Chinese designer Luo Zheng has been catapulted into the limelight as one of the leading designers responsible for creating the eye-catching outfits adorned by world leaders and their spouses at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing.
Luo, chairwoman and chief creative designer of Shenzhen-based fashion brand OMNIALUO, received an invite from APEC organizers last November and began working on the project in February with a team of 11 designers. After several revisions, the designs by her team were chosen for the outfits for APEC’s female leaders.
During the design process, Luo said she kept the four elements of nature in mind when designing the clouds, peonies, magnolias and green lotuses embroidered on the outfits. The concept behind the costumes is the Chinese character „He,“ which symbolizes harmony, friendliness, peace and integrity between mankind and nature, she added.
QueenieAustralia formal dresses perth
„What leaders wear is a symbol of the times. When they innovatively combine ethnic elements, clothes can not only lead to a new wave of fashion, but also display China’s increasing soft power,“ she said.
Born in Beijing, Luo was exposed to Western artforms like ballet, film and opera from an early age as her mother worked in China’s Ministry of Foreign Trade. She followed her parents to Shenzhen at the age of 10, when she designed a yellow dress for her own birthday.
„I might have been destined to be a fashion designer since then,“ she said, adding that she believes a master or artist cannot be trained and must have natural talent.
She studied international trade at Shenzhen University and after graduating, turned to fashion purely out of interest. She started her own company in 1996, and now her professional women’s fashion brand OMNIALUO has more than 250 outlets in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, raking in sales of more than 1 billion yuan (US$163 million) a year. The brand is not just a fashion line, but is also engaged in the business of designing, developing, branding, and marketing fashion. In recent years, she has focused more on her personal brand, LUOZHENG.
Unlike designers who have come out of art schools, Luo has never had any professional training and her designs have always been tied to commercial potential. Her aesthetically pleasing and modern style is said to reflect her strong personality as a successfully creative businesswoman.
Luo has been recognized domestically and internationally for her work, such as being named the top designer in China by fashion associations on numerous occasions and being awarded the Outstanding Fashion Designer in the Asian World by by Moet & Chandon of Louis Vuitton. She was also the first Chinese artist to bring a Chinese dress to the stage during New York Fashion Week and has received the Golden Peak Award, the highest honor in China’s fashion industry.
„I like traditional Chinese culture very much. I hope contemporary Chinese designers can use novel, fashionable and wearable designs to display it. And also allow people around the world who wear the clothes to be able to take part in beautiful Chinese culture,“ she once said in an interview.