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Chronology

1951 (23 February)
Born in Hong Kong.

1956
Attends Tsz Oi Kindergarten.

1959
His mother remarries, and Eddie is sent to boarding school at the age of eight; stops school after Primary five.

1962
Is sent at the age of 11 to work as an apprentice for Shanghainese master tailor Hai Hung-fat at his workshop in Mirador Mansion, Tsim Sha Tsui; during his apprenticeship, Eddie learns the three-dimensional tailoring skills that are to serve him so well throughout his career.

1965
On finishing his three-year apprenticeship, Eddie has learned from his master not only excellent tailoring skills, but also the ethics and code of conduct of the trade.

1967
Aged just 16, Eddie rents a basement unit on Kimberley Road, where he sets up a work desk and launches his career.

1973
Using his hard-earning savings from his own clothes-making business, he enrols on an evening course in haute couture and fabric design at Saint Martins School of Art in London, the United Kingdom.

1975
After finishing his studies in London, he returns to Hong Kong with a collection of 40 chiffon evening dresses painted by hand and airbrush.

1976
Opens Shifon, a high fashion boutique, on Granville Road in Tsim Sha Tsui.

1977
Is invited by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) to take part in the Ready-to-Wear Festival for the first time; his work selected to be showcased as the grand finale, and the 'EDDIE LAU – Black & Silver' collection wins unanimous acclaim. In the same year, Eddie gets the opportunity to present his designs in London and then on a roadshow to several Southeast Asian cities.

1978
The 'EDDIE LAU' Spring/Summer collection is presented in the opening fashion show of the Ready-to-Wear Festival organised by the HKTDC. Eddie then becomes the first Hong Kong designer to take part in the London Fashion Week, something that gives him a solid foundation and status as an international designer.

1979
'EDDIE LAU – East is Red' collection is showcased at major fashion shows in Hong Kong, London and Paris: filled with oriental colours, the collection adds to his growing reputation and marks his formal entry into the international market.

1980
Presents the 'EDDIE LAU – Shanghai Chic' collection in London, Paris and Düsseldorf.

Serves as costume director for Liza Wang's first solo concert held at the Lee Theatre: inspired by the singer's unique grace and stylish looks, Eddie has her hair pulled back and tied up and dresses her in haute couture, allowing her to dazzle with the glamour of a superstar.

1981
Releases the 1981 'EDDIE LAU' Spring/ Summer and evening gown collection.

Takes part in the HKTDC's fashion promotion event at the Jordon Marsh department store in Boston, United States, where the 'EDDIE LAU – Oriental Express' collection appears for the first time.

1982
The 'EDDIE LAU' collection is showcased in the fashion show staged by the HKTDC at Harvey Nichols and is subsequently released for sale in the department store.

Designs haute couture for Pak Suet-sin when she attended a wedding banquet. This is the first cheongsam Eddie created for Pak.

1983
Is awarded one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Hong Kong.

Acts as image and costume designer for Sam Hui, the first singer to stage a solo concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum. Focusing on themes of sport and strength, Eddie highlights the singer's muscular physique with stylish leather costumes, but he also designs a preppy look for his romantic songs, elevating Sam's image to another level.

Invited by So Hau-leung, manager of the Music Department at Capital Artists Ltd., to work with Anita Mui for the first time, Eddie designs stage costumes and creates an image filled with oriental tones that make her stand out when she takes part in the 12th Tokyo Music Festival.

Serves as image and costume designer for Anita Mui on her debut Cantonese album Crimson Anita Mui. In an unprecedented move that breaks with the traditional practice of using a close-up photo of the singer, the innovative album cover proves a hit with everyone.

Opens the first EDDIE LAU fashion boutique in the Mandarin Hotel, Hong Kong.

Opens a branch of the EDDIE LAU fashion boutique in the Chinese Arts and Crafts (H.K.) Ltd. store in Silvercord, Kowloon.

Acts as costume designer for Roman Tam concert at the Lee Theatre.

1984
Is invited by Chinese Arts and Crafts (H.K.) Ltd. to work with the company and launches the first collection – 'Fishing, Wood-cutting, Farming, Studying' – of his 'KAI' collection.

