Article content continued

“I just think it was really unfair of them to take away my design. It had followed all the rules,” she said in an interview. It “was a huge disrespect to the freedom of my expression, which stands as one of the chief features of the brand.”

Hong Kong demonstrators and their backers are among those condemning the decision. They’ve called it the latest example of Western enterprises putting profits from China ahead of the pro-democracy cause, and applauded the artist — identified on the contest site simply as naomiso.

But So’s story is not quite as straightforward as those activists might imagine.

Her design features a yellow umbrella, the bauhinia flower that forms Hong Kong’s logo and a group of people in gas masks and helmets, all emblematic of the mass protest movement.

Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters

So said her parents are immigrants from Hong Kong and have been following recent events there closely, which meant the idea came to her almost immediately. She says the protesters are “voicing out their opinions, and I think that’s really important in this day and age.”

Yet she insists she was not trying to take a stand herself.

“I see my role as a designer, but also as a reporter. Reporters use a camera, pen and paper and I use my artwork as my medium to express,” So says. “It’s really sad to see the many places in Hong Kong that I have visited to be in such disarray.”

In fact, she and her family have so far balked at giving a Hong Kong company permission to produce shoes based on her design. The manufacturer wants to donate the proceeds to groups supporting the demonstrations, but So said consenting to that “would be me taking sides.”