Ophelia Crossland, an award-wining Ghanaian fashion designer, has been selected to be part of top 10 global designers to showcase at the 2019 Qipao Invitational Exhibition at the China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou City.
She would become the first Ghanaian designer to showcase at the world platform this weekend on Sunday, September 22.
“I am honoured and excited to be among top 10 designers from across the world selected to showcase the Qipao at the National Silk Museum in Hangzhou, China. As a Ghanaian designer, it is a great privilege and matter of national pride to represent Ghana on a global stage such as this,” she told NEWS-ONE on Tuesday.
The Global Qipao Invitational Exhibition is a world fashion event that aims at cross-boundary interaction between culture and tourism, tradition and fashion, art and life, China and the world.
It is an event by China National Silk Museum, the leading fashion institution located close to the famous West Lake in Hangzhou, China.
The China National Silk Museum is the fashion institution with the only permanent fashion gallery in China housing a permanent collection of over 40,000 pieces of western fashion and Chinese textile productions that span over 4000 years of human creativity.
Among all the Chinese costumes, Qi Pao/Cheongsam is the most representative form of traditional costume for Chinese women. It is a kind of one-piece dress with stand-up collar and tight-fitting cut which exaggerate female glamour. It is a form that is still popular among Chinese women but awaits new design. Since 2017, Hangzhou has been holding the Hangzhou Global Qipao Festival, which aims at the cross-boundary interaction between culture and tourism, tradition and fashion, art and life, China and the world.
Thus, China National Silk Museum has started the Global Qipao Invitational Exhibition as part of the event.
The theme for designs for this year’s event is ‘Wedding’, and designers are expected from other countries such as United States, UK, France, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Ghana, among others, to take part.
Ophelia Crossland is one of the world fashion brands to come out of Africa. She is also one of the earliest first fashion brands to merge African fabrics and contemporary styles and has Swarovski in her works.
She would be representing her country and the African continent at the world platform in China.