From OEM to building a brand, Bethel has redefined "urban functionality." Founded in 2013, Bethel began by working deep within the handbag OEM and wholesale market, and years of manufacturing experience gave the brand a solid foundation in craftsmanship. But what truly gave rise to the brand was that period of being forced to pause during the pandemic.

The pandemic slowed the world down, and it also made the team rethink things: "Beyond making products for others, what is it we really want to create?" And so, Bethel stopped simply making bags and began building a design language of its own. They transformed years of accumulated craftsmanship into a functional aesthetic made for city dwellers, taking gender-neutral design, light military style, and modular design as the brand's core, in the hope of striking a balance between a sense of fashion and everyday function. The brand's signature wave embroidery draws inspiration from the wave stitching found in military clothing, while also symbolising the rhythm of the city, the heartbeat, and the ups and downs of life. For Bethel, it isn't decoration but a symbol of the brand's continuous flow, exploration, and growth.

In an age that prizes speed and frequency of renewal, JYUT chooses to slow its pace. Born in Macau, JYUT (Cantonese phonetics for "joy") is a New Chinese-style womenswear brand built around the craft of plant dyeing. Guided by the philosophy of "reverence for nature, joy in authenticity," it weaves the millennia-old tradition of plant dyeing into modern tailoring, creating a wardrobe that combines Eastern aesthetics with everyday wearability for the independent, intellectual woman of today. The brand believes that true design isn't about deliberately piling on cultural symbols, but about letting traditional craft blend naturally into modern life, so that clothing becomes a presence that accompanies time and carries life. Through this interview, JYUT shares how they use plant dyeing to respond to sustainability, reinterpret Eastern culture through the New Chinese style, and hope to build, through design, a way of living and a sense of beauty that belongs to the modern Asian woman.