Launches the 1984 'KAI' Fall/Winter collection.

Is invited by close friend Roman Tam to work as costume designer and image director for the innovative, large-scale Chinese opera Liu Yi Chuan Shu; despite the extremely limited budget, Eddie designs the image and costumes for over 50 characters in the production.

Snoopy Co. invites Eddie, along with 95 top designers around the world, to create fashions for Snoopy and his sister Belle; developing his 'East meets West' concept, Eddie dresses Snoopy in a traditional cheongsam and Belle in a miniature champagne-coloured 'EDDIE LAU' evening gown decorated with tube-shaped sequins, making Snoopy and Belle the most elegant at the ball.

Serves as image and costume designer on Anita Mui's second solo Cantonese album, Leap on Stage, collaborating with Alan Chan in a bold and innovative attempt to create a dynamic graphic design that conveys the idea of the album title.

Accepts the invitation of Wang Daohan, mayor of Shanghai, to take part in the Shanghai fashion show, where he showcases 76 outfits from his 'KAI' Fall/Winter collection.

1985
Is invited by the JPS tobacco company to design avant-garde sweaters for the brand's advertisements. Leslie Cheung wears one of the sweaters with an alloy armour on the shoulders when he receives his first Ten Most Popular Songs Awards presented by Television Broadcasts Limited, looking austere but chic when he sings Monica; at the ceremony.

Serves as image and costume designer for Anita Mui on her third solo Cantonese album Anita Mui – As Years Go By; inspired by the notion of androgyny, Eddie's designs mark the start of Anita's versatile and ever-changing image.

Opens an EDDIE LAU fashion boutique in Shibuya-ku in Tokyo to become the first Hong Kong designer to break into the Japanese market.

Appears in the 'Do you know me?' adver-tisement for American Express and donates his fee from his debut acting performance to the winner of the Young Designer Award that year to support the winner to visit the famous fashion festival in Paris. Eddie constantly invests efforts in nurturing and supporting the younger generation.

Serves as designer for the album image and costumes for Leslie Cheung – Fortunate to Have You Summer Album.

Serves as image and costume designer for the 'Piaget brings you Leslie Cheung in Concert', investing untiring efforts in the singer's debut solo concert; Eddie chooses for Leslie an image of an active, healthy young man and every girl's dream.

Acts as image and costume designer for Roman Tam, creating an entirely new image for the singer for his 'Roman Tam Supreme Concert' by getting rid of Roman's signature glamorous costumes and instead revealing the appeal of a mature man with a touch of wildness.

Launches his 1985 'KAI' Spring/Summer collection.

Acts as image and costume designer for Anita Mui's fourth solo Cantonese album Bad Girl, setting new benchmarks for the local music industry with the unprecedented adoption of three images (flamboyance, chic and cool) for one album.

Serves as image and costume designer for Anita Mui's first solo concert, 'Anita Mui in Concert'. For the run of 15 shows, Eddie creates several opulent and stylish stage costumes to accompany her versatile vocal talent, while for the advertising posters he boldly adopts a graphic design that avoids the traditional close-up of the singer and instead shows only a microphone under Anita's foot or held in her hand. The highly original design becomes the talk of the town. Whether it was a simple gesture or pose, the glamorous diva stood out from the crowd.

Serves as concept, image and costume designer for the cover for David Lui's album.

1986
Serves as image director for the Miss Hong Kong Beauty Pageant.

Opens an EDDIE LAU fashion boutique in the Kowloon Hotel.

Serves as the cover concept and artistic adviser for Roman Tam's new album. In Eddie's opinion, Roman is already a superstar, so there is no need for eye-catching costumes to make him stand out, and this time he proposes a refreshing image with more natural, down-to-earth outfits. The album is an instant hit, and Roman's career immediately scales new heights.

Designs the staff uniforms for the Hong Kong Pavilion at the World Expo in Vancouver, using traditional Chinese black summer silk for the Chinese-style creations to complement the pavilion's architectural concept of a bamboo structure; these essential elements are matched in easy harmony to reflect the theme of Hong Kong's progress.

