Dalston boys

"I like galleries and theatres and I am really interested in up-and-coming British contemporary artists' work," says Liu. "I am currently collecting Stuart Semple's work. He is going to be the next Damien Hirst, or at least David Hockney.

"I also love both classic and modern Chinese art. I am a modest collector of Chinese antiques, especially Chinese antique vases, and I make a point of going to sales at Sotheby's."

If the business continues to expand at its current fast rate, the designer will be able to continue adding to that collection of antiques. Among the celebrities who have been seen using Chris & Tibor items are soccer superstar David Beckham and rapper Kanye West. The bags have been featured as must-have accessories in trendy magazines including GQ, Vogue, Esquire, Vanity Fair, i-D, and Dazed and Confused.

Currently the Chris & Tibor brand is available in more than 20 countries. The newly-launched Golden Lane brand, named after a street in the center of London, is also enjoying healthy sales. With two collections a year for each brand, the pressure is on for Liu and his partner to come up with more and more novel designs.

"It sounds like a cliché, but we try to take inspiration from everything," says Liu. "The need for practicality in our creations is inspired by our day-to-day lives; those moments when you find yourself struggling with something that should be simple. We try to apply that in our design process.

"Working at Burberry earlier was invaluable experience, you learn about quality and finishing. It is completely different from high street fashion. Having said that, I believe there is nothing wrong with having a commercial eye alongside creativity. We want to create collections with international relevance and appeal.

"We want the Chris & Tibor brand to be a leading luxurious men's fashion and lifestyle brand, aimed at the dynamic successful creative professional males around the world. We are now launching a retail space in London with the full men's accessory range from bags, shoes to other categories."