At 28, Rosita Kwok Pak-yin, the second runner-up at Miss Hong Kong 2020, has taken on a new role as a fashion founder.
Just months after launching her own fashion label, CLARO, Kwok is taking on a different kind of challenge: building a brand from scratch.
She brings CLARO to CENTRESTAGE 2026 as part of Hype², a new pavilion showcasing fashion labels led by local celebrities and KOLs.
For Kwok, CLARO is rooted in a simple idea.
“Timeless,” she told The Standard when asked to describe the label in one word.
The idea began with something personal. Kwok said she has always liked striped designs, but for a long time, she could not find a piece with the cut and stripe pattern she wanted.
That became one of the starting points for CLARO. Rather than continuing to look for the piece she had in mind, she decided to recreate it herself, eventually turning the design she had been searching for into one of the label’s own pieces.
Stripes have since become a recurring element across the collection, evolving from a personal preference into part of CLARO’s visual identity.
Fashion designer Dorian Ho Kwok-ching, who is working with Kwok on CLARO, said buyers at CENTRESTAGE were quick to notice the motif.
He sees the stripes as a potential “memory point” for the young label — something that can help people recognize and remember CLARO.
“Every brand needs something that makes people remember it,” Ho said, noting that many visitors had commented that the stripes were distinctive.
The collection otherwise reflects Kwok’s preference for a clean and understated look.
“I also feel that less is more,” she said, adding that a look does not necessarily need too many different colors to look good.
Ho described Kwok’s style as simple, timeless and comfortable, with pieces that are easy to mix and match.
That approach can also be seen in the collection’s office-inspired pieces, which draw partly from Kwok’s own experience. Before entering the entertainment industry, she worked in an office, and that background has found its way into the label’s designs.
Among the collection, Kwok picked out a few personal favorites, including a striped piece and a white design.
She also wants the clothes to be pieces people can keep wearing, rather than something suited only to one particular moment.
For Kwok, however, the challenge goes beyond creating a recognizable look.
She is not a fashion designer by training and said many aspects of building a label had to be learned from scratch.
CLARO was launched in May, and Kwok described the experience so far as fast-paced but exciting.
“I think it’s a very good learning experience for me,” she said, adding that she has enjoyed the process of building something from the ground up.
For a celebrity-founded label, having a recognizable face can bring initial attention, but turning that attention into a lasting fashion brand is another challenge.
Ho said Kwok had previously promoted and sold CLARO through her own social media, but the exposure was not enough to help people discover the brand quickly. For a label still in its early stages, expanding its reach will therefore be important as CLARO establishes its own identity.
Pricing is another consideration for the young label. While CLARO adopts a minimalist aesthetic, Ho said the brand’s priority was to provide customers with the best possible products, adding that prices could be adjusted as production volumes increase.
Kwok has also been exploring how CLARO can reach a wider audience through collaborations. Ho said working with other labels could help a young brand gain exposure, while allowing each brand to retain its own identity and create a different “chemistry” when combined.
The brand has also received support from fellow artists, with actor Matthew Ho Kwong-pui arriving at the event wearing CLARO. Kwok said she was happy to see friends and fellow artists wearing her designs.
A pop-up is planned for late October, giving CLARO another opportunity to reach customers beyond CENTRESTAGE.
It has also been a busy year for Kwok on screen, as she stars in TVB drama Mrs. Revenge. But while her celebrity profile may help draw attention to CLARO, she wants the clothes and the ideas behind them to speak for themselves.
Asked about people seeing CLARO as simply merchandise attached to her name, Kwok said she wants to prove how seriously she takes the brand and communicate the ideas behind each piece.
“If I can, I would spend 90 per cent, 95 per cent — definitely more than 90 per cent — of my time showing everyone that I put my heart into this,” she said.
