The Laroche show on Thursday night also marked the opening of "Shanghai Trends," an exposition designed to showcase international luxury retailing trends, currently running at the Shanghai Exhibition Center.

But those hats stole the show. The models, all dressed in the same little black dresses, looked different from each other, thanks to those beautiful hats. All materials imaginable can be found, including wool, velvet, straw, linen, fur, pearls, gems, as well as all kinds of feathers and even a disc.

This time, the designer brought 47 hats, some of them requiring more than 140 hours to make.

"People can find hats for any occasion: to the theater, to a cocktail party, to a wedding ..." says the elegant French lady who started to design hats when she was 12. "Some of them might not suit ordinary people's wardrobes, but they have had a great impact on fashion trends."

Laroche has been collaborating with the world's giants of haute couture, including Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent. The petit woman has been preparing for the Shanghai show - her first retrospective in the world - for more than half a year.

For Laroche, hats are like her babies. She won't go out without a hat. "I can't walk on the street without a hat," she says with a smile.

The 47 hats, together with other exhibits in the three-day event, are on display at the Shanghai Exhibition Center through tomorrow.

However, apart from these hats, other exhibits and booths - though all artistically designed - are not likely to match the exhibition's big name.

Xintiandi, Three on the Bund, the Westgate Mall, Yongfoo Elite ... for those who have no time but want to acquire a rough idea of Shanghai's most "in" shopping and entertaining landmarks, this exhibition might help a little.

At the booths of these famous Shanghai commercial real estate sites, people can find nothing but long, well-decorated dining tables, exquisite chairs or posters of clothing brands. Some antiques or reproductions can be appreciated at the booth of Yongfoo Elite, a high-end garden-style restaurant, which ridiculously occupies the biggest exhibition area.

The exhibition also includes the designs of promising local designers Claire Fang and Wang Wei, but only four or five pieces for each, and three or four pieces of "haute couture silverware."

The exhibition has proclaimed itself to be a grand event featuring the "coexistence of commerce and art," the first of its kind in China.

'Shanghai Trends' expo
Date: September 23-24, 8:30am-5:30pm
Address: 1000 Yan'an Rd M.
Admission: 30 yuan
Tel: 021-62253511, 62717144