How iconic New York speakeasy PDT has been redesigned for Hong Kong

What was the brief for the PDT project? “PDT [which stands for ‘please don’t tell’] is a classic brand from New York. It has an iconic entrance – you enter through a phone booth – it has tufted banquettes, taxidermy on the walls and a glossy ceiling in dark wood. We wanted to respect all of that, but we wanted to give a twist to each of the characteristics.”

How does the PDT in Hong Kong differ from the original? “In Hong Kong, PDT is located in the MO Bar, at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, which is a posh hotel bar. In New York, PDT is in the grungy East Village. PDT [Hong Kong] is located in a mezzanine space, which made me think of it as an attic space. When I was designing, I thought of it as a butler’s corner, where a butler who works in the hotel lives and collects all these items lost by the guests. Attics are mysterious spaces that are full of secrets, and I wanted to celebrate and explore that.”

So what will guests discover at PDT? “We have five taxi­dermy animals and we’ve given each their own backstory, which is explained by signs in the bar. They are like residents of the bar.

“Instead of leaving them as typical taxidermy statues, we’ve put wigs and jewellery and accessories on them. It’s like the butler has used all these leftover accessories from the guests and tried to dress them up. They are kind of crazy and have this 80s New York punk look.”