Serves as image and art director for Anita Mui's fifth Cantonese album, Evil Girl, designing for the singer an image of a cool, enchanting Arabian goddess. This innovative and unique image design continues and confirms the idea of the 'ever-changing' Anita Mui that they created together.

Acts as image and art director for Leslie Cheung's album Leslie Cheung – Share My Song, boldly choosing red as the dominant colour to accentuate Leslie's unique personal charm.

Serves as image and art director for Leslie Cheung's 'Leslie Cheung 86 Leslie in Concert' shows, designing a European style military jacket and suit to create for the singer a more mature, self-assured and commanding look that is far removed from the unrestrained and frivolous impression Leslie has projected in the past.

Works as album image and costume designer for David Lui.

Serves as image and costume designer and concept and art director on Tony Leung's new album.

Serves as image designer and art director on Tsai Chin's new album.

1987
At the invitation of the HKTDC, takes part in the Hong Kong fashion show organised by the Taiwan Trade Centre Limited, developing the theme of an Arabian goddess dressed in an Indian sari full of ethnic colours; Anita Mui makes a surprise appearance on the catwalk to model Eddie's designs.

Launches the 'KAI' Spring/Summer collection 1987.

Serves as fashion designer and consultant for the fashion show at the first Guangdong Arts and Crafts Fashion Fair jointly organised by the China Arts and Crafts Import and Export Company of Guangdong Province (Group) and Chinese Arts and Crafts (H.K.) Ltd.

Receives the Courvoisier award for business excellence.

Works as image and art director on Anita Mui's sixth solo Cantonese album, Flaming Tango. The burning passion of the tango and the black dress of a widow form the dominant design elements for her image on the record that featured two album covers.

Designs a black velvet cheongsam for Anita Mui to wear at the 24th Taipei Golden Horse Awards when she receives the prize for Best Actress for her role in Rouge.

Serves as image and art director for Anita Mui's seventh Cantonese album Anita Mui - Fiery Red Lips, creating for her a stylish, mysterious and seductive image that remains as stunning today as it was in the 1980s.

Responsible for the cover concept for the album Infatuation: David Lui.

Responsible for the cover concept and design of the album Roman Tam.

Serves as image and costume designer for 'Anita Mui in Concert', creating nine different images for the 28 consecutive shows to bring the audience the ultimate audio and visual enjoyment. To offer abundant changes to the concert, two images were created in each set of performance giving the audience multiple facets of enjoyment; Eddie has perfected the image of the 'ever-changing Anita Mui'.

1988
Designs the wedding gown and two evening gowns for Michelle Yeoh for her wedding with Dickson Poon: using 200 yards of fabric, the sumptuous, elegant gown is made mainly of light crepe decorated with glittering diamonds accompanied by a lace train. This is one of the very few wedding gowns that Eddie has designed.

At the invitation of the HKTDC, Eddie show-cases his works at the council's Selected Hong Kong Designers fashion show in New York.

Serves as image and art director on Anita Mui's eighth solo Cantonese album Get Drunk Together in Our Dreams. Adopting a double cover design, Eddie wraps Anita in the image of a Hollywood star of the 1940s, full of nostalgic charm and classic beauty that was extremely alluring.

Responsible for the cover concept and design for the album Tony Leung.

Serves as album design and artistic advisor for Baby Baby Elvina Kong.

1989
Is invited by the HKTDC to take part in its Hong Kong Fashion Week, where he showcases his red and black silk evening gown collection.

Accompanied by Anita Mui, Eddie attends the cocktail reception on board Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia when Prince Charles and Princess Diana visit Hong Kong.

Serves as evening dress designer and a judge for the Miss Asia Beauty Pageant and as a judge for various other events, including the Fashion Design Award of the Hong Kong Fashion Designers' Association, the Miss Chinese International Pageant and the Diamond Design Competition.

The evening dress Eddie designs for Yvonne Yung, winner of the Miss Asia Beauty Pageant, scoops the Best Evening Dress Award and Best Evening Dress Design Award for Miss Asia Pacific at the Miss Asia Pacific Pageant.

Takes part in the members' exhibition of the Hong Kong Designers' Association.

