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Interview with Alexander King Chen

Interview with Alexander King Chen, producer, writer and designer, his films won several awards from LFFF

Q. Are you working on any new projects/ fashion film at the moment?

A. Our trilogy took us about 4 years to execute, so I am working on a small little launch for them. Simultaneously, I’m working on a collection for Fashion Week Brooklyn in the fall. I’m so psyched! I love doing physical shows. There’s nothing that beats the adrenalin rush when doing live fashion shows. I’ve produced over 30 of my own shows and in my spare time, Rick Davy and I work together. I was the production manager this year for Fashion Week Brooklyn and I love it! To all the designers out there that need a platform to showcase, reach out and check out Fashion Week Brooklyn! They are always on the lookout for talented designers!

 
Interview with Alexander King Chen

Photo above: backstage at Fashion Week Brooklyn

 

I’m also crossing over with RenArt, The Renaissance Club. The Renaissance Club is a collection of 10,000 licensed NFT’s- composed of classic paintings of Renaissance masters from the Mona Lisa to Raphael. I just designed a limited-edition Tee-shirt for them and am also working on a new collaboration together.

I’m also preparing an off-Broadway show. This will take a while, but I’ve written 4 of the 12 songs. Costumes, fashion, music, and visuals will all be a major part of this show, like our films.

Q. Do you like to collaborate with a brand and make a fashion film for them?

A. Absolutely!!! I LOVE collaborating with brands!! The world we live in encourages us to collaborate with different niches that we once weren’t able to, and that’s superb!!! I’ve collaborated with ASUS computers, Mercedes Benz, Estee Lauder, and many other amazing companies. I just love it! I guess my role has changed in the last few years! I am a producer now, a designer, a stylist, a songwriter, a set designer, and whatever else my heart desires! To the brands out there! Fashion or not! Let’s do something together and create some magic!

 
Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen

Photos above: Asus and I created 5 projects. We created a Zen Fashion Bar, and I designed a limited-edition Asus Computer clutch, a fashion show,an advert and a party! So much fun! The possibilities are endless!

 

Q. how did you come up with the set design idea for Kill Burn?

A. I’ve always been someone to mix the east and the west together. It can be seen throughoutmy work. This time, we had the honor again to invite the incredible BritishdirectorsAdam Hayes and Nick Hayes from NYC to fly to Taipei to collaborate. They are so supportive! and brilliant directors! I mentioned that I wanted to go for a surreal set. A bathtub in a temple, a balcony high up in the sky, and an Asian-inspired garden where her boudoir is. Adam and Nick, both not only helped me make my dream come true! They added so many incredible special effects to those scenes that completely enhanced and made it a spectacle! Our sets also became highly stylized through the magic of the directors!!! So, thank you, Adam and Nick!!! The balcony scene is so powerful, and of course, the acting also enhanced it! Everything and everyone in the film has a symbiotic relationship! Thank you everyone!

Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen

Photo above: Scenes with incredible special effects created by HBF Directors @hbfdirectors

 

Q. You made a fashion trilogy, can you explain it?

A. We have 3 concepts, all with their separate entities. But all with the same core team. We wanted to deliver three very important messages. I’ve seen many humanitarian films out there. Their purpose is incredible! But it’s usually solely about the subject. Since my mother left, I decided to give back to society. I’m just a fashion designer, not a doctor or lawyer, I can’t save the world, nor could I possibly do anything that can help. So with what I have, my courage to create, and my ability to make clothes, create visuals, sets,and write music and storylines, I decided to use my point of view as a designer, to make 3 humanitarian, fashion, art films, and our trilogy was born. [INHUMAN LOVE] save the things we love before we run out of time, referring to mother earth. [KILL-Burn] the dangers of the overuse of social media, and to remember there is still love, creativity and family. [Are You In Heaven]to give thanks to the animals that have perished for our survival. Of course, none of this would have happened if I didn’t have the full support of Adam & Nick of HBF Directors @hbfdirectors!Thank you Gents!

Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen

Photos above: Our Trilogy

 

Q. Which of the three films do you like the most?

Thank you to the London Fashion Film Festival! All three films have a total nomination of 11 awards.

[INHUMAN LOVE] nominated for: Best Artistic Direction, Best Fashion Film, Best Visual & Special Effects & Best Music. Winner: Best Visual Effects and Special Effects & Best Artistic Direction.

