Snow Xue Gao pays tribute to ’60s Hong Kong glamour at New York Fashion Week
Beijing-born millennial designer creatively blends East and West in her outfits, and both Rihanna and Na Ying have worn her clothes, but her spring/summer collection opts for a nostalgic tribute to 1960s fashions in the territory
Parsons graduate and the 2018 LVMH Prize nominee Snow Xue Gao is the hottest Chinese name in fashion right now.
While most brands selected iconic landmarks for the biennial showcase of New York Fashion Week, the Beijing-born creative went for a different landmark – Jing Fong, the largest Chinese restaurant in the city’s Chinatown – for her spring/summer 2019 fashion show, again. Back in February, Gao showed her fall/winter 2018 collection at the same dim sum house.
Against the background of a chandeliered ballroom harmonised with clicking cups and rolling dim sum carts, the millennial designer pays tribute to ’60s Hong Kong and the territory’s well-heeled, well-dressed women.
Chinese heritage is Gao’s eternal inspiration. Her deconstruction of traditional tailoring is like a fresh breeze in the fashion world. On her Eastern cultural canvas, intricately draped silk prints and Italian wool plaids and jacquards are intertwined.
Sling dresses, vintage silk prints, pearl necklace, black lace gloves and grey suits are mixed and matched to create nostalgic looks. The most captivating and evocative accessories are the mahjong tile earrings.
By using asymmetrical cuts, exaggerated silhouettes, and the contrasting materials of silk and wool, Gao once again showcases her talent in naturally blending East with West. As usual, she blurs the line between masculine and feminine styles, a case in point being men in swinging earrings.