Matchesfashion Hong Kong Christmas pop-up store designers on the clear division of labour that guides the pair’s work on everything from mall toilets to a mahjong set
- Editecture’s founders perform distinct roles – Jacqueline Chak’s is spatial design and Genevieve Chew product curation – both at work and in their home lives
- Their projects are varied, from the revamp of 20 washrooms in a high-end shopping centre to designing Matchesfashion’s pop-up space in Hong Kong’s Landmark
It was in London some 13 years ago that Editecture’s Genevieve Chew and Jacqueline Chak became fast friends. One a chartered accountant with stacks of Vogue hidden in her office desk, the other an architecture student with a penchant for experiential details, they bonded over shopping.
“In terms of values and the way we see life in general, we just clicked, and became best friends from the get-go,” adds Chew. “We’d shop together, but separately. When we go into a store, Jacq would be looking at the details, looking at the counter, taking pictures of a random sculpture, whereas I would stick to the product.”
“While it may seem insignificant and unconventional to be proud of some toilets, for us the work we did for Hysan Place is core to the shopping centre experience, and we needed to accommodate users of all ages and genders – it is the heart of the space, and one which everyone needs to visit,” says Chak.
Out of 10 clients we take, nine of them become our really good friends. We design their stores, then we design their offices, and then finally we design their homes.
The separation of roles between the two has always been absolutely distinct, whether personally or professionally. In the workplace, Chak takes the reins when it comes to spatial design, while Chew leads product curation and money matters.
“I would never say I’m a good architect or interior designer – no way,” says Chew. “Even with my own home, I’d ask ‘Jacq, can you do it?’ And in the first year we knew each other, Jacq also said to me, ‘Can you take my credit card and go shopping for me?’”
It’s an arrangement that continues to this day, dictated by their strengths. Since Chak’s shopping trips tend to revolve around homeware and lifestyle products – and her involvement in projects keeps her on the road and often on design sites for long hours – Chew is happy to take the reins in buying for the both of them.
“She dresses for function, and I for form – she’s very hands-on and has meetings with contractors on a daily basis, on top of meetings with clients, but she loves colours and expresses herself instead through accessories like colourful socks and bags.
“Because I’m a mother of two, I only join some meetings and on those days I like to dress up, because in my time off work with the kids, I’m usually in sweats or jeans. I love fashion, so even on days I’m just going to the office, I take joy in dressing up.”
The duo’s collaboration with luxury online retailer Matchesfashion this month, designing the brand’s gifting pop-up space in the Landmark mall’s Belowground in Central, Hong Kong is an exception, with Chew taking the lead. As an avid shopper who proudly professes that Matchesfashion is on the first page of her phone screen, Chew was elated to be approached to work on the project.
“Initially, I was trying to keep my cool, pretending, ‘Yeah, it’s all good.’ Inside I was like a kid in a confectionery shop,” she says. And so, while clients normally deal with Chew only during the initial consultation, she has been hands-on on a daily basis, working closely with Chak to create a customer experience that marries their respective areas of expertise – space and product – seamlessly.
“I think a lot of people like the story of us being super best friends,” says Chew. “People feel we are personable, and not so corporate, even though we’ve done a lot of large commercial projects [ranging from a showroom and headquarters for Mercedes-Benz to an interior and exterior building redesign at Kimberly Plaza in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong].
“Knowing we are friends, they think, ‘These girls must have heart.’ And then they see the detail we bring to a project. I’d say that out of 10 clients we take, nine of them become our really good friends.
“We design their stores, then we design their offices, and then finally we design their homes. When they trust us to design their personal space, that’s really quite special.”
