To meet Olivia is to meet a pioneer of slow fashion in Hong Kong who has one simple message, “buy less but buy better”. 

We spoke with Olivia Buchon, founder of Excuse My French, a Hong Kong based concept store on redefining the retail experience. With two locations in Hong Kong, Repulse Bay and Central district, EMF offers an immersive shopping experience selling clothing, accessories and home wear. At its core EMF is a natural fibres, slow fashion brand specialising in timeless and high quality pieces. EMF acts as a unique bridge between France and Hong Kong, balancing Olivia’s French heritage with the energy of Hong Kong.  

In a world shaped by consumerist culture, Olivia and her brand act as a beacon of hope for slow fashion. Olivia spoke passionately about slow, ethical and high quality fashion. For every piece there was a story to tell, a detail to highlight. You can tell how much thought and energy go into each piece, reflecting Olivia’s own heritage and beliefs. Olivia invites us to challenge the social norms of consumption, and instead, think about what we buy and what story it can tell. 

T&C: Can you tell us about your journey of becoming a natural fibers fashion brand?

Olivia: I think it simply comes from my origin. I grew up in Brittany in the countryside and would spend a lot of time with my grandma. Everything she had was all natural fibres and made by hand. We used to not have much, but what we had was high quality. This is what you can find in my collection. We do natural linen, embroidery and silk. It’s back to the roots. 

My parents were in the clothing business and I’ve spent 30 years in the fashion industry — from LA, to Paris, to Australia, then to here. I think the big change is when you become a mother, because you know what you want, and what you don’t want. I’ve built another brand before. But for this one, I really focused on what I wanted. It’s really about the value of the family, back to the roots. Nothing fancy, but once again, it’s about natural fabrics. Everything I do is stitch ‘a la française’. There is no overlock and the product is very well done (the boudoir, the right colour). I’m against all plastic. There isn’t one piece in my shop which is nylon or polyester. Even with our main product, which is knitwear, we need to use a bit of polyester to make the yarn and we use plastic bottles from the ocean for the 5 or 6% we need. 

It’s my brand and I control everything from A to Z. From the sourcing, to the drawing, to the grading by hand.

T&C: You are a slow fashion brand, can you tell us more about how this aligns with your brand identity?

Olivia: If a product I develop is not perfect, I’d rather wait. I’ve been working for two years on a product. But I won’t do it until it’s exactly the way I want, until it’s perfect, and until it’s completely ethical. And by ethical, it’s not only the material, it’s the people you work with. I work with the ateliers and with small factories. I don’t want a major collection and I don’t follow the trends much. Of course we have to bring in new products, but I always choose the priority of the product over the lead time, over everything. 

T&C: As a French brand you are heavily inspired by French fashion, but how does Hong Kong inspire your pieces?

Olivia: I’ve been in Hong Kong for 16 years and EMF will soon be 10 years old. I’m French so in my collection you will always find the French touch and the effortless chic. But what’s really inspired my collections is Hong Kong. The old and the new. The heritage and the modernity. All this contrast is what you can find in my brand. 

For example, in the new collection we have silk with dots. The silk is from China (they are so strong in silk), and the dots are retro and very French. So we developed this jacquard silk with dots. For the September collection we have developed another jacquard silk and we drew from the Li River in China. The brand is really the bridge between France and Asia.

T&C: What is the future of EMF and natural, ethical fashion?

Olivia: I think China has been criticised a lot for their production. To me, China is fantastic as they have small ateliers. Hong Kong is a fantastic place to build an ethical brand and there are always interesting ways to develop new products ethically. 

We were really the pioneers in Hong Kong. We were the first to do this super ethical knit. We were the first true ethical brand. I think the brand will keep evolving in the sense of the East meets West. 

We don’t do wholesale and we’re a full concept store. We started our website a year ago and we ship internationally every day right now. We’re also looking for other shops around the world. Maybe we’ll open some pop-up stores in other cities. But to be a concept brand, retail is very important, it’s not only about the product. I don’t want to just open shops to open shops. 

This brand is built for everybody — from babies to 100 year olds. I want to do timeless pieces. Behind every product I design my priority is always quality. The first question when the product is finished is, “how long would I keep it in the wardrobe?”. In the future I think we can still do a lot. We’re really into educating people about buying less, but buying better. Don’t buy your product, buy your story. Take the product, and make it yours.

You can explore EMF online or in person in their perfectly curated, immersive shops in Central and in Repulse Bay, with one more opening soon in a secret location!

Address

Address: 28 Beach Road The pulse, level 2 shop 201(e, Repulse Bay, Hong Kong             

Address: 75 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong