Guo Pei and Vivienne Tam
Photo credit Niko
China Charity Beauty Fund (CBCF) celebrated its inaugural China Fashion Night Gala at the Pierre Hotel in New York to raise money for the organization’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) scholarship. The China Charity Beauty Fund helps provide grants and scholarships for Chinese women to participate in international academic exchanges at FIT, and provides access to internships with global fashion brands. The Gala brought the fashion world together to honor visionary designer Ms. Vivienne Tam, and debuted China’s haute couture fashion designer Guo Pei’s collection in the USA. Hosted by CBCF founder and Chairwoman Yue-Sai Kan with TV personality Archie Kao, and Miss Universe Olivia Culpo as Master and Mistress of Ceremonies, the night was one to remember.
The night was scheduled with interviews at 6:15pm with a cocktail reception at 6:30pm. After mingling, dinner was served followed by a performance, raffle, and auction commencing at 7:30pm. Guo Pei’s haute couture show began immediately at 8pm.
The highlight of the gala was the fashion presentation and runway show by China’s preeminent haute couture designer, Guo Pei, whose exquisite creations were showcased for the very first time in the US. Guo presented acclaimed pieces from her “Legend of the Dragon” collection, which included a gown inspired by stained glass domes of European churches and a gown adorned with several thousand “Gong Hua” silk flowers made exclusively for the royal palace. These silk flowers were rescued from the storage room of a deserted factory and carefully restored with steam – which took nearly 50,000 hours.
Guo Pei was emotional after the Runway showcase at the stage where Yue-Sai explained the meaning behind all of these designs and creations. Some of these pieces of art took more than a 1,000 hours to create. It is certainly opening the door for the fashion field, and the first time introduction of Guo Pei’s haute couture collection to the U.S.
Entertainment included singing performances from a group of Americans performers who sang the songs in Chinese. The ensemble is from the renowned Chinese American Metropolitan Opera Singer Hao Jiang Tian and is called “I Sing Beijing.”
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