Kay Kwok’s name was everywhere after Beyoncé wore one of his custom-made, 3D-printed pieces on her Renaissance Tour in 2023. He’d already made a splash in 2013, when he became the first Hong Kong designer to present at London Men’s Fashion Week; now, global artists like Björk and mainland Chinese popstar Chris Lee are fans of his avant-garde, futuristic designs.

Kwok launched his eponymous label in 2013 after finishing his master’s at London College of Fashion and interning at Alexander McQueen. He has stayed true to his boundary-breaking vision since day one. “I didn’t want to start a commercial brand. I knew my style was futuristic, potent and unique— [commercial] wasn’t the path I wanted to follow,” he says.

He rebranded his label as KWK by Kay Kwok in 2022, when the metaverse was taking off; and while he now mainly takes custom orders in the physical world, he still has his sights set on the future.