Shanghai Tang Spring Summer 2008 fashion show!

Tuesday night Shanghai Tang held a fashion show for the launch of their Spring Summer 2008 Apsara collection. The venue was The Watermark, a new restaurant on the waterfront just above the Star Ferry pier in Central. The fashion show was a major event, bigger than their last few productions. The Apsara collection is made up of three sub-lines: Antique Romantic, Pop Art and Desert Explorer (make sure you spell that with one ‘s’, not two!)

I arrived just a minute before the show began and luckily found a spot where I could take a few photos. Shanghai Tang is always on the forefront when it comes to selecting Chinese models and this event was no different. There were a few new faces on the runway during the show.

The Shanghai Tang brand is constantly reworking traditional Chinese visual themes along with the contemporary. For their catalog and ad campaign they built an interesting futuristic structure. (Think something along the lines of Wong Kar Wai’s 2046.) Though modern, there are definitely echoes of old Shanghai’s grand past in the brazen design. I’m always amazed at the variations and new themes they produce season after season.

This time around the three sub-collections were very different and perhaps could have benefited from a dramatic pause or change in music or lighting during the presentation.

At certain stages the models were accessorized with massive necklaces.

The colors for the Pop Art collection were bright and vibrant. The models all wore black headbands until the finale, which helped accentuate the colorful outfits and keep the focus on the clothes.

After the show there was a party, but I was off into the night like Pat Lee’s Batman.

You check out previous Shanghai Tang shows here, here, and here.