Hong Kong culture store founder Vincent Au Yeung (歐陽偉航) is a designer, collector of locally made objects, and the operator of a neighborhood cultural shop where his work and interests intersect around a single idea: design need not be bound by era. Vincent says design can be timeless, born in one decade but able to belong to another when it is placed in the present.
How he found a bond with locally made goods
Vincent studied design and began researching design history while still a student. He found many successful designs that originated in Hong Kong, including embroidered Disney souvenir garments from the 1980s that drew him in as both collector and daily wearer.
Wanting to share those discoveries, he turned his cultural shop into a communal platform. Two years ago he collaborated with local emerging designers to rework several vintage Disney pieces into new garments. Vincent said the project was a way to celebrate local craft and to give older pieces a new life.
Cinema, William Chang, and a Hong Kong aesthetic
Vincent grew up loving cinema, from Cantonese-language features to classics of the 1980s. He is especially drawn to images of Hong Kong from the 1950s and 1960s. One studio he studies closely is the Motion Picture and General Investment Co., a film company active in the 1950s and 1960s that helped shape the look of the city on film.
He singled out production designer William Chang as a defining figure in Hong Kong film art direction. Vincent noted that Chang has a distinctive aesthetic that can shape a director’s approach. For example, on the film Happy Together (1997), Chang found a waterfall lamp at a local market in Argentina, and that single prop helped inspire director Wong Kar-wai to rethink the film’s story and mood.
A timeless way of living
The shop occupies a building completed in the 1950s, and its stairway and floors were born and preserved in that era. Vincent, who often dresses in period-informed fashion, delights neighbors by bringing contemporary energy into a 1950s atmosphere.
He believes that pieces from the past, like old furniture, can be placed into modern interiors and feel current. “After researching a lot of history, some design lines are explicitly an homage to an era, and the elements they borrow are already timeless,” Vincent said. He treats vintage objects as functioning pieces and as part of an ongoing design language.
Wearing old and new together
Vincent regularly appears in the historic building in outfits by designer Yohji Yamamoto. He pairs a Qing dynasty apron chain with a Yohji pouch to mix past and present. Before turning 50 he favored colorful clothes; after that milestone he shifted toward comfortable, natural fabrics and a wardrobe dominated by black, which he says contains many subtle layers.
He pointed to Yohji Yamamoto as an example of a designer whose predominantly black garments endure. “A Yohji piece made a decade ago still holds up,” Vincent said, connecting the designer’s longevity to his own belief that design is not limited by time. His approach is to layer vintage and contemporary to create a cohesive look.
A long relationship with the Central and Western District
Vincent grew up in Central, where his father ran a cha chaan teng, a Hong Kong style diner. His school years were spent around Sheung Wan and Central. After years of working around the city he accepted a friends invitation to run the cultural shop, and the neighborhood drew him back.
The cultural shop sits on Shing Wong Street, on the bluestone stairway between Peel Street and Caine Road. The building is more than 70 years old and still preserves many original design features while serving contemporary functions.
“I returned to run this project in my own way. The shop acts like a neighbor, and we also host cultural events to connect with the community,” Vincent said. He noted that in the past decade more people have wanted to learn about old Hong Kong, and the area around Tai Kwun, the former Central Police Station compound, and PMQ, the revitalized creative hub, has attracted new kinds of visitors.
He described the shops location as a natural meeting point. “From the top down are residents, and from the bottom up are visitors, so I have many chances to talk with both groups and spark new ideas,” Vincent said.
Visitors who come to the culture store often discover that the stairway itself is the neighborhoods most striking feature. Many stairways on Hong Kong Island are narrow, but this one is wide, making it suitable for events where people sit on the steps for concerts, talks, or informal gatherings. Vincent said those moments of public interaction are a precious resource for the city.
Photography and interview: 在地餐桌小旅行 (Local Table Travel).
Videographer: Alvin Kong and Kason Tam.
Video edit: Kason Tam.
