2 | Thursday, November 21, 2019 DAILY PAGE TWO

Above: Shanghai couturier Chen Yehuai poses with models during a show of her work in Moscow, Russia, in September. Left below: Three designs from Chen. Right below: Another Chen design (top) and creations from Laurence Xu (center) and Ms Min. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Tradition: Culture offers inspiration

From page 1 designer Guo Pei’s work. Footage of a yellow caped gown, with a train She has become one of the Chi- nearly 5 meters long worn by the nese couturiers whose works have Fashion reflects the tastes of the age and the singer and fashion designer Rihan- caught global attention, along with feelings of the people. Now, Chinese people’s na on the red carpet at the event’s Guo Pei, Ms Min, Bu Kewen, Lau- opening ceremony, went viral. rence Xu and Ji Cheng. tastes are demonstrating a kind of national Guo’s design was dubbed the Their collective success highlights spirit, so through my designs I try to reflect “omelet dress” due to its resem- how Chinese designers have risen to blance to the breakfast staple. world stardom over the past four the place in which the people find The gown, which weighs about 25 decades. themselves. I try to interpret national kilograms, combines traditional Back in December 1978, a middle- Chinese craftsmanship and the clas- aged Frenchman wearing an over- sentiment.” sic A-line silhouette of haute cou- sized drop-shoulder woolen coat Guo Pei, contemporary Chinese designer ture. Some 50,000 hours of strode through the streets of , embroidery work went into creating causing a stir among local residents. it. A few days later, he caused an even Guo said, “People used to say bigger sensation when he climbed turing giant, could also become a sig- ing for more than one-third of the there is no such thing as high-end the Great Wall and struck a victory nificant fashion market. global total, according to manage- couture — the epitome of aesthetics pose. The first Western fashion house to ment consultancy McKinsey & Co. and skills — in China. But now that The visitor, Pierre Cardin, was the be convinced of this was Italian lux- At the time, the company forecast view is changing.” first Western fashion designer to vis- ury menswear brand Ermenegildo that 2019 would be the first year in In 2016, the Beijing-born designer it China, shortly after the country Zegna, which made its Chinese which China would overtake the US was the first Chinese national to announced its reform and opening- debut in 1991, opening a boutique in as the world’s largest market for have her work shown at Paris Cou- up policy. Beijing. fashion and luxury items. ture Week. Three months later, Cardin orga- China is now the largest single According to the China National “Fashion reflects the tastes of the nized the country’s first fashion market for the century-old business, Textile and Apparel Council, in 2017, age and the feelings of the people. show at the Cultural Palace of accounting for about one-third of its some 45.6 billion items of clothing Now, Chinese people’s tastes are Nationalities in Beijing, not only fly- global sales. were bought in the country, up 66 demonstrating a kind of national ing in 220 of his out- According to Ermenegildo Gildo times on the figure for 1978. Spending spirit, so through my designs I try fits from Paris, but also 12 Zegna, the fourth-generation on clothing has risen by more than a to reflect the place in which the professional models and a team of helmsman of the family company, hundredfold in the past four decades, people find themselves. I try to photographers, curators and stylists. these achievements would not reaching 2.87 trillion yuan in 2017. interpret national sentiment,” Guo On the second day of the show, have been if it hadn’t tak- China has not only seen sales and said. Xinhua News Agency said in an en the Chinese market seriously by consumption rise significantly in On Nov 1, she staged her first fash- exclusive report to industry insid- entering early, setting up the right recent decades. As a civilization ion show in the United Kingdom, at ers, “The variety of colors on the stores and continuing to invest in spanning thousands of years, the the Victoria and Albert Museum in runway contrasted sharply with the new areas. country’s culture and traditions , as part of celebrations uniform blacks and grays of the However, it was only after the have also provided a rich and con- marking the 20th anniversary of the audience.” French luxury brand Louis Vuitton, stant source of inspiration for fash- institution’s Fashion in Motion Over the next decade, Cardin, which entered China a year after ion designers worldwide. series. dubbed the “Marco Polo of the 20th Ermenegildo Zegna — opening a In 2015, at the annual exhibition This free event featured a catwalk century” by Chinese media, contin- store in the same building — that held by the Metropolitan Museum show by leading international ued to make headlines in the country. interest in fashion was observed of Art in New York, some 130 haute designers, which over the years have He organized fashion shows on among all age groups and both sexes. couture dresses and ready-to-wear included Alexander McQueen, the Great Wall and in the Forbidden Yves Carcelle, the late CEO of Lou- items showcasing the impact of Chi- Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul City, opening them to the public for is Vuitton, who pushed for this goal nese design on Western fashion Gaultier and Yohji Yamamoto. the first time, with one event attract- to be achieved, believed that China were displayed. Oriole Cullen, the museum’s ing an audience of 10,000. was “sophisticated”. This was Titled China: Through the Look- fashion curator, said: “Guo Pei’s Cardin also sent nine Chinese despite often being asked by local ing Glass, the exhibition included work demonstrates the height of models to attend Paris Fashion reporters why he was visiting the works from almost every recognized what can be achieved in the skilled Week and take part in a motorcade, country, as the “people don’t under- designer and leading fashion house, ateliers of a haute couture house. in which they wore qipao as they stand luxury”. including Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint We are delighted to be working were driven under the Arc de Triom- By 2001, when China joined the Laurent and Tom Ford. with Guo to showcase a selection phe in convertible cars flying the World Trade Organization and Andrew Bolton, who spent two of garments from her uniquely Chinese national flag. numerous luxury fashion brands had years organizing the exhibition, told beautiful Alternate Universe col- By the late 1990s, Cardin had per- arrived in the country, Louis Vuitton Vogue magazine that the main aim lection.” suaded Chinese consumers that any stood out as one of the most coveted of the event was to “recast Oriental- attire bearing the logo of his epony- by Chinese consumers at home and ism in a more positive light as an Bo Leung in London mous brand was the ultimate symbol abroad. exchange of ideas and an honored contributed to this story. of status, wealth and refinement. Last year, annual luxury spending source of influence”. Furthermore, he had proved to the by Chinese consumers exceeded 770 One surprise at the exhibition was Contact the writers at world that China, a textile manufac- billion yuan ($109 billion), account- a display of contemporary Chinese [email protected] Shanghai designer Grace Chen parades the best of both worlds in Moscow

