"it was a party full of beautiful people In fabulous dresses with top international models. I put my model in a Forbidden City style, a golden swirling dragon on a red base with black ornaments. She was so graceful and powerful that as she walked through the hall and up the stairs, the crowd yielded to make way for her. I stood In the hall, seeing my For City cut through the crowd,I was very happy,' Hu Xiaodan said.
Too bad Hu Xiaodan or anyone around him does not have any entrepreneurial sense. This outstanding designer. who introduced Chinese fashion to first class world fashion shows such as Der GroBe Q in Berlin of Germany, owns no brand of his own. Hu's fabulous fashion series entitled the Forbidden City ended another round of successful shows in Beijing in December, some 5,000 tickets were sold averaging 200 yuan each. The show was organized by a local newspaper and sponsored by a company from Yunnan Province. Hu himself didn't even care to know about the business side of the event, content as always with success on the stage. Hu's fabulous fashion series entitled the Forbidden City ended another round of successful shows in Beijing in December, some 5,000 tickets were sold averaging 200 yuan each.
The show was organized by a local newspaper and sponsored by a company from Yunnan Province. Hu himself didn't even care to know about the business side of the event, content as always with success on the stage. "No, l have no garment business of my own. I have not registered a trade mark, I have not sold a single piece of my own work, " he admitted. He said people in Europe had offered US$ 10,000 for a piece of his Forbidden City style ceremonial robe, yet he refused to sell. His main source of 10.000 yuan for a minute of stage setting or 40,000 yuan for one garment design. on the very best deals. Born in 1958, Hu was brought up in Beijjing and received training in art since childhood from his father. He entered the Central Drama Institute in 1978 and studied stage design. After graduation, he started to work as a stage designer for China's Opera Theatre, a position he still holds. He designed stage settings and costumes for operas such as the Wilderness and the Kunqu opera the Longevity Palace.In 1987, he turned his attention to fashion design.
After three years working on it, his Forbidden City series came out in 1994 making him instantly famous in China as well as in the world fashion industry. The series comprises 228 pieces, all hand made with fine silk embroidery done in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province and gold thread work done in Hebei Province. Architectural spirits in the world famous Forbidden City, the imperial palace built in the Ming Dynasty some 600 years ago, were given new life in Hu's fashion. Almost all the important structures located along the axis of the palace, from studs on the vermilion Meridian Gate to the mythical beasts on the roof of the Gate of Supreme Harmony, are reflected in his work. White marble columns, enamel clocks and trees hundreds of years old in the Imperial Garden also inspired the designer. "For me, the roof, the gates, and the steps of a building in the Forbidden City are naturally the hat, the robe and the shoes of a dress," He said. As a result, the beautiful young Chinese models walking in Hu's dresses brought the Forbidden City to life. In the past five years, world fashion has changed in many ways, but his Forbidden City style remains in the Chinese and in the world limelight. "A German woman said my Forbidden City was vanguard style, "Hu said with joy in his eyes. "Until then I thought of myself as being traditional.
But think about it, when tradition is harmoniously melted into the modern life, and when East meets West in a set of beautiful full dress,you do find yourself in front of the trend." In 1996 when Hu was invited to Der GroBe Q in Berlin of Germany, one scene there gave him a moment of excitement that he would never forget."It was a party full of beautiful people in fabulous dresses with top international models. I put my model in a Forbidden City style, a golden swirling dragon on a red base with black ornaments. She was so graceful and powerful that as she walked through the hall and up the stairs, the crowd yielded to make way for her.stood in the hall, seeing my Forbidden City cut through the crowd, I was very happy," Hu said. Full dress or ceremonial robe is Hu's favorite design.
Hu said his fans are a very small group of rich people, who love his styles not only because they would want to wear them, but also because they admire the culture embroidered in the dresses.Hu treats fashion more as a stage art than as garment business. Recently he got permission from cultural authorities in Beijing to stage a show of his Forbidden City style in Taimiao Temple beside the Forbidden City. As part of that show, he agreed to offer a few pieces of the Forbidden City series for auction, not as pieces of garment but as pieces of artwork. This will be the first time Hu ever offered his work for sale. Hu is now pushed by people around him to try his luck in the real fashion business. He would target the full dress market even though such a market still doesn't exist in China and he would have to depend on the overseas market for initial success. "I believe a group of high income people in China will sooner or later form a market for ceremonial dresses and they will eventually appreciate my style and accept my price," Hu said.
