Designer transforms lowly pattern into high fashion

For most users of Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, they may have watched at least one of the viral videos of influencer Li Meiyue strutting in custom-made suits of dongbei dahua, or the “Northeast China big flower” print, on the streets of fashion capitals such as New York, Paris, London and Tokyo.

In those videos that have earned Li tens of millions of likes, the young influencer turned heads, captivating admiring onlookers from various cultural backgrounds.

Hu Sheguang, designer of Li’s suits, launched “Power of Time—Dongbei Dahua by the Bund”, an haute couture collection featuring only the erstwhile controversial pattern, on Saturday at the BUND Space, dazzling at the 2024 A/W Shanghai Fashion Week.

Li, sporting his iconic suit on the catwalk, mesmerized the audience and turned the show into a carnival celebrating the enduring power and beauty of dongbei dahua.

All made with jacquard fabric with a soft sheen, the new collection is comprised of three-piece suits, windbreakers, cloaks, qipao dresses and the Chinese style men’s standing-collar long coats.

Presenting the garments were Yu Weiwei, Miss World China in 2013, and 34 of Hu Sheguang’s Supermodels, a team of fashion enthusiasts with an average age of 55.