By Christina Zhang, bostonese.com
New York City, Sept. 11, 2016, — On day four of the Spring/Summer 2017 New York Fashion Week, HAN Media presented group runway show initiative “China Fashion Collective” featuring the works of four emerging Chinese designer labels at Pier 59 Studios.
The show’s theme was “Lolita”, a serious fashion subculture with a devout follow- ing around the world. The labels, Souffle Song, Krad Lanrete, Lolitimes and BMOST, showed nearly 50 looks from their S/S 17 collections, putting their unique spin on the “Lolita” theme.
The bold young designers of the four labels, all in their 20s and educated at leading design schools in Europe including University of the Arts London and ESMOD, did not confine themselves to the traditional Edwardian and Victorian silhouette of Lolita fashion, instead each label chose to capture the “Lolita” spirit while infusing personal touches, including inspirations from Turandot, Madame Butterfly, Marie Antoinette, and visual references to Chinese ink painting, cheongsam, and Shiro-muku, to name a few. The designers, being trained in cou-ture, worked many hand- finished details into the collections.
Approximately 300 distinguished guests flocked to Pier 59 on Sunday in support of China Fashion Collective’s new talents, including 25 Lolita fashion lovers from the US East Coast who came in full Lolita fashion to toast the first such themed show at NYFW. Other guests included officials from the United Nations and the Chinese Consulate in New York, fashion bloggers, editors, buyers, philanthropists and leading industry professionals. Among those present were Deputy Consul General Meifang Zhang, Committee of 100 founder and governor Henry Tang, Golden Horse nominated actress Veronica Wu (née Yip), American actor- director Billy Morrisette, New York Philharmonic Principal Oboe, Alice Tully Chair, Liang Wang, and Emmy-winning screenwriter Jerome Perzigian. The pre-show reception saw an unusual blend of luminaries in different fields and cultures, a testament to China Fashion Collective’s mission of bridging gaps and bringing resources together.
The first China Fashion Collective runway show had the support of Pier 59 Stu- dios, FREYWILLE, Make-up Pro as well as NYChina Style. As one of the premier NYFW venues, Pier 59 Studios provided staging, lighting and sound for China Fashion Collective. Christina Neault, a former IMG executive, also served as show director, drawing from her years of experience at IMG overseeing NYFW, she is currently Pier 59’s fashion programming consultant. Vienna-based luxury jewelry company FREYWILLE, noted professional studio Make-up Pro and online magazine NYChina Style also sponsored the event.
About CHINA FASHION COLLECTIVE
Created by Manhattan-based communications firm HAN Media, CHINA FASHION
COLLECTIVE is a new talent platform, selecting innovative emerging Chinese fashion designers to show during NYFW. China Fashion Collective shows bring together New York elites from across industries to celebrate the selected labels while supporting them with everything from positioning and branding to show production and PR.
About Han Media
CFC Co-founder Yuhan Liu is an award-winning media professional with five years’ work experience with the New York Times, Observer Media Group and China Daily, China’s leading national English-language newspaper. She was a core member of the reporting team for the New York Times’ “Unvarnished” series which was selected as the 2016 Pulitzer finalist. Previously, Ms. Liu worked for the renowned Observer Media Group’s bilingual lifestyle Magazine YUE as Executive Editor. Prior to YUE, she worked for China Daily as a reporter, video producer and video program host. As a leading media professional of Chinese descent in New York, Liu has been invited to speak on various topics by the esteemed China Institute, the Newswomen’s Club of New York, and at Columbia University. Liu is also the co-founder and operations executive of North America’s most popular Chinese-language WeChat public account “New York Master”, whose subscribers totalled 300,000 with a reader demographic of highly educated Chinese students studying overseas and professionals aging from 18 to 34. Some of “New York Masters advertisers include Alibaba, LeTV, Cadillac, Prada, Starbucks, Tiffany&Co, Michael Kors, Coach.
CFC Co-founder Claire Lin helped launch bilingual luxury lifestyle glossy YUE Magazine at the New York Observer in 2011 and led its editorial team for two years while also overseeing strategic development. She has consulted on projects and programming for luxury clients including Chopard, Piaget, Bloomingdales, Fendi, Tiffany&Co, and a private UHNW art collectors club among others. Claire brings her industry experience and extensive VIP network to China Fashion Collective with the hope of helping more emerging Chinese designers reach their full potential in New York. She is also working on her own accessories label due later this year.