Designer Hu Sheguang unveiled his SS2027 haute couture collection Jiangat Beijing Fashion Week’s Wangfujing main venue on September 16, marking its global premiere.
The show opened with a performance drawn from the Peking Opera classic Mu Guiying Takes Command, immediately establishing a conversation between traditional Chinese opera and contemporary high fashion.
Jiang, which means leader or commander, casts modern Chinese women in that role. In Hu’s vision, Eastern feminine power extends far beyond gentleness; it is a force of enduring strength and quiet authority.
Models ranging in age from 30 to 70, took to the runway, including regulars from Hu’s “Fashion Women’s Army”. Their makeup and styling, created by a professional Peking Opera company, evoked authentic Mu Guiying looks—red velvet pom-poms, soaring pheasant feathers, and richly painted faces. These dramatic opera-inspired appearances were set against wearable pieces such as pencil skirts, tailored suits, and mermaid gowns, allowing tradition and modernity to share the same stage.
The collection continues Hu’s signature architectural silhouettes: structured, armor-like shoulders paired with cinched waists. French three-dimensional jacquard fabrics create visual tension against deconstructed dongbei dahua (Northeast China big flower) prints, a motif Hu has long championed. A palette of neutrals, ink, crimson, and indigo mirrors the many identities contemporary women hold.
This is the second time Hu, a longtime Peking Opera enthusiast, has drawn on the UNESCO-listed art form. Two years earlier he released the red-and-black series Qu’er. Over nearly three decades the Chinese-Dutch designer has repeatedly brought Chinese cultural heritage—qipao, Yunjin brocade, ethnic motifs, and the centuries-old Peking Opera—onto international runways.
Jiang also marks a fresh collaboration with Hu’s longtime friend Ma Yingying, founder and CEO of Beijing-based Lux Shine Media. The company stages modernized Peking Opera performances that aim to make the ancient art more accessible and fashion-forward.