By REN QI in Moscow ethnic group. The crew was sur- designer has had two goals in mind. She said three major series have the Chinese embassy in Moscow, thus enhancing the bilateral friend- [email protected] prised to find that the designs and “One is to establish an image for been launched under Chen’s brand said the presence of Chinese fashion ship,” Zhao said. craftsmanship used for the Miao Chinese women. I think they’re very — Serenity, Depth and Glamor. For brands in Russia is an important Chen agreed with Zhao, adding Grace Chen sought to connect items were either exactly the same misunderstood in every way. I want the Moscow show, customized part of Sino-Russian cooperation in that she was glad to see Chinese fash- Chinese and Russian fashion cul- or similar to elements of some tradi- to find true beauty for them to give designs from the Depth series were people-to-people and cultural ion accepted on the international ture for the show she staged in Mos- tional Russian art. them the respect they deserve,” paraded on the catwalk. exchanges. stage. This demonstrates the increas- cow in September. As a result, for the Moscow show, Chen said. “Depth stands for women’s inner “At the Moscow show, Russian ing influence of China’s “soft power”, A design team working for the Chen presented designs from both “The second goal is to use Chinese power, and I think this theme best audiences saw beautiful dresses as fashion is one of the most direct Shanghai couturier traveled to countries, a decision that worked well. fashion to express our aesthetic fits the characteristics of Russian with not only Chinese elements, but ways in which to showcase the fea- Guizhou province in July to research In developing her brand Chen view of beauty and the philosophy culture and art,” Chen said. Russian cultural ones. The Chinese tures of a country or society to the silverware produced by the Miao Chen at home and abroad, the behind it to the world.” Zhao Xiangrong, a counselor at designer combined the elements, world, she added.