Photo credit Emily Cheng
Article by Yvonne Lo
“Celebrate Taiwan @ Grand Central Terminal” was a day to promote Taiwan and its culture as well as Smithsonian magazine’s “Museum Day Live!” The day was sponsored by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau Office in New York and Smithsonian to showcase Taiwanese arts, food, dance, and fashion. The event was filled with entertaining performances, free “taste of Taiwan” samples, and included AsianInNY’s 9th Annual Fashion Show featuring Taiwanese designers. AsianInNY presented Malan Breton collection by designer Malan Breton and Accrochez, Cynical Cher’I, Val Kyrie collections from PRAXES led by designer Wenlan Chia. This cultural event was held on Saturday, September 28, 2013 from 11:00am till 2:00pm in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal.
Photo credit Emily Cheng
At 8:45am, the preparation for “Celebrate Taiwan” began. At the Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central, the staff set up tables for the booths as vendors came in, performers were running rehearsals, and the DJ was setting up his station for a lively afternoon. Originally, one would think the backstage, would be where the behind-the-curtains scene was. Not this time. Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) was where all the magic happened, models checked-in and went to their stations to get their hair and make-up done by the stylists of Haruo Noro Salon. Volunteers assisted the models, the stylists, and the MC hosts in whatever they needed. The fashion designers and the ensembles arrived at 10am and there was an hour left until show time. Preparation is the key to success of any event, and “Celebrate Taiwan” was definitely an unforgettable day.
Photo credit Fred Yan
At 11:00am, the hall was filled with an anticipated crowd exploring the various booths. Art booths included the National Palace Museum who displayed their collection, and Artist Pang-Chiu Liu who demonstrated his calligraphy and porcelain carving work. Artist Pang-Chiu Liu demonstrated his calligraphy on traditional fans and distributed them for free. Another demonstration booth was the art of a traditional tea ceremony with free samples of fresh brewed Taiwanese Oolong tea. If tea is not your cup of tea, booth vendor CoCo gave out samples of Taiwan’s authentic bubble tea. If Taiwan sparked an interest or a question, Taiwan Tourism Bureau had an information desk to answer any question and provided visitors pamphlets and brochures of Taiwan.
Photo credit Alain Aguilar
AsianInNY co-founders Diana Lee and Chris Nicodemo were invited to be “Celebrate Taiwan” MC hosts and opened the show with a lively opening and invited Director Thomas Chang of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau Office in New York on stage. He welcomed everyone and hoped they enjoyed the event.
Photo credit Kenji Mori
The program featured a lineup of rich in culture and intriguingly entertaining performances – an aboriginal dance performed by Yungli Dance, a traditional and colorful performance that hyped the audience as the first performance of the event; the techno Third Prince by Passport to Taiwan that utilized today’s biggest hits in their music; the Taiwanese Diabolo (aka Chinese yo-yo) performance by the Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors, they invited challengers to come up on stage and attempt to yo-yo; a food demonstration by Chef Chang from Shin-Yeh Taiwanese Restaurant who displayed amazing knife skills and distributed food samples of Taiwan caviar mullet (an expensive delicacy that can only be seen at Taiwan’s major festival and banquets); and the highlight of the event, AsianInNY’s 9th Annual Fashion Show.
Photo credit Alain Aguilar
Photo credit Kenji Mori
The long-awaited highlight of the show, AsianInNY’s 9th Annual fashion show, closed the event. The first part of the show was presented by Praxes. Praxes is a fashion incubation program that aims to nurture global fashion brands and professionals in Taipei. The brain child of New York based designer, Wenlan Chia, mentored seven designers and featured three collections – Accrochez, Cynical Cheri, and Val Kyrie.
Photo credit Emily Cheng
Photo credit Kenji Mori
The second part of the show presented the very talented designer, Malan Breton. Malan Breton is the designer and creative director of Malan Breton, Malan Breton Furs, Fantôme, and Malan Breton HOMME Collections. He was born in Taipei, Taiwan. Breton has been designing since the age of 11 and has dress A-list stars like Scarlett Johansson, Michael Buble, and Daniel Craig. Breton’s fashions have noted mentions on the Oscar, Grammy, Cannes, Golden Horse, and numerous other red carpets around the world.
Photo credit Emily Cheng
Photo credit Kenji Mori
This day was an enriching cultural event, a busy day for the performers and staff, and an unforgettable experience for the guests who attended. After experiencing the taste of Taiwan and seeing its beauty in art and fashion, Taiwan is definitely a tourist spot that many will consider to visit. This event not only promoted Taiwan and its culture, but opened door of culture to those who came. This was definitely a successful event.
AsianInNY holds two fashion shows annually and if you missed this one don’t fret. Go to www.asianinny.com to check out when they will be hosting their next fashion show. Bring your family and friends, because every year there is always something different to see.
Backstage team. Photo credit Emily Cheng
AsianInNY Appreciation Party. Photo credit Niko
