Like many metropolises in the East, Hong Kong is a city that can often seem like a time capsule. Your experience of the city can change vastly from one block to the next. Dwarfed by skyscrapers and towering spires of concrete and glass, you can walk a few minutes and find yourself steeped in clouds of incense as you walk through a decades-old Buddhist temple. Make your way through a dense sea of people with their smart phones, and find an alleyway where the same dai pai dong street vendor has operated for the past 30 years, menu unchanged.
As we thought about the concept for our latest Spring/Summer 2026 campaign, we wanted to look back to Hong Kong’s “Golden Age” in the 1950s and 60s, a transformative period that witnessed massive cultural and industrial growth. It saw the rise of the cheongsam (the iconic, form-fitting Chinese dress popularized in contemporary cinema by legendary director Wong Kar-wai) and witnessed major change in a city that was on the cusp of breaching the boundary between tradition and modernity — a period that helped define Hong Kong as we know it today.
We wanted to pay homage to this era through our new SS26 imagery by bringing together two generations of Hong Kong-born models: Janet Ma and Kiran Gill. Set against the backdrop of Aberdeen, the neighborhood in which Janet grew up, we sought out to capture some of the key landmarks of the area that have remained largely unchanged to this day: the sampan boats, the fish markets, the heritage storefronts, and the public matches of Chinese Chess, to name a few.
On what one of her favorite memories was while growing up in Hong Kong, Janet shares, “I used to stare out of the window day dreaming. Walking around the neighbourhood and checking out different stores 士多, as every 士多 was unique and selling different things.” And as she comes full circle, shooting a campaign for her daughter’s brand in the neighborhood in which she grew up, Janet reflects on how surreal the experience has been. “I never thought [I would be doing this] and I’m so grateful that Kayla has given me a chance to do it! I’m super proud of her.”
Dressed in LANG’s latest Spring/Summer pieces from local Hong Kong designers The World Is Your Oyster, PONDER.ER, Kinyan Lam, and CODA, as well as AAPI brand, Geel, we wanted Janet and Kiran to help capture the dream-like quality of moving between time periods. If it were not for sartorial limitations, could this scene have been captured 20 years ago? 30 years ago? What defines a moment in time? What does it take to capture the essence of an era? These are concepts that we wanted to explore and questions we asked ourselves.
With the concept of time at the center of the campaign, we endeavored to create a dialogue between generations. In addition to the mother-daughter element engrained within the narrative, the casting of the campaign was intentional and imbued with meaning. We explored the idea of succession and how a torch is passed on between two generations of models, from Janet to now, Kiran.
As we captured the two models against the historic backdrop of Aberdeen, we wanted to both visually and conceptually capture the blending of epochs. To see the effortless ebb and flow of movements between two women who have both grown up in Hong Kong and who have made a name for themselves speaking to two different generations through the same medium.
As Kiran reminisces on one of her own favorite childhood memories as well, it follows our campaign’s theme of the passage of time. The moments that stay with us. “My favourite memory is my grandfather picking my sister and me up from school. I used to study at St Mary’s Canossian and he would buy us fishballs from the shop next to our school. He would help us cool the fish balls. Those fishballs tasted very yummy but unfortunately, the shop closed down.”
These cherished memories. These fleeting moments. These reminders held in stark clarity. They are all tied to our experiences of the places we live in. From walking past the same store fronts, to visiting the same shop week by week only to find one day that it has closed. Are memories more than the things that we can see, touch and feel? What does it mean to live in a city that is ever-changing and yet seemingly held in place?
These are all ideas that we have yet to fully comprehend, but we feel lucky that we are able to reflect on generations of culture within a city that has inspired us so greatly. We may never fully understand what it means to live in a “Golden Age,” but we look forward to continuing growing within a home that still has much to share with us.
Explore the rest of our Spring/Summer 2026 campaign below, available soon both in-store and online.
LANG Los Angeles
441 Gin Ling Wy, Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States
Creative Credits
Photographer: Harrison Tsui / @harrisontsui
Model: Janet Ma / @janetma28
Model: Kiran Gill / @kiran.jeet.gill
Creative Director: Kayla Wong / @kaylaiw
Art Director / Producer: Zarah Cheng / @zarahcheng
Stylist (LA): Hannah Roquero / @hannnroquero
Stylist (HK): Una Ho / @_unaho
Makeup: Shan Shan / @shannckh
Hair: Ian Tsoi / @i.ian_hair
Hair: Vic Kwan (Il Colpo) / @vic_kwan
Assistant Producer: Christina Zhao / @golfwithtina