China is no stranger to flax. As long as 4,000 years ago, people in the Middle Kingdom used flax fabric for weaving and cladding themselves.
For years, flax has been considered an ancient and rustic material. It has been used superstitiously to drive out evil spirits,and some restaurants hang traditional raw flax raincoats on the wall to show their bucolic style.
But the models catwalking at a recent show in the Shanghai Oriental Riverside Hotel could change the widely held oldfashioned view of the natural fibre.
The show, part of the China Flax Fashion Week, is totally subversive. It reveals that flax fashion is trendy, pretty and even sexy.
Unlike the raw flax capes donned by gnarled rural farmers, modern Chinese flax has been turned into colourful, silky and classy skirts, evening gowns and waistcoats worn by slender fashion models.
More trendy than the dazzling designs are the healthy and ecological aspects of the fabric.
The organizer of the first China Flax Fashion Week, which staged shows in Shanghai and Beijing, believes the worldwide trend in environmentally friendly "green consumption" is the future of both the domestic and international markets.
Sources from the China Garments Association said Chinese businesses should explore the possibilities of utilizing traditional Chinese cultural elements,handicraft techniques and other innovations to improve their competitiveness in the marketplace.
Hempel China Co Ltd is now the largest Chinese flax buyer in the country. It consumes 12 million metres of flax yarn a year and exports 6 million garments to the world market, including producing for some top international brands.
Demand for Chinese flax fabric has grown by 30 per cent each year, driven mostly by Europe and North America.
For years, flax has been considered an ancient and rustic material. It has been used superstitiously to drive out evil spirits,and some restaurants hang traditional raw flax raincoats on the wall to show their bucolic style.
But the models catwalking at a recent show in the Shanghai Oriental Riverside Hotel could change the widely held oldfashioned view of the natural fibre.
The show, part of the China Flax Fashion Week, is totally subversive. It reveals that flax fashion is trendy, pretty and even sexy.
Unlike the raw flax capes donned by gnarled rural farmers, modern Chinese flax has been turned into colourful, silky and classy skirts, evening gowns and waistcoats worn by slender fashion models.
More trendy than the dazzling designs are the healthy and ecological aspects of the fabric.
The organizer of the first China Flax Fashion Week, which staged shows in Shanghai and Beijing, believes the worldwide trend in environmentally friendly "green consumption" is the future of both the domestic and international markets.
Sources from the China Garments Association said Chinese businesses should explore the possibilities of utilizing traditional Chinese cultural elements,handicraft techniques and other innovations to improve their competitiveness in the marketplace.
Hempel China Co Ltd is now the largest Chinese flax buyer in the country. It consumes 12 million metres of flax yarn a year and exports 6 million garments to the world market, including producing for some top international brands.
Demand for Chinese flax fabric has grown by 30 per cent each year, driven mostly by Europe and North America.
