THURSDAY AUGUST 11TH DURING EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL WAS A SPECIAL DAY AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND IN EDINBURGH. THE VENUE 179 OF THE INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL HOSTED A GLAMOROUS FASHION SHOW, SHANGHAI SEASON: THE DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION OF SHANGHAI-STYLE QIPAO.
On this captivating night, elegant Chinese dresses were introduced by Shanghai Culture Week, which brought the event to Scotland this year, thanks to the collaboration between the Shanghai Fashion Accessories Society, Shanghai Promotion Centre for City of Fashion and Donghua University.
Shanghai has recently become the East’s fashion capital and this alluring show enabled it to demonstrate its outstanding creativity to the UK fashion market.
The show started at 19:30 with a fascinating speech given by the fashion designers and event organisers in the majestic museum’s hall, which was delightfully decorated on the occasion with sumptuous silk creations. A beautiful opera song was performed live by a talented singer on the catwalk in front of an amazed public, which represented the commencement of the awaited fashion show.
Gorgeous models started appearing on the catwalk around 20:00, showing marvellous dresses while harmonious music was playing on the background. The initial part of the show was dedicated to more casual types of women’s clothing, characterised by pure sophistication, thanks to their pastel and light colours. The second part of the fashion show presented enchanting evening gowns realised with magnificent patterns and bright colours. Every dress was an intricate design of precise details and silk was the main material used for the creation of these delicate garments.
All the clothes presented during the 30-minute long fashion show were clear representations of the new design of Shanghai-style qipao, which consisted in the five primary elements: Mu (Wood), Huo (Fire), Jin (Metal), Tu (Earth) and Shui (Water). All dresses were realised by five professors from Donghua University altogether with several Shanghai qipao Haute Couture firms, giving this way origin to bright changes to the contemporary qipao from Shanghai.
This fashion show symbolised a strong relationship between the cities of Shanghai and Edinburgh and for this reason it received the massive support of the City of Edinburgh Council, the Organising Committee of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as both the Scottish and Shanghai governments.
Clarissa Lulli