What better way to celebrate Macau Business’s 17th anniversary than to showcase 17 locals aged 35 and younger with the kind of talent that boosts our confidence in the future?
MB May 2021 Special Report | 17 talented young people
He is among the first of Macau’s residents invited to attend a number of renowned international Fashion Weeks. But Inky Leong’s interests go further.
“Vice-chairman of the Macao Fashion and Culture Association, president of Start International Project Company Limited, fashion columnist for the Macao cultural magazine SD Media, fashion stylist and the founder of Inky Store and the I.N.K. brand” – that’s how the Cultural Affairs Bureau magazine presents Inky Leong In Kei.
Fashion is Inky’s main interest, but he’s done far more than create unisex clothes already exported beyond the confines of Macau: Inky is also an entrepreneur. And that’s precisely the word he uses to describe himself on Instagram. The investment company Start International Project Company Limited is his primary vehicle, but he has other business, too, like the Macau branch of the Feng Wang Fu hot pot restaurant.
The first Inky Store, a small fashion boutique featuring lifestyle, travel, fashion, music and art and promoting not only his local, original clothing design brand I.N.K. but also “popular fashion clothing from all over the world” opened in 2014. Now he has two stores “engaged in beauty, clothing, catering, original Brands, rare luxury goods and project investment planning; actively investing in the fashion industry”.
The clothing stylist was the first person in Macau to be invited to attend a number of renowned international Fashion Weeks (Paris, London and Tokyo), “serving as guest stylist for major brands and as a regional media fashion leader,” according to his website.
In other words, although he is very young at just 31 now, his work has already gained international recognition and he has become a regular guest fashion stylist collaborating with major brands.
A curious spirit, Inky is always looking for first-hand fashion information from around the world. This is reflected in the clothing he creates: unusual and always in bold colours, inspired by the 80s. This is his I.N.K. brand, featuring fun retro elements and a unique tailoring style. The design brand I.N.K., founded in 2016, is a collaboration with another Macau designer, Kris Chan, “to inspire Macau fashion and cultural brands!” I.N.K.’s design is based on “the creative ideas of Macau’s multiculturalism,” he said.
In 2017, he was appointed Vice President of the Macau Fashion and Culture Association, an example of his insistence on promoting Macau fashion culture and putting Macau on the global fashion world map.
Inky Leong was born in Macau and studied there. His career began with a Hong Kong fashion blog and a popular life literary blog. Macau remains his hometown, even when he’s travelling the world.
