She established Dora Tam Design in 2001 and opened a retail shop on Rua da Se, a stone's throw from Leal Senado. 'I had to design what my bosses wanted but not necessarily what I felt was beautiful.' A new relationship in Macao led to her move there and the courage to strike out with her own brand. It is dramatically feminine with an underlying layer of strength, the definition of a contemporary princess.Īround that time, Tam began questioning the hectic pace of Hong Kong. Tam's diamond tiara resembles the delicate qualities of lace combined with the structure of a helmet, encircling the head from its crown with radiating patterns of hearts, clovers and serpentine curves encrusted with diamonds. I felt that a hat would work better than a traditional tiara - I was thinking about woolly hats, flowers, the moon and spirals, and somehow the design for the tiara just came together.'
'I imagined a beautiful model walking alone down a catwalk, wearing a spectacular, sparkling headpiece illuminated by ethereal lights. 'The brief was to create a tiara,' recalls Tam. Tam's diamond tiara resembles the delicate qualities of lace combined with the structure of a helmet.