside year-end projects by current design students focused on purposeful workwear uniforms and emotional wellbeing explorations — along with other inspiring exhibitions at the DX Design Centre. We also met industry experts at Cobalt Li & Fung to learn about sustainability at larger corporations and innovative materials development, and later joined Redress Industry Day to visit and hear from circular businesses and NGOs already in action. The course culminated with the students presenting their conceptual fashion brands — complete with purposeful designs, material innovations, circular models, and SDG goals — to a panel that included representatives from Redress and On-The-List. The winning team received $1,000 in Redress coupons, and we all went shopping together at the annual Redress pop-up on VIP day!

In between, I also joined a panel at Soho House for Chom x Fenxiang’s Build By HER Rescued Feast, which was both delicious and eventful. It felt meaningful to share why fashion is the second most polluting industry on our planet, and therefore why circularity matters so much — the importance of rethinking what we already have and the power of what we already own. I could go on and on, but hearing what everyone else shared — especially the highly entertaining food panel — was reassuring. It reminded me that we’re all contributing to things that truly matter, each in our own way.

As for Exposed Layers, I originally got looped in when I started making merch and recording the podcast with Olivia. Hearing what she and Zoha are envisioning instantly connected to the missing pieces I’d been searching for. Now my collaborative project with Exposed Layers is live at the DX Design Hub and you’ll find us again at Centre Stage in September. We’ve applied multiple evolving layers of digital technology onto a physical unisex tee to discover what truly resonates with brands and consumers. We’re pushing forward in all the areas I’ve been desperate to see change in — using tech to move the product beyond checkout, to eliminate waste and the mundane from day-to-day operations, making time and space for what truly matters. It feels incredibly promising and is fuelling me with so much drive.

This year I’ve also partnered with Janko Lam on “A Thousand Threads, A Thousand Journeys” — the 2nd Intangible Cultural Heritage Changshan (Qipao) Design Competition, organised by the Hong Kong Chinese Cultural Activities Promotion Association. Together with a panel of judges, we reviewed over 2,000 designs before selecting 12 winners across four categories. I am now turning those winning designs into wearable pieces for the Fashion Show at Centre Stage Hong Kong in September, and there will be some interesting crossovers with everything else I’m working on.

Conscious Cut Season 2 is also about to launch in August, along with a new website.

I’m still forever behind on posting the few new pieces for the Anthora Collection — just wait for it, something special should drop soon…

And that’s the recap of my first half of 2026. It’s been full-on, with lots more to reveal in the second half of the year — stay tuned!

XX, Hoiki