Asia's Look for 2004

If the Asian fashion landscape for 2004 can be summed up in one word, it would be "contrast" — bracing combinations of color and fabric, tradition and innovation. A recent fashion week in Hong Kong saw one model strutting down the catwalk in a sheer hot pink scarf with gray suit lapels stitched on to form a faux collar (a design by And Then ...); another in a knit cap festooned with baby toys (Aeju); and a third in a thick knit-wool skirt with a filmy, bright turquoise silk top (Tell U What).

While most of the...