A potentially controversial thought crossed my mind as I watched the solo collection of Joey Samson on the last day of Bench Fashion Week at around this time last year—a thought I didn’t even dare share with Ben Chan who was seated beside me.

It occurred to me that Samson could be the Joe Salazar of his era. The intricate details
—more so, the surprise with which he sprang them—and Samson’s iconoclastic approach to design reminded me so much of Salazar.