Profile -- Artist & Fashion Designer

With a passionate interest in textile and fashion design, visual artist Kitty Chung O’Kane has been exploring and creating unique and sumptuous textile surfaces by using Australian merino wool and Chinese silks. The hand felting techniques and materials that she uses reflect the cultural influences of both her Chinese origin from Hong Kong and her adopted homeland, Melbourne, Australia.

An independent and multiple Awards winning fashion designer. O’Kane specialises in wearable art pieces that depict the exceptional qualities of the unique surfaces and express her thoughts and feelings at the same time. Her garments have an organic look that flow with graceful body movements. The hand dyeing and the complex construction methods involved in the making of these fabrics make it a signature of O’Kane’s work.

The design philosophy that is applied to O’Kane’s work is to ensure a versatile creative style that is also practical and comfortable for the wearer. For example, her delicate wraps can be worn several ways depending on how it is draped on the body. A wrap can often be worn as a top, a skirt or as an elegant accessory to an evening dress. The cocktail and evening dresses can be worn in layers and thus by coordinating different layers would create a total different outfit each time. O’Kane does not design specifically for an age group. She would like to see her garments to be worn by women who prefer to dress creatively with an individual touch, with a sensual appeal yet without exploiting the female body.