Interview with Alexander King Chen

[KILL-Burn] nominated for: Best Costumes, Best Visuals, Best Actor, Best Set Design & Best Art Direction. WINNER: BEST SET DESIGN

tahari 2

[Are You In Heaven] nominated for: Best Visual and Special Effects & Best Accessory Design

tahari 2

Having said this, I love all three. They are my babies. Ha hah But if I had to choose, I think INHUMAN LOVE delivers a compelling story. It also has 15 set/location changes, 46 costumes in a 4 mins 30 second film. It’s also my first film, so I’m a little more bias. But all three speak the same language. I love ‘emequally I think!

 
Malorie Shmyr

Photo above: Me and my pull out bed, sleeping in my office for 4 months. And I LOVEEEEEEE it!

Q. The trilogy has won, Best Artistic Direction, Best Visual Effects, Best Set Design at LFFF, as a fashion designer, how did you set your goals?

Inspiration and purpose is how I set my goals. When I work. I allow myself to get so engrossed in my thoughts, in my work. I’m transported to another realm. I feel like a monk. I don’t go out; I don’t see or meet people. I only speak to my coworkers. I sleep on the floor in my office, work 16 hours a day, fall off the face of Earth for 4 months, and I LOOOOVVVVEEEEEEE it!!!!! If anyone thinks I need to take a break. That’s just an excuse that you’re not committed enough, or love your work enough. A break to me is like chopping a sentence in pieces with strange, incorrect, inefficient punctuations in a beautiful poem. Of course, this is because I’m my own company. So, after I deliver, I can take a 1-month break and recharge and travel and hang with my family and friends. But if it’s not your company. Please beware not to overwork yourself! And therefore, it is important to take well-deserved breaks!!!!!So all in all, my goals are set through strong inspirations, and a solid reasoning why I need to do this. This combination together gives me the strength to accomplish my goals, and I’m not even an organized person!

 

Q. You are a fashion designer/music composer/producer. How did you pursue and make your dreams into a reality?

A. I guess as a fashion designer, we learn at an early stage that we have to piece things together. Learn to match and merge jewelry, hair, make-up, shoes, tops, bottoms, stage design and music. It needs to speak a language of coherence in the designer’s mind. I guess I’ve only just broadened my comfort zone since I love anything creative. And to link everything together is what I love. Fresh information, fresh collaborations, different people, equals an infinite possibility. We always live on the edge. We never know what might fail or break us. And it’s that lust for danger that compels me. Another thing I want to mention is that it’s so important to work all the way from the bottom up. To learn every facet of your industry. I interned at so many companies before I was 20 years old. I worked as sales at Armani Exchange when I was 22 in NYC, and I wasn’t afraid to try. My parents told me I shouldn’t start my own label until I was a bit older. They said to start from sales. I had no idea what they meant. I was like, “I wanna be a fashion designer, I don’t want to be sales”. But now, all the extremely valuable experiences that I’ve accumulated have forged me to become who I am today. So, to young people out there, don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and try things that aren’t exactly connected to your industry. It’s actually very inspiring! With film, I’ve actually just crawled out of my comfort zone and started designing my own sets, creating my own music and writing my own story line. Of course, designing the costumes and accessories too.

Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen

Photo above: BTS, me getting out of my comfort zone and playing/designing sets for a shoot and I love doing it! Our model is Yana @staya__ from our film KILL-Burn

 

Q. What are your views on digital fashion?

A. I don’t know man. I feel like it’s such huge a transition. For someone like me. I love real life, I love fabric, I love interacting with seamstresses, I love fashion shows, I love the excitement of being actual! I was in retail sales for a while, and I did market week for ProenzaSchouler, and I just love interacting with people in real life. I’m gonna continue my passion and let the young generation focus on what they are good at, “being digital”. For an older person like me. I will focus on what I think I am good at. So,there’s no need for me to integrate and fight for their bread basket. I do what keeps me exhilarated. I guess the closest to digital fashion I’d get to is costume designing for a film. Where I can tell a story, and explain a reason. And half the human souls out there need a reason, at this point. Maybe 20 years from now, we can take reason out of the equation. But for now. We can’t just yet. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love digital fashion. I love what young people are doing out there, I love how computers and programs have minimized and eased a lot of tedious procedures, and it’sso interesting how marketing has evolved through digital media. So, I’m just gonna hang onto what I love doing! I’ve seen a lot of designers out there trying to digitalize as well. But when you’re a tiny company, that “one” more added thing to worry about may break you. I say, just stick to what you are great at! Imay be eliminated at one point, but hey, If I do, I’ll go down my way! And not trying to conform!

