Intangible heritage fashion show sparkles in Pearl Bay

The Silk Road Intangible Heritage Fashion Show kicked off on Dec 28 in Guangzhou’s Nansha district, combining a special beauty with ancient culture and the spirit of fashion.

An award ceremony for the fashion week, named the “Jinlei Award”, was also held during the event to encourage a further injection of vitality into the district’s traditional industry.

A model presents creations at the Silk Road Intangible Heritage Fashion Show. [Photo/gznsnews.com.cn]

Top designers from more than ten countries including France, Italy, Russia and the US took part in seven different themed shows, together with their supermodel teams.

The models strutted the catwalk elegantly around a big circular-screen. Creativity and charm was on display in a range of different styles.

Amanda Mehl, independent New York fashion designer, attracted a lot of attention by using a spread of monochromatic or contrast color stitches in bright colors such as purple, orange and red.

Chinese designer Li Wei brought to the audience a most striking performance. She has spent dozens of years exploring traditional hand-dyeing, embroidery and silk-weaving crafts.

This time, she drew Dunhuang Art elements into her works, and reflected on the handicraft from an oriental poetic perspective in order to pay her respect to the lasting appeal of Chinese ink and wash art.

The fashion week emphasizes cross-border integration and encourages innovative development, artistic expression and lifestyle applications for this intangible heritage, according to Wang Haotian, project leader of the Zhongguancun Global Fashion Creative Industry Union.

After the show there was an award ceremony. Various acts got the atmosphere up - these included “Heaven Gaia”, a Chinese style brand fashion show, plus intangible heritage exhibitions and performances.

The Jinlei Award, with its name related to Lei Zu, is to reward those who make a difference in the fashion world and who harbor an innovative spirit and humanistic feelings at the same time.

Lei Zu is an ancestor of the Chinese people and the inventor of sericulture and silk reeling. She still contributes greatly to the Silk Road generations later, and therefore has a great influence on the progress of world civilization.