We journeyed to Hong Kong to attend the bi-annual trend presentation for luxury e-retailer Net-A-Porter. With the buzz of the city on our doorstep, Elizabeth von der Goltz, Net-A-Porter's Global Buying Director, distilled the season into four key trends:

All Grown Up captures a more feminine take on power dressing, with a focus on impeccable tailoring and interesting cuts. Become a master of layering by working double coated styling or wrap yourself in one of the seasons unexpected leather scarves. Girl Boss continues the mood of empowerment, working in the key pieces of the season. Think head-to-toe tonal suits, or don’t be afraid to browse the menswear section. This one is all about genderless dressing. The Colour Masterclass transforms every colour in the rainbow into unexpected yet refined hues. This trend enjoys the art that is dressing by embracing unusual colour combinations. Elizabeth von der Goltz suggests injecting a neon or emerald piece atop the rust tones popular with brands such as Nanushka or Rejina Pyo. Dressed Down sees ateliers working with only the most luxurious fabrics to marry comfort with sophistication. Think cashmere two-pieces and stacked woollen jumpers, because two is better than one.

Here, three emerging designers in the Net-A-Porter family shared the stories of their AW 19 collections: Tommy Ton of Devaux talks pivoting inside of the industry, Alana Johnson of Orseund Iris speaks on the power of Instagram marketing and Daniel Lee of Ratio Et Motus reminds us of the importance of sustainability.

Deveaux

You’ve likely already heard of Tommy Ton. The fashion week mainstay is better known as the face behind the camera, capturing those street style photos you’ve been pinning. Now, as the artistic director of Deveaux, Ton is embraced slow fashion - designing for a refined, knowledgeable consumer. "When someone is buying a piece of Deveaux they feel they can wear it – what I like to think is that its life-proof. It’s a term that I’ve coined for all our clothes. It works for a working mum or someone who’s running on the go, but it’s always very comfortable, refined and relaxed.”

Orseund Iris

We’ve been pining over Orseund Iris’ satin blouses for a while now. And that’s exactly as the brand's designer Alana Johnson, intended. “When I started about three years ago, I saw the opportunity specifically with Instagram. With that dedication it took hours, days, a lot of time and energy focussed on that platform (it was just me at the time) and we’ve grown from zero followers to now 190 thousand organically in three years. I think seeing that opportunity and focussing on it, I don’t think many designers take it, or back then took it, that seriously, and I saw that."

"I feel like sustainability should be a mission for every company moving forward."

Ratio et Motus

A member of Net-A-Porter’s Vanguard program, Ratio Et Motus, have managed to design one of the most coveted bags of the season: The Twin Frame. However, designer Daniel Lee is not influenced by trends, rather he focuses on building sustainable collections. “When we first started it was very clear to us that we only wanted to work with leather vendors that make sustainable leather. It is a pretty broad term in the leather industry though. We work with this organisation called Leather Working Group in Italy … They measure [60-80 tanners] every year and give them a certain grading of showing how the vendor is being sustainable. We only work with tanners that have that certification, so the leather we use on our handbags are all by-products from the meat industry; so we’re not killing any more animals specifically to make bags.”