Models strut down the runway dressed in creations by Dalian-based label Sunfed. Photos provided to China Daily

A suit by Zuoan menswear.

China Fashion Week is becoming more international without losing local flavor. Gan Tian reports.

A Kunqu Opera performance adds a lively touch to Sunfed's show.

Dalian-based label Sunfed's show was one of the highlights of China Fashion Week.

When the show and music started, two individuals strode onto the runway at China Club in Beijing on Oct 23, dressed in elaborate costumes and makeup to perform a 15-minute segment from the Kunqu Opera, Sifan.

The story is based on a Buddhist nun who sings about wanting to wear pretty clothes, have a normal life and find a lover.

Then Beijing Normal University professor Yu Dan, a Confucius specialist, walked onto the runway to give a five-minute performance of pingshu, a traditional form of storytelling popular in North China.

"From the Kunqu piece we have just enjoyed, we know that fashion is related to society. When a woman changes her clothes, she changes her role in society," Yu said.

After which the models appeared, presenting more than 30 outfits, including leather jackets, long dresses with Chinese embroidery and skin-tight pants.

The show was a fine example of how Chinese elements burst out on the runway at this year's China Fashion Week, which concluded on Nov 2.

Sunfed's chief designer, Zhou Hong, comments that the fashion show is a Western concept and says she is trying to connect it to something more Chinese.

"If we really want to promote Chinese fashion, we should create everything related to the show, including the runway decor and models," Zhou says.

Designer Hong Meixuan agrees When she was young, her mother told her the tragic story of the Butterfly Lovers (a Chinese Romeo and Juliet), which deeply influenced her.

Bold colors are in.

So at her Fashion Week show, every piece she created had a butterfly element, because she considers it to be a symbol of Chinese beauty and elegance. Real butterflies were released on the runway.

Zhou, from Sunfed, says the many foreigners she invited to the event were "amazed" even though they didn't understand the pingshu.

However, American student Katherine Meller, who is researching China's fashion, says the butterfly elements in Hong's show were overdone.

On the world stage, talented young Chinese-American fashion designers, such as Phillip Lim, Jason Wu and Alexander Wang, are more understated in their use of Chinese themes, such as dragon patterns and embroidery.

"Chinese design is not about an exclusive garment. It's about mystery, essentiality, intrigue and a quiet appeal that is nevertheless loud and powerful," Lim says.

In 2010, Marc Jacobs created a Shanghai-inspired collection, of which fashion critic Suzy Menkes said: "By the time the first models had sashayed out in slim dresses slit to reveal the leg, you didn't need a master's degree in Mandarin to get the message that China is hot retail property for Louis Vuitton."

Zhou from Sunfed has worked in Paris for a long time. She admits Chinese elements in fashion should catch the "spirit" rather than be just simple "forms and patterns". 

Chief designer James Hong from menswear Zuoan agrees. He cuts patterns inspired by Chinese ink paintings, on men's shirts, suits and jackets.

The design, Hong explains, shows a harmonious balance between nature and society, which derives from The Book of Changes.

"The Book of Changes illustrates how human beings should behave according to nature, which is a very traditional eco-friendly way of life.

"In Zuoan's menswear collection, I used a lot of eco-friendly materials, including linen and silk," Hong says, in an e-mail interview.

The iconic gray formal suit may explain what he says about "Chinese philosophy in fashion": It does not have a Mandarin collar, tassels, or other Chinese elements but is made of light linen and is simple in design.

"Simplicity is the essential element in my 2012 spring/summer collection.

"I believe it is a philosophy that was widely disseminated in ancient Chinese society," Hong says.

 

A model appears for the CHUYAN show.

Butterflies are a key element in the collection of designer Hong Meixuan.