娱乐英语新闻:Couture on the catwalk

BEIJING, Jan. 22 -- After four days of glitz, glamour, industry networking and haute couture, two of Asia's leading fashion events, Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter and World Boutique wrapped up Thursday, with organizers and insiders hailing the events a resounding success.

"It was a great window of opportunity for designers to share their ideas," commented international designer Guo Pei.

"I have seen a lot that will be good for my future designs and I found new inspiration."

Held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center and with a strong international presence, the 41st Fall/Winter fashion week in Hong Kong saw close to 5,000 buyers vie for a piece of the action, all keen to get a jump-start on next season's collections, looks and trends.

Model displays the costumes designed by Chinese designer Guo Pei during the Hong Kong Fashion Extravaganza Show of the Hong Kong World Boutique and Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter 2010 January 18, 2010

Leading fashion houses Vivienne Westwood, MANGO, Fontani, Lacompel Di Landi Andrea, Moda Immag-ine, Moiselle and Rabeanco all took part, with 25 fashion shows lighting up the runway.

The Underground Quarter by Londonedge added an exciting new dimension to the week with its edgy, streetwise alternative fashion, footwear and accessories, according to event organizers.

A highlight of the twin events was the Hong Kong Fashion Extravaganza, an invitational star-studded gala show that saw Guo Pei, Frankie Xie, Dorian He and Toshikazu Iwaya present consecutive collections in front of celebrities, international media and industry insiders.

"This is the largest scale fashion week in the past 10 years in Hong Kong and my works received high praise from the audience, I would like to find more opportunities and cooperation from the Hong Kong market and the Asian market," Guo Pei told the Global Times after the show.

Guo brought eight haute couture pieces from her Thousand and Two Nights collection to the Hong Kong catwalk, most pieces consistent with her strong luxurious style and infusion of traditional Chinese elements with Arabic undertones.

Frankie Xie, the first Chinese designer to present his label at Paris Fashion Week, said that with 40 shops on the Chinese mainland, he is now looking to Hong Kong for the future of his ready-to-wear collection. Xie told the Global Times that he also wanted to inspire Hong Kong designers to look to the mainland.

"I like competition," he said, when considering that the designers could muscle in on his market. "The time for the Chinese mainland will come and we need more inspiration!"

Another highlight of the event saw Hong Kong's young designers present their wares, with 17 finalists putting their best foot forward. Anki Cheung Siu-yan took out the competition with her Dark Rain collection. The young designer chose dark gray chiffon and silk for her dresses with sequins on frills and tie-dyed raindrops, her collection based on the beauty of nature.

"I want girls to be able to wear it, but it has to be edgy and fashionable, so I use a lot of gold material on my clothes," Cheung said.

Looking to the future, both Guo and Xie agreed that established and young designers in Hong Kong and on the mainland need to work together to build a stronger design industry.

"We need more communication and they should pay more attention to the mainland market," Guo commented.

"We would like to see Hong Kong become one day a fashion capital to rival Paris, New York and London," said the event organizer's chairman Jack So, noting that the city is well placed as a fashion design center due to its location and the increasing presence of the mainland market.