HONG KONG - Whether it be Armani's wide-sleeved silk jackets or Givenchy's brocaded dragon-motif robes, China chic by Western designers perennially reaps applause. Ironically,few Asian labels are known for doing the same, but several Hong Kong-based companies are out to change that.
"Nostalgia was our starting point - the look of Shanghai in the '30s and '40s. But you can't sell nostalgia all the time. So we pay particular attention to being contemporary,'' said David Tang, founder of the Shanghai Tang label which specializes in souped-up versions of traditional Chinese fashions.
At the company's emporium in downtown Hong Kong, there are Mao jackets in blazing red velvet, lime-green Mongolian cashmere sweaters and hip-hugging Suzie Wong-style cheongsams in flashy Chinese prints.
"A velvet Mao jacket seems like an oxymoron, but it works wonderfully,'' said Tang. "I thought it was crazy that there wasn't a recognized or respected Chinese brand on the market," said Tang, who founded Shanghai Tang in 1994. "Made In China' had the bad connotation of poor quality and tackiness. But I knew China had the capacity to produce the best clothes on the market, because they were already making clothes for famous Westernbrands."
Mainland Chinese workers manufacture the bulk of Shanghai Tang's ready-to-wear line,while a handful of Shanghai tailors custom-craft fashions in Hong Kong. Tang has also moved into the lifestyle business. Shanghai Tang's inventory includes such tongue-in-cheek goods as Fu Man Chu silver bookends, coffee cups emblazoned with Chairman Mao's rosy grinning face and table linens embroidered with coolie figures.''What we're doing is similar to chinoiserie,'' said Tang, referring to the 17th-century European design movement that took a romanticized view of the Orient and used Chinese or pseudo-Chinese motifs on everything from textiles to furniture. ''Our underlying principleis to combine East and West, old and new. And to give interpretation to these two tenets with a sense of zest.''
Working in a similar vein is the designer Peter Lau. At the recent Hong Kong Fashion Week,Lau sent models strutting down the catwalk in his ''new chinoiserie'' designs, which includedtranslucent cheongsams and Chinese-style camisoles in Day-Glow colors. ''It's about usingtraditional Chinese designs, but without all the restrictions,'' explained the designer.
Consider the cheongsam slit, for instance. According to proper fashion etiquette, it should extend no higher than mid-thigh. ''If the slit goes any higher, it could be considered whore-wear. But for me such rules don't matter,'' said Lau, who has taken the slit as high asthe bustline, creating cheongsam-like smocks. He has also experimented with uneven hemsand loose-flying chest flaps. ''The cheongsam can be lively and free, something more thanjust old-fashioned, ethnic dressing,'' he insisted. |
