Hong Kong -- A striking two-tone orange mink mini-dress took top honors at the fourteenth annual Hong Kong Fur Design Competition, held Jan. 8 at the Regent Hotel here. Designs of 55 finalists, selected from 248 entries, were paraded during a gala dinner attended by fur industry leaders and celebrities.

A panel of celebrity judges -- Michelle Ong-Cheung, Simon Yam, Rachel Lee-Hui, Judy Mann, Kevin Yeung and Benny Yeung -- actually voted for the final winners that evening.

Yeung Sze Man won in the Full Fur category and took the Creativity Award. Best Sketch Award went to Cheung Mei Yee. Tsang Yan Kei topped the Fur Combination category.

First runner up in the Full Fur category was Kwok Siu Yin; second runner up was Wai Chun. First runner up in the Fur Combination category was Lau Hoi Wai.

Organized by the Hong Kong Fur Federation's Young Executive Committee, the event encourages fashion design students not only to display their creative talents in fur design, but also to develop their career interest in the local fur industry.

The champion of the Full Fur category was also awarded a grand prize two-week scholarship to the Saga International Design Center in Denmark.

Each year, the Fur Design Competition is open to final-year students of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's School for Design and Institute of Textiles and Clothing and the Institute of Vocational Education (Kwai Chung) Department of Fashion and Textiles.

The Competition is divided into two categories: a compulsory Full Fur category and an optional Fur Combination category. This year, two new awards were introduced, for Best Sketch and for Creativity.

Kenneth Ng, chairman of the Fur Federation's Young Executive Committee, said, "The finalists' entries exhibited a high degree of creativity and sophistication in both design and craftsmanship. The support and sponsorship of our member manufacturers once again was important in making the Fur Design Competition such a great success."