Collections are at the mercy of their designer. Often, they are reflections of a nation’s culture, a love note to a fragment of the past or a daring prediction of the future. The collections presented on Saturday, Feb. 8 by three designers in collaboration with Fashion Hong Kong were enamored by the ideal.

HEAVEN PLEASE+ kicked off their show by playing Urge Overkill’s “Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon” to accompany the pieces which was, appropriately enough, the corresponding title of their collection. Flower prints on girlish silhouettes, enormous pearl necklaces and leather opera gloves with diamond bracelets dominated the runway, painting Lary Cheung and Yi Chan’s vision of what a girl on the cusp of womanhood looks like. Inspired by Princess Diana and the traditional attire of the British royal family, their pieces illustrated the somewhat paradoxical concept of a woman who is modern, royal and normal. The result was a series of gorgeous pastel-colored coats you’d want to wear out to afternoon tea in the spring and stiffly rolled-up hair without a single strand out of place.

Sun Lam’s love for fun headwear and character motifs carried through in SUN=SEN’s F/W collection, which was inspired by “Nice Ghost,” a character who “asks that we abandon” thoughts about stereotypes and stigmas “in our daily dialogues.” Ultimately, it felt like Lam wanted to encourage reminiscence on key elements and objects of our childhood, all of which appealed to the sensory experience of touch — fuzzy pom-poms dangling off the fingertips of gloves, stuffed animals attached to hoodies and sweaters and teddy bear fabric pockets. It felt chaotic and wildly put together — but so is childhood, and perhaps that was exactly what Lam was aiming for.

The show rounded off with Harrison Wong’s presentation, which brought the overall maximal theme down a notch. Army-green sportswear ruled the runway, color blocked by blue and pastel-pink that achieved effortless gender-neutral pieces. The bobby pin hairbands on each of the models gave each look a unique twist and Wong’s signature contrast to the sporty attire that they wore. Casual but formal, matte but shiny, neutral but bold — Wong continued to play within his boundaries and safe space.

Read more of WSN’s New York Fashion Week coverage here. Email Faith Choi at [email protected].