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Fashion for all
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Li Dan
WHEN we hurried to the Rainbow Shopping Centre, Dongmen branch on Saturday afternoon, the show had not yet begun. A circle of customers and passers-by were still waiting in chairs surrounding the T-shaped stage, despite the ominous rain clouds in the sky.
We had come to watch a show of leisurewear, one of the six clothing series prepared by the Rainbow Clothing Festival running till April 30. The five other catagories include lively clothes for young people, clothes of Chinese minority traditions, menswear, clothes for office ladies and children's clothes. Most brands are local ones.
I expected to see elegant poses and beautiful faces of professional models strutted on a runway. But to my surprise -- with just a touch of disappointment -- I found behind the simple stage the only decorations were a red carpet, a few posters and a group of amateur models nervously preparing for their moment of fame. Employees of the shopping centre itself, these young people had practiced every day for a whole month for the show.
Gregory, photographer with our SZ Daily, told me the street show has been held for years, its originator by coincidence a friend of his who ran a flower shop on old Dongmen Street six years ago. “He never dreamed that his innovation would catch on with big department stores.”
Suddenly loud disco music belted from the large speakers, and the audience encouragingly applauded the hostess of the show. Dressed in pink T-shirt and deep blue skirt, the girl looked quite pleasant, though in fact simple and commonplace were the right words to describe her outfit.
The hostess seemed to set the tone for the show, as the amateur models presented shirts, skirts, pants and sleepwear. Different shades of blue, almond, purple and red, in simple cuts, a seemingly casual decoration of butterfly pattern near the waist, and a neck button of the traditional Chinese style, the shirts were designed for real women looking for modest beauty without flamboyantly showing off.
It was something of a surprise to see performers in nightdresses. It wasn’t that I had never watched a show of nightdresses, but I had never eyed a show of nightdresses that we common people wear at home. Silky nightgowns decorated with delicate embroidery and lace were familiar sights on a catwalk, but these models displayed them with a household coziness that was hard not to appreciate.
Common people presenting common clothes; the show is not fashion for fashion’s sake; it is not high art only an expert could love. It is fashion for real people and real life.
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