Serves as image designer and director for Anita Mui's ninth solo Cantonese album, Fair Lady, and creates for the singer an image of a charming lady with a touch of wildness who becomes a black leopard in the darkness of the night. Eddie brings out Anita's versatility to the full.

Serves as image designer and director for Anita Mui's tenth solo Cantonese album, In Brasil. En route to Brazil for the photo shoot for the album cover, the specially prepared costumes are lost in transit, but, with just a few scarves and the magic of his hands, Eddie improvises to create a stunning image that perfectly matches the album.

Serves as image director for the album Patrick Tam.

Serves as image director for the album Patrick Tam: A Touch of Fantasy in Tokyo.

Dickson Poon and Michelle Yeoh invite Eddie to open The Couture House, a made-to-order high fashion boutique.

1990
Serves as image designer on Anita Mui's 11th solo Cantonese album, Cover Girl, stripping away the glamour to reveal a modern, minimalist Mui.

Serves as image, costume and artistic director for 'Anita Mui in Concert' and its run of 30 shows; Eddie creates several costumes that burst with summer colours to match the season, elegant and uninhibited Broadway-style costumes and simple yet sumptuous gowns, all of which are designed to match the songs and the choreography performed in the concert.

Serves as image director for the album Patrick Tam: True Love into the Night.

Pak Suet-sin re-edited Lee Hau-chu, the final movie in which Yam Kim-fai appeared before her retirement, and presented the edited version at a charity premiere show to commemorate 100 days since Yam's death. Eddie designed a black cheongsam for Pak to show her respect for Yam and honour her memory.

1991
Launches the 'KAI' Spring/Summer collection 1991.

Eddie is one of several local veteran designers from a variety of fields who are invited by BG Lighting to apply their insights and inspiration in the design of lighting fixtures for an exhibition organised by the company. Using bamboo in oriental hues and tones as his theme, Eddie injects his trademark style into his unique design.

As image and art director on Anita Mui's 12th solo Cantonese album, Anita Mui: Street of Desires and Beasts, Eddie casts the singer in the image of a Bond girl.

Stages the Anita Mui: 10 years in Review exhibition.

Serves as image and costume designer for Anita Mui's 13th solo Cantonese album, The Legend of Pop Queen, and the farewell concert publicity poster, in which he presents the singer as a goddess to highlight her status as a genuine superstar.

Serves as costume director for the 'Anita Mui: Farewell Concert'. Designs stage costumes in the style of Madonna and Marilyn Monroe.

1992
Is invited to take part in the Dynamic Hong Kong fashion show jointly organised by the HKTDC and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Launches the 'KAI' Fall/Winter collection 1992.

Is invited by the HKTDC to take part in the Dalian Fashion Festival, where he showcases the 'KAI' Fall/Winter collection 1992.

1993
Showcases his 'EDDIE LAU' collection at the Dalian International Fashion Festival.

Designs the 'KAI' collection specially for the Harbin Chinese Arts and Crafts (H.K.) Ltd.

Designs a resplendent and elegant gold-coloured haute-couture for Anita Mui when she serves as a judge at the Miss Hong Kong Beauty Pageant.

1994
Launches the 'KAI' Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter collection 1994.

Designs uniforms for the nursing staff of Yan Chai Hospital, where he has to consider the overall aesthetics, cost, colour tones, image and fabric as well as the repeated high-temperature steam sterilisation treatment that the uniforms have to withstand. Practical and refreshing, the new uniforms meet the needs of nurses in the discharge of their day-to-day duties.

Serves as image designer for Anita Mui's 14th solo album It's Like This, creating for the singer an androgynous image that again highlights her amazing versatility.

1995
Serves as image director for the concert series 'Anita Mui: A Beautiful Echo', in which he portrays her as a contemporary modern lady.

1996
Designs an evening dress for Cantonese opera artist Pak Suet-sin to wear when she attends the naming ceremony for the Yam Pak Building of the University of Hong Kong.

Designs the stage costume for Roman Tam's grand finale in his 'Farewell to the Stage Concert'.

Launches the 'KAI' Spring/Summer collection 1996.

1998
Launches the 'EDDIE LAU' collection 1998.

Serves as image director for Anita Mui's 15th solo album Alternative, choosing pale pink to create an uplifting, natural feeling. This was the last time Eddie and Anita collaborated on the photo shoot for an album cover.

