Shanghai Tang’s “Love Restraint” Collection for Spring/Summer 2010

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to be invited to the press preview of the new Shanghai Tang collection, held at the super-cute Zelo Restaurant in Pacific Place. The collection is themed around the idea of Love Restraint – the universal passionate feeling of love, contained by the Chinese cultural characteristic of strong personal restraint. The collection showcased both men’s and women’s fashions, but we were mostly attracted by the women’s collection of course!

Using a sleek silhouette and a subtle palette of black and navy, muted metallics and pops of coral, powder blue and chartreuse, the line felt fresh yet sophisticated. We were inspired by the pencil skirts worn with super-high heels, and loved the way that they had re-interpreted the traditional qi pao in a way that once again looked new.

Graphic prints gave a little nod towards a 1970s mood, and the handbags paired with the outfits especially stood out – from structured evening bags featuring Chinese knots, to a large straw beach tote that I’m putting on my wish list for the upcoming season! For me, the cleverest part of how the looks were put together was the use of navy blue as an neutral to pair with colours and metallics. This just looked so modern and of-the-moment – after all, classically navy has been relegated to mostly being paired only with red, white or beige in the past. I actually couldn’t resist picking myself up a navy clutch bag later that same week to try to recreate the look for myself!