Fashion Design by Junko Koshino

“What led you to hold a fashion show in China?” That’s what Li Zhao asked me at a party after she hosted “China’s biggest fashion show” at the Beijing Hotel in 1985 at a time when her husband, Hu Yaobang, was general secretary of the Communist Party.

This was a time when most people in China were still wearing Mao suits and goods were thinly rationed in the market. The thirsty ground started longing for the blessed rain of fashion after the show.

The related organizations of the China National Garments Group Corporation — in which four million people worked all over the nation to produce Mao suits — asked me to do many things such as launching shops in Beijing, holding events for the Asian Games, and becoming a local fashion adviser. Some factories were confused with the Chinese economic reform. But on the other hand, a futuristic spinning factory sponsored by the government with cutting-edge Italian looms appeared in a rural area. In addition to the two annual collections in Paris and Tokyo, we also had shows in Vietnam and Cuba as the Communist nations became democratized. The events we had in Beijing ranged from a design exhibition at the National Museum of China to a sports fashion show at the Workers Indoor Arena.

「どうして中国でショウをしようと思ったんですか?」 と 1985 年北京飯店での「中国最大のショウ」のあとの 宴会で主催者でもある時の総書記(胡耀邦)夫人の 李昭さん。 まだほとんど人民服、モノは配給に近い状態の品薄市場。 乾いた大地はこのショウをきっかけにファッションの 雨を待ち望んだ。中国全土全職員 400 万人という地域の 国民衣料を供給する中国服装公司の関連協会は北京での 出店やアジア大会へ向けたイベントやローカルの 服装顧問などいろいろなことを言ってきた。 局部的には解放政策に戸惑いのある 工場も多かったが、国をバックに農村の 真中に新鋭イタリア織機をそろえた未来都市 のような紡績工場も出現させていた。 年に二度のパリと東京でのコレクション に加え共産国家の民主化とともにベトナム やキューバでのファッションショウも。 北京での催しも国家博物館のデザイン展や 工人体育館でのスポーツファッションショウ など多岐におよんだ。

The complete article can be found in Issue #277 of the Tokyo Journal. Click here to order from Amazon.