Q. Can you talk about collaborating with the Directors?

Interview with Alexander King Chen

photo above: HBF Directors Adam Hayes & Nick Hayes @hbfdirectors

A. Adam Hayes and Nick Hayes of HBF Directors @hbfdirectors are absolutely incredible!!!! Their artistry, style, sense, and imagination is beyond what I can ever imagine! Esp me, someone who’s a fashion designer most of my life, touching upon film for the first time!? They are completely understanding, and fully supportive!!! I was under so much pressure creating [Are You In Heaven] that I started crying because we couldn’t lock down the location, I still remember them offering to come back to Taipei as a last resource! Their devotion to their art, generosity and passionate personality catapults our work to another level. When the 3 of us work together, I feel that we all give 200% of our efforts! Anxiety sometimes sets in too, as there could be a long way to fall, but instead, MAGIC happens!

I trust them so much! So, thank you Adam and Nick!!!!!! We’ve bonded so much through our passion! We constantly look back and say “How the heck did we do that!?” We shot the films in Taiwan! And they don’t speak Mandarin! Hahahahaha BUT WE DID IT! That’s how amazing they are!!!!

Last but not least, HBF Directors do magnificent Edits (we’ve also won Best Edit at several film festivals), and they are also geniuses with Special Effectsand Graphics (we have won Best Special Effects at many festivals as well)! Not to mention, they write their own scripts, dialogues and at times also do their own music too (and many more)! They’retruly the masters of directors for this era! I’m their biggest fan!

Q. Where do you find your inspiration for your work/3 films?

A.Sometimes I’m all dried up like a prune. And I get sad, really really down. That’s when I lose all my inspiration, and I feel wretched. Being alive yet soulless. When I feel this way, I go travelling by myself. I pick cute cities that may be off the beaten track. There, I’d imagine living in that scene 3 hundred years ago and to see and feel what life was back then. One extremely memorable city that I love is Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. There, I’d create scenarios of how people lived. I’d usually go away for a month when I’m in between projects, and just enjoy being in solitude. No friends, no family, no nothing, just my thoughts.

Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen

If I don’t have time to travel, then of course friends and family are so important in my life. They are like oxygen to my air. And it’s always so inspiring catching up with old friends and new and also hanging out with mysister Shing-I Chen, she’s a renowned fashion photographer, but also dabble on many other areas and quite a fashion icon!

Interview with Alexander King Chen

Photo above: Brother & Sister Duo @alexanderkingchen @shingibaobei

Interview with Alexander King Chen
Interview with Alexander King Chen

Photo above: Shing-I Chen @shingibaobei

Lastly, is to find a purpose. Not for me, but for things worth saving, worth looking into. Things that not only matter to me, but to others and our life. And thus, the reason for our three films. To give back, to try to make a difference. Even though it’s impossible. But it’s still worth a shot!Sure, I am still selfish, self-absorbed, and egotistical as a person. But I’m trying really hard, and I’m learning to be kind and more compassionate. To put the focus not on me, but to put the focus andgood thoughts into those less fortunate. To help in whatever way I can. There are so many honorable people out there that devote their time and life to others, and if one more person tries, that is one more of a chance. And by accident, I’ve fallen in love with a completely different agenda in life!It’s made me so much happier, than focusing on sales and money!

Hope this helps!

Q. Anything you want to share with the readers?

A. The fashion industry at times can be so toxic, egotistical and even tyrannical. Please be kind. I’ve come such a long way. A huge struggle and a huge transition, from finding the light in the darkness since my parents passing, to making myself become a braver less selfish person. If anyone needs a lending ear, feel free to reach out to me (you can find me on most social media platforms.).

To our human race! Let there be love and light to those who suffer. And for those lucky ones out there. I am praying that you make your life meaningful, to yourself, and to others! If not, then just #bekind

Interview with Alexander King Chen

Thank you London Fashion Film Festival for this opportunity, and thank you to my team, crew and everyone involved in our trilogy!!!!! You guys know who you are! Thank you!~ Mwah!!!!!!!

Interview with Alexander King Chen

Photo above: Alexander King Chen @alexanderkingchen www.alexanderkingchen.com