Anne Hung

Born in Hong Kong. Anne Hung came to Canada when she was one and a half years old.

Anne Hung applied to Ryerson University in 1991. She entered the Fashion Program with a first year entrance scholarship. In her second year she was recognized for her outstanding pattern drafting skills and was awarded the Mary Louise Macdonald Award for Excellence in Pattern Drafting. In 1995 she graduated at the top of her class winning the prestigious Bretton's Award for being the Designer of the Year.

She moved to New York City upon graduation to pursue a career in fashion design. During her stay, she stumbled upon a venue featuring young and talented upcoming designers. Her portfolio was chosen amongst many and she was invited to showcase her collection as the closing show for the entire venue. The venue was "Alternative Fashion Week" sponsored by Absolute Vodka. After receiving a standing ovation, her career as a fashion designer catapulted instantly, thanks to the help of her good friend Jay Manuel.

Instantly, the Anne Hung label received worldwide attention, she began selling to retailers in Japan, across the United States, China and across Canada.

She was featured in Paris Vogue in 1995 as the up and coming designer to watch out for in Canada. She was exclusively chosen to feature her unique Candy Wrap Concept on the front page of Paris Vogue and was also given the opportunity to have her designer profile written amongst many other well-known international designers. Anne Hung officially launched her wholesale corporation on December 1995 under the corporation name Anne Hung Fashion Designs Inc.

In addition to the Anne Hung collection, the designer recycled used candy wrappers accumulated over the years and produced a one of a kind dress using the vibrate colors of the wrappers as the focal point. Her unique Candy Wrap concept caught the attention of Cadbury Chocolates Canada Inc., which landed the designer a one-year endorsement contract in 1997. This endorsement enabled the designer to showcase another collection in New York City during New York Fashion Week. The collaboration brought together the unique relationship between a fashion designer and a chocolate manufacturing company. As terms of her contract, Anne Hung was given the opportunity to design numerous garments using only Cadbury candy wrappers. The designs were featured by the press, showcased in a private gallery and were used by the chocolate company as advertising. This candy wrap concept gave Anne Hung the new nickname "the Candy Wrap Girl".

She has received many accolades during her career. She was awarded the City of Toronto Award for Excellence in Fashion Design for A Graduating Student in 1995.

In 1999, Anne Hung returned to New York City to compete in the 1999 Styles for the New Millennium Contest sponsored by Gen Art and Absolute Vodka. It was a global event bringing in designers from Australia, Portugal, Italy, Singapore, England, Japan, etc. and was supported by well-known industry judges such as Betsy Johnson, Russell Simmons, the hip-hop mogul, Polly Mellen, the creative director of Allure, Richard Martin, the curator of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Hal Rubenstein of In Style Magazine. Anne showcased a long fitted dress made from black broken vinyl records. She was the winner of the Avant Garde Category of the contest and her winning piece was featured in WWD, The New York Post and The New York Times wrote the dress to be the most exceptional designer piece of the entire event.

Anne Hung continued to be recognized as an outstanding designer. The designer became a grant recipient for the 2001 Matinee Fashion Foundation. The grant is awarded to a handful of designers who are considered to be the elite of the Fashion Industry within Canada.

In 2001 and 2002, Anne Hung was a finalist in New York City for the Beefeater Gin Competition. The competition involved designing a new innovative uniform for Beefeater Gin Company.

In 2002, Ryerson University awarded Anne Hung with the Ryerson Alumni Achievement Award. Isadore Sharp, owner of the prestigious Four Seasons hotel chain, sponsored the award.

Since September 2006, Anne Hung has contributed her time and knowledge to the School of Fashion. She has returned to the school she once attended to teach as a part-time professor in the Fashion Program at Ryerson University.

Anne Hung opened her first Toronto flagship boutique in December 2003 located at 829 Queen Street West in the heart of the trendy Queen West Designer District. In 2004, Now Magazine reader's nominated Anne Hung as the Best Local Designer in Toronto.

Over the years, her designs have been featured in countless editorials and she has received numerous write-ups in newspapers and magazine. The following are editorials, newspapers and media companies who have recognized her design talent and have brought social awareness to the Anne Hung collection: Glamour Magazine, Cosmopolitan, WWD, Teen, React Magazine, Mademoiselle, New York Post, The New York Times, Flare Magazine, Elm Street, Toronto Fashion, Glow, NUVO, Now Magazine, Eye Weekly, Tribe, Unwind Magazine, Images, Clin d’oeil, Style Magazine, The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, The National Post, City TV, CFMT Television, CBC-TV, CFTO-BBS Television, Flare Gallery Exhibit, CNN Television, Rogers Television, YTV Television, Shaw Television, Toronto Life Magazine, Vancouver Museum, and Paris Vogue. Anne Hung designed a garment outfitting the Host of CTV eTalk Daily - Tanya Kim for the Oscars in February 2004 and for the Juno Awards in April 2004.

In July 2007, Anne Hung and her designs appeared on the 2nd Season of Canadian Next Top Model. She has been recently profiled on MTV e2 and CTV eTalk Daily featuring various dress designs. The segment was to ultimately announce her new design direction - solely designing dresses for women.