Vancouver Fashion eZine - Online Magazine | Fashion Student

I was impressed the minute he arrived for our interview. Billy Ng had walked several blocks carrying not only heavy garment bags, but a full size dress form to display his grad collection on. Charming, upbeat, and focused are all adjectives that describe this talented fashion design graduate and "Exactly!" was a common exclamation as he shared his well-thought out plans for the future.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, he was playing in his parent's garment factory by age 3. As he grew older he started helping out by carrying notions and eventually participated in all areas of the business. Sewing was learned by experimenting on the industrial machines in the plant. Life changed dramatically in grade 9 when the family moved to Surrey. He had to learn English and fit into a whole new culture. "It was hard, but I learned English very fast by talking to people a lot, listening to the radio and watching TV". A love of sports also helped carry him through.
Upon graduation Ng continued to work at the family's new garment factory in Vancouver and taught Tae Kwon Do part-time; but after a few years he decided it was time to further his education. Garment construction courses through the VSB and an entrepreneurship program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University were his first stops. The next on his list was Fashion Design and he chose The Art Institute of Vancouver for it's strong international reputation. "When I came here I thought it was going to be easy, but when I experienced my first quarter it was so different, so stressful - everything went so fast". Once it came to the hands-on courses his background in the industry helped him to excel.
His collection is called Shanellia - "The Beautiful Gift of God". Inspiration came from the work of artist Vladimir Vojvodic and 19th century Victorian dresses. Out of the 100 looks AI has each student create for their grad collection, Ng had to choose 4 to showcase in La Musique, the AI grad runway show. He selected 2 women's floor-length gowns and 2 men's suits. First is a 2-tone peach dress with tiers of lace over a built-in crinoline. It has cut-away shoulders and a turtle neck collar. A dusty pink halter dress is next. Gathered lace cascades down the bodice and the full skirt is constructed with panels of pink lace lined in black. The 2 suits are fashion forward and unique. Both have grey Taffeta pants and white shirts with rhinestone buttons. It is the jackets that catch your eye. There is a mid-thigh Nehru style jacket made out of striped cream, light grey and charcoal taffeta. In a departure from tradition Ng chose to offset the stripes of the fabric for a more textured look. The second jacket is my favorite piece in the collection. While the right half is in grey stretch taffeta, the left is fashioned from an unusual textured fabric called Pagoda Ruche. A horizontal triangle provides the meeting place for the 2 sides and the closure is a large, etched pearl button. The design and finish work on all pieces is exceptional.
Currently Ng is focusing on custom orders and creating a retail line, but his direction is clear. "I want my brand to be famous and carry lines from casual to elegant. I want a full range." Looking at his grad collection, we're sure to see celebrities dressed in Shanellia designs at future Red Carpet events.