Learning Mandarin - Fashion guide for the season

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Fashion guide for the season
By Belle Zhao (That's Beijing)
Updated: 2006-05-17 17:58



April has been a busy month for Beijing's fashion scene, owing to the
fall/winter 2006 China Fashion Week, which gathered eighteen local labels
and two Italian brands in the Beijing Hotel.

Though these runways lacked the brand name firepower that dazzled at last
December's spring/summer shows, hundreds of fashion hipsters,
journalists, photographers, businessmen and celebrities made it a
standing-room-only-affair. Oddly, the designers showed more autumn and
even summer outfits, while warm winter looks were harder to find than an
RMB 1.20 taxi in Beijing. A casual observer might wonder if the labels
were competing to make the most complicated designs. After all, who's
going to dress themselves like a chiffon funnel cake?

However, complexity can also be good. Case in point: Italian brand
Gattinoni's chiffon shirt with sumptuous ruffles at neckline and front,
tied at the waist with flower buckled belt, matched with knee-length
shorts. The design looks fine because the details are little touches
instead of overwhelming statements. The Gattinoni show, widely acclaimed
as the best collection of fashion week, was also bookended by two special
pieces, one worn by Madonna in 2000, the other by Audrey Hepburn in the
1956 film, War and Peace. The two other highlights of fashion week
spotlighted up-and-coming talent, with student designs from the Institute
of Clothing Technology, and Hanjin International Youth Designers
Competition. Their innovative designs showcased some of this year's key
trends.

It's time to give black a rest, girls, though it's the safest color to
wear and always a staple in our wardrobe. This year is all about white,
which reigned supreme in pretty much every design house, showing up in
suit, pants, dress, and shirt.

For a belle-of-the-ball look, glittery is the fad, from metallic gold to
silver, from sequined twinkle to the slight shimmer of satin. But there's
a fine line between gaudy and glam: if you are wearing an overly sequined
number, you just need to match it with simple bags, shoes and jewelry-and
vice versa.

Waists have made a comeback, so belts are the fad this year, from classic
leather to knitted, from pearl to chic colorful silk belts, which work
well with pants, sweater, blazer or even a long shirt to accentuate the
waistline.

Men borrowing ladies' styles: knitted wool sweaters in bright colors such
as white, blue, red or orange, accessorized with warm wool scarves, pins,
and even flower brooches. Tight-legged pants tucked into boots is another
key look for guys.

Shorts are the must-haves for fall and winter. You'll see them in every
designer's collection. Length ranges from knee to a bit longer.

It's sad that designers never seem to get enough of pointy-toed shoes.
Most local brand names are still producing these sexy, feminine but
painful pointy-toed high heels, which are probably the only trend that
has remained in vogue for more than four years.

















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