Vogue is celebrating Best of Five
By Gan Tian (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-17 09:00
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China celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, so fashion magazine Vogue invited top Italian designer Miuccia Prada to create a dress for the country.
Inspired by the national flag, Prada created a scarlet overcoat with five stars on the shoulders and collars.
Russian supermodel Natasha Poly showed off the dress, French photographer Patrick Demarchelier took the photo, and it was featured on the cover of Vogue China's 2009 September issue.
Now, the photo is being exhibited at the Best of Five exhibition, in Beijing's Sanlitun.
Curated by Vogue China, the exhibition celebrates the magazine's five-year anniversary on the Chinese mainland. Visitors can view photos of the biggest names in the country's fashion and showbiz industries.
"The exhibition shows some fabulous images, most of them shot specifically for Vogue China," says Angelica Cheung, who has headed the Vogue China team since the magazine was launched in 2005.
"It has been an amazing five years that has proved China is more than ready for such a sophisticated fashion magazine."
According to her, the magazine has witnessed the most important events in the country's recent history.
In one photo, for instance, Maggie Cheung wears a dress made of shuttlecocks, designed by Maison Martin Margiela. Featured on the cover of the 2008 August issue, it celebrated the Beijing Olympics.
In another shot, supermodels Du Juan and Liu Wen dress in green and gray Mao suits for a nostalgic look at the 1950s, with a modern twist. Hollywood star Zhang Ziyi, wearing light cosmetics, looks like the girl next door, in another picture.
In 2007, Chinese models began to appear at international fashion weeks. To help them become more confident, Vogue China created a cover featuring two Chinese models, Du Juan and Pei Bei, with Canadian-born Chinese Mackenzie Hamilton and Stephanie Shiu.
On the cover of the 2006 January issue, fashionistas were excited to see British fashion icon Kate Moss. This was the first time Moss had done a shoot for a Chinese magazine.
"The Best of Five is more than just photos hung on a gallery wall. It is very high-tech and interactive, but the essential spirit is in keeping with Vogue's philosophy of showing beautiful and stylish women wearing fabulous clothes," Cheung says.
The magazine's five-year anniversary celebration also includes a Fashion's Night Out event at the China World Trade Center, in which celebrities and fans can buy discounted fashion items.