I got that attached feeling to the Taiwanese designer Wang-Chen Tsai-Hsia for Shiatzy Chen probably because I myself am half Taiwanese (my mom’s Taiwanese) and born in the States. Wang-Chen started her fashion career in the 1970s as a seamstress in a clothing store in Taiwan, and has become the founder/design director of Shiatzy Chen and the only Chinese member of the French Fashion Federation 30 years later. Her designs have always been beautiful full of oriental elegance since the debut of Shiatzy Chen at Paris Fashion Week in 2008. Wang-Chen blends Eastern and Western fashion senses into her clothes. They’re crafted in Western cuts, in top-quality brocade and silk with exquisite, hand-stitching craftsmanship like embroidery, appliques and beading. The brand spirit for Shiatzy Chen’s “neo-Chinese chic,” which transfers traditional Chinese aesthetics into modern fashion design, and therefore its collections always result in a beautiful amalgamation of oriental aesthetics and western splendor. Each season Shiatzy Chen picks one of the Chinese elements as an inspiration for the new collection such as traditional Chinese calligraphy and classical ink and wash painting for 2010 Spring/Summer collection, Chinese porcelain works for 2009 Spring/Summer collection, and the Silk Road for Fall/Winter 2009 Collection. Wang-Chen’s inspiration this season’s the essence of jade. The show took place at the Grand Palais on the 8th day of Paris Fashion Week (9th March).
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