Ode to Fong Leng | Colorful icon and extraordinary designer

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Everything Fong Leng did and made was new and different. Her fabulous creations were worn by famous women such as living art work Mathilde Willink and singer Kate Bush. Her 'Studio Fong Leng' in PC Hoofstraat was a store out of thousands. Everyone came to look at her shop window, even I liked to stop there on my way to school.  

About how she ended up in the PC in 1971, she told: “Once I was sitting there eating a sandwich and saw an empty store across the street. I rang the bell, two very small ladies welcomed me. They were making hats and intended to stop. As if God had sent me! I had the whole thing remodeled, it became big, with a basement, first floor and second floor, that's where the most precious pieces hung. Studio Fong Leng was the most extravagant store in the Netherlands (...) When I started in PC, I heard 'that store doesn't exist for more than a month', but everyone came to look at the window. I was there for 22 years with my Studio Fong Leng.”

Carla Maria Fong Leng Tsang (August 13, 1937 - October 2, 2019) was born in Rotterdam to a Dutch mother and a Chinese father. She attended the Rotterdam Academy, became a photographer and worked for Dutch newspapers. In 1968, as an employee at jersey manufacturer Ross International, she discovered her affinity for fabrics, clothing and design. Fong Leng was then 31 years old.

Working with leather, suede, silk, marabou feathers and fur, the material techniques she uses are applique, incrustation, matelassé, smocking and pleating. Most of her designs have figurative images. She likes monkeys, snakes and tigers. Her coat dresses are becoming especially popular.

Fong Leng did what had never been done before: “I did pioneering work for the Netherlands. Before I broke through there were classic couturiers, what they made was very stiff. I had a style all my own.” Fong Leng brings color and something exotic to Dutch fashion. “Of course I'm half Chinese and half Dutch, that's in there, I was born with it. So I'm also half Oriental.” In her store, she pours champagne and hands out oysters. She hosts whirlwind fashion shows with dancing mannequins and loud pop music.

Fong Leng's success came to an abrupt end in 1987. The Netherlands had applied to host the 1992 Olympics. Fong Leng invested in the merchandise surrounding those possible Games but Amsterdam lost. The Games went to Barcelona. “I had partnered with a company and it went bankrupt, they dragged me down, very annoying,” she said. Fong Leng then withdrew from the fashion world. She lives alternately in Amsterdam and Italy, often with partner and artist Gerti Bierenbroodspot by her side. 

Recognition

The Centraal Museum in Utrecht was the first art institution to purchase a garment by Fong Leng in 1975. Today, all kinds of museums have works by (Studio) Fong Leng in their collections. The Amsterdam Museum hosted the exhibition “Fong Leng - Fashion & Art” from December 2013 through March 2014. Just before her death, documentary filmmaker Deborah Faraone Menetta screened a portrait about 81-year-old Diva Fong Leng at the 2019 Dutch Film Festival, and Mayor Femke Halsema surprised her with a royal award. Fong Leng revolutionized the fashion world and was a great inspiration for contemporary fashion designers, such as Viktor and Rolf.

Sources used

 Wikipedia

All quotes are from an interview by Georgette Koning with Fong Leng, 2013