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March 21, 2008 4:41 pm
You could say designer Cho Cheng is a sartorial old soul. The 22-year-old first started out designing couture, favors bespoke tailoring and custom-made buttons, and looks to his grandmother’s elegance—she was a couturier to Madame Chiang Kai-shek—for inspiration. For his debut ready-to-wear collection, shown last night at the St. Regis Hotel, he translated Grandma’s influence into his signature look of military-inspired jackets with British tailoring over updated versions of Chinese cheongsam dresses. “They’re like sheaths with mandarin collars,” he explained. His ideal client base is similarly polished: Off the top of his head he named Tinsley Mortimer (for whom he once designed a gown), Fabiola Beracasa, and the actress Maggie Cheung. Cho, whom Chinese Modern Weekly has named one of the most promising Chinese fashion designers alongside Derek Lam, Peter Som, and Phillip Lim, told us that he spends time in both New York and China. He illuminated the differences between Chinese and New York women’s styles. In Hong Kong, “people jump on big brands and dress like the runway. Whatever they see, they dress exactly like that. In New York, they’re more personal. They digest the trends before they buy anything.”
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