Designs a violet dove-tail coat for Anita Mui to wear when she receives the Golden Needle Award at the 24th Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award Concert organised by Radio Television Hong Kong. As Anita performs her award-winning songs, she shows off the multi-layering of the outfit and expresses here special thanks to Eddie for his years of affection and refined designs that have created the legend of her 'ever-changing image'.

1999
Is invited by Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (Cathay Pacific) to design and launch new uniforms for its aircrew. Following in the footsteps of such famous designers as Pierre Balmain, Hermes and Nina Ricci, Eddie is asked to come up with a whole new interpretation of oriental colours and style to match the airline's slogan 'Heart of Asia'. Practical and comfortable, Eddie's uniforms express the Asian spirit with simple but elegant lines.

Receives the Hong Kong Artist Award for fashion and image design from Lo King-man, Director of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

Serves as image and costume director for 'Anita Mui in Concert 1999'. Wearing Eddie's classically resplendent stage costumes, Anita confidently demonstrates the full range of her vocal skills and moves the audience with the sincerity of her singing.

In September 1999 the Provisional Urban Council in collaboration with the Regional Council presented an event entitled 'Cantonese opera towards the millennia – memorial performances in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the death of Tong Tik-sang'. Designs a purple cheongsam with elegant and attractive girdle design for Pak Suet-sin to attend the opening ceremony held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

Bids farewell to the fashion industry and begins his retirement.

2000
Launches www.eddielau.com, Eddie introduces the contents of his new website, which includes aspects of his personal life, photos and invaluable information about fashion and image design. The news causes a huge stir in the fashion and entertainment industry, and over 100 members of the media cover the event.

Is invited by Shanghai East China University to share his design insights in a forum with several hundred local students.

2001
Designs a cheongsam for Pak Suet-sin to wear when she attends the ceremony at which she is presented with the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award.

Designs formal wear for both Pak Suet-sin and Anita Mui when they attend the Hong Kong Film Awards Presentation Ceremony, at which Pak Suet-sin is presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

2002
Based on their lasting friendship, Eddie designs a stage costume for Anita Mui's last show finale in the 'Anita Mui Fantasy Gig' concert.

2003
Specially designs a gold and red Chinese wedding gown (worn in the opening section) and a pure white Western wedding gown for Anita Mui for her very last 'Anita Classic Moment Live 2003' concert to express her wish to be married to the stage. Eddie and Anita's years of friendship have nurtured the legend of her 'ever-changing image'.

2004
Designs a resplendent evening dress for Pak Suet-sin to wear at the 169th Honorary Degrees Presentation Ceremony of the University of Hong Kong when she is awarded a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.

Is invited to refresh 1999 uniform design for Cathay Pacific.

Designs the white and black gold evening dresses that Pak Suet-Sin wears when she attends the charity events commemorating the 15th anniversary of the death of her great friend Yam Kim-fai.

2006
At the invitation of a close friend, Eddie serves as design director for NAZA, a sportswear brand. Throughout his career, Eddie has designed numerous elegant and resplendent costumes, but this is the first time he has worked on sportswear, and he uses the opportunity to promote the importance of physical health.

Designs stage costume for Anita's protégé, Denise Ho's '2006 Live in Unity Concert' as an expression of his 'Continuation of Love' for Anita Mui.

2010
Two classic stage costumes that Eddie designed for Roman Tam and Denise Ho are exhibited at the Fashion Visionaries exhibition at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

2011
Designs and launches the new uniforms for Cathay Pacific. The new collection focuses on simplicity and sets out primarily to improve on the airline's corporate elements that feature in the uniforms. New colours – rose, burgundy, champagne, caviar and olive – are chosen to convey a feeling of luxury and good taste.

Designs William So's costume for the opening section of his 2011 concert.

2013
Designs and launches new uniforms for Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited.

Designs a black evening gown for Pak Suet-sin to attend the 100th birthday event of Yam Kim-fai. The two roses juxtaposing on the shoulders represent the everlasting love of Yam and Pak.

An exhibition celebrating Eddie Lau and his achievements is presented at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum.