Self-Portrait’s Han Chong on his brand’s first decade and his recipe for success
His mission? To help women be the best version of themselves.
Throwing it back to the late-2010s; it’s impossible to go a week without seeing Self-Portrait’s lace dresses — whether on your favourite celebrity or friends and family around you. 10 years on, the brand has sealed its status as a sought-after contemporary occasionwear label (its long list of It clientele including Kate Middleton, Blackpink’s Jisoo and Selena Gomez is proof). Still, to its founder and creative director, Penang-born Han Chong, there’s more he’s aiming to accomplish.
During his first trip back to Malaysia in four years, the designer spoke to us about his newly launched Pre-Fall 2023 collection (which is available at Club 21 multilabel store at Pavilion KL), navigating the brand’s first success, what he’d like to achieve in the next decade and more.
Tell us more about your Pre-Fall 2023 collection.
We worked on our Pre-Fall 2023 collection after the pandemic, so many things — including our lifestyle and mood — have changed. At Self-Portrait, we always aim to enhance or help women to be the best version of themselves. To do that, we first need to understand their lifestyle. First and foremost, we stripped back a lot of shapes and stuck to more streamlined silhouettes. We also put extra effort into developing different fabrics such as denim, sparkles and rhinestones, because women now seek simple, wearable and versatile pieces that can be dressed up or down comfortably. We injected different joy-inducing colours into the collection as we believe that women can be the best version of themselves when they are delighted, and fashion plays a big part in transforming their mood, so we want to make them feel more joyful.
Was it hard for you during the pandemic?
I was actually so worn out before the pandemic as there was so much going on and everything was happening at such a quick pace. So the pandemic actually allowed me to reflect on what is important and what needs to be changed. I think it was a time for me to self-reflect to think about all that.
Femininity has always been at the core of all of your designs. How do you redefine and reinvent that season after season?
My mission is to enhance the women to be the best version of themselves and there’s always a small detail to focus on every season. So, making them look effortless is the key element that runs through all collections. The most important thing is to empower them to be who they are.
What inspires you?
My customers as well as women who love Self-Portrait. The brand has been established for almost ten years; I want to stay relevant in their journey and keep up with them to offer something that they might not know they want yet and create a genuine and important relationship between them and Self-Portrait.
Describe the Self-Portrait woman.
Throughout the years, it’s clear that Self-Portrait is a diverse brand that has a global audience. Whether it’s a student, a daughter or a mum, it’s never been the same person. If you see a woman wearing Self-Portrait, they never become the “Self-Portrait woman” — they are still themselves. It’s more about helping them to embrace themselves instead of changing them to become a certain brand’s women. Self-Portrait also has a very diverse collection, so everyone can definitely find something that suits them, be it denim, knitwear, lace or chiffon dresses.
The brand introduced bags in the line-up last year. Tell us more about that.
I wanted to test it out as I have been thinking of what the Self-Portrait accessory should look like. I don’t want to only do it because I need to have a bag collection. It took me quite a long time to explore what women want, so I aspire for something very fun and memorable at an accessible price. People like to take pictures at dinners, so I thought it’ll look fun having the bag on the dining table. I want to add a delightful element that does not feel or look too serious.
There are a lot of one-hit wonders in fashion. How were you able to navigate and diversify past your first success – your signature lace dresses?
When I created this brand, I had to strategise in terms of the brand’s language and how to evolve. I kept doing lace pieces for the first few years because I want people to remember me. The industry was so crowded at the time and there were new brands launching every other day. I started when social media was becoming an integral tool and I wanted people to recognise my designs without even seeing the brand’s logo. So we did that to establish the brand’s signature. Once we are recognised and the business is established, then I was able to introduce a different category. It’s difficult to reveal that many different categories at the start as that will confuse people. After the lace dresses, we focused on knitwear, separates and casual pieces, and denim after. It needs to be planned precisely and we have to be patient and strategic because we do not want to bombard our customers with too much information at once.
There’s no denying that the brand is a celebrity favourite. If you could dress anyone in the world, who would it be?
I’m very honoured to have this clientele who appreciate the clothes. It’s very inspiring, but even a normal girl on the street gives me the same excitement when I see her in Self-Portrait because everyone's interpretation is different. So no matter who she is, they represent something in me.
Your last runway show was three years ago. Any plans to be back on the fashion week calendar?
I have been thinking about this but I want to do things that are more relevant to the brand. In the past couple of years, we have been doing events, parties and celebrity campaign shoots which I feel are more relevant to us at the moment. I love doing shows, but I just want to see what feels right at the time.
Your last trip back to Malaysia was four years ago. What’s the one Malaysian food you miss the most?
Asam Laksa because we don’t have it in London.
The brand is celebrating its 10th year anniversary this year. What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Looking back, being able to build such a strong creative language for Self-Portrait is quite the highlight. Aside from that, I’m proud that we were able to establish a sponsorship at Central Saint Martins’ MA Fashion course for five years. I personally have been through quite a lot when it comes to building a brand and I understand that it’s especially difficult and expensive in London, so I wanted to help and support the people who want to get into the industry. If I come across any talents who can’t achieve what they want due to financial issues, being able to do the right thing to help is very rewarding to me.
What do you wish to achieve in the next 10 years?
I want to have a more lifestyle brand, which is why we launched the accessory line. I hope that I’m able to fulfil women's everyday needs by introducing more product categories in the future. For now, there are other things I would like to do such as a holiday or a capsule collection.
