Fashion can be a tool of empowerment and helps social inclusion and cohesion. 20 teenagers with vulnerable and challenging backgrounds from the Youth Crime Prevention Centre of The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG), presented 20 fashion collections which were designed in collaboration with 76 PolyU students at the “#WYWT - What You Wear Tomorrow - Fashion Show” held on 16 July 2022.

The Show was co-organised by the PolyU School of Fashion and Textiles (SFT), the PolyU Service-Learning and Leadership Office and HKFYG, with the goal to unleash teenagers’ creative potential and enhance their self-confidence. The Show also allowed PolyU students to apply the practical skills they had acquired and enhance their sense of social responsibility by serving the community.

The 20 teenagers glammed themselves up on the runway to showcase the fashion designs they worked on together with the PolyU students, and shared their stories with the audience.

“We believe that by using fashion as a medium and through the co-designed outfits, both the teenage participants and the PolyU students would be able to fully express their own unique values and potential and pluck up the courage to face life’s challenges,” said Dr Jin Lam, the project leader and Assistant Professor of SFT.