China's first lady all smiles as British scientists give her a computer-designed cape

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British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, and Chinese President Xi Jinping react as Professor of Computing Science Yike Guo hands a gift to Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan during a visit to Imperial College London. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:45pm, 22 Oct 2015Updated: 10:19am, 23 Oct 2015

China’s first lady Peng Liyuan was all smiles after she was gifted a cape specially designed and tailored to fit by scientists at Imperial College London and a UK-based Chinese designer on Wednesday.

Even President Xi Jinping cracked a smile as the fashionable cape was given to the first lady by Guo Yike, director of the Data Science Institute, who led a team of data computing scientists to craft the garment with the help of designer Holly Wang. Guo also gave a presentation on the institute’s research and the applications of big data during the couple’s stay.

Xi and Peng visited the college with George Osborne, Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Prince Andrew, Duke of York, as part of the Chinese leader’s first state visit to Britain.

“We really thought about it hard. The first lady really has very good taste about clothes, and so therefore it’s very difficult to design something which fits her well,” Guo said. “What’s the style, what’s the colour – this all needed analysis.”

The team analysed 700 photos of the first lady and used 3D modelling technology from computer animation to generate the dimensions that would fit Peng. They also used data analysis to see the frequency of colours and types of clothes Peng wore, and worked with Wang to choose the garment type and colour.

The cut of the cape was inspired by traditional British hunting outfits. Photo: Imperial College London

They chose to create a cape because the sizing would be more flexible, meaning there would be a higher chance of the garment fitting well. The analysis also showed that Peng did not own many capes.