YAMAMOTO'S TO DEBUT A ONE-OFF CHINESE COLLECTION

beijing - yohji yamamoto, a japanese designer, seems dead set on promoting chinese fashion and i am loving his strategy. the designer will debut a special autumn/winter collection which will debut in beijing in april of this year. the pieces will be auctioned off at the beijing hotel to raise money for the "yohji yamamoto fund for peace." the event is part of a larger annual scheme by yamamoto, which will see his charity organization sponsoring a chinese designer and chinese model each year. the designer will take part in a two year fashion education program, while the model will debut on the yamamoto runway during paris fashion week. this ties in nicely with yamamoto's upcoming expansion in china, where a total of twelve stores are planned to open by 2010.

by the way, yamamoto actually just showed in paris and his collection is simply amazing. it is a result of a collaboration with hermes (what a brilliant move on both parts) and in my opinion, it is quiet successful. the wide skirts, and tailored jackets create a refreshing silhouette which manages to reference the curves of a woman, but is no slave to it. even if the collection does look a bit fanciful at first glance, it doesn't take much convincing to see that some of these jackets would make an excellent staple in any wardrobe.