Peng's style makes world headlines

China's first lady Peng Liyuan made a splash on the world stage this week, with her choice of attire sparking a flurry of excitement about an independent homegrown label.Images of Peng stepping off a plane arm-in-arm with President Xi Jinping in Moscow circulated widely online, prompting praise of her style as understated and sophisticated.Eagle-eyed fashion-savvy bloggers identified the leather handbag she carried and smart, double-breasted black trench coat she wore as items designed by Guangzhou-based label Exception de Mixmind.The brand has been described as one of China's leading independent labels whose simple but unique designs stand out in an industry dominated by Western copycats."First ladies are ambassadors of the culture and the design and of the soft power of a country. I'm glad that she chose to wear Chinese and take up that role of spokesperson for Chinese design here," Hong Huang, publisher of fashion magazine iLook, told The Associated Press."It's good that finally China has a very pretty, very beautiful first lady and she can hopefully speak up for a lot more and complement whatever Xi wants to say, in a way, like all first ladies do," Hong said.Heavy online traffic to Exception de Mixmind's website caused it to crash while the share prices of Chinese clothing companies rose yesterday.The company was established in 1996 by designer Ma Ke and her husband Mao Jihong, Hong said. It now has nearly 100 stores and retail counters in China.Company spokeswoman Tan Yijia said she could not immediately confirm that the pieces Peng wore were made by the label. Guangzhou's quality supervision bureau, however, said on its microblog that they were."I think the first lady dressed very well, with taste and confidence," Zhang Yu, editor of China's Vogue magazine, told AP "After so many years, we finally have a first lady who can represent us so appropriately. I think it is a landmark event."Michelle Zhang, a frequent contributor to Vogue, Tatler and Elle, said the trench coat and bag were custom-made for Peng, while the scarf was an off-the-rack piece from Exception's last fall/winter collection, retailing for 2,998 yuan (US$482).She said she hoped the spotlight on Exception de MixMind would help Chinese fashion brands gain more recognition.At its Citic Square outlet on Shanghai's Nanjing Road W. yesterday there was no sign of trench coats, scarves, bags or other items resembling those worn by China's first lady. A blazer was retailing for 2,598 yuan, while a linen scarf was priced at 1,298 yuan.Donna Jiang, a Shanghai-based fashion buyer, said: "Peng's fashion image success will help with the fame of this brand, also the confidence in Chinese-designed brands."Other outfits worn by the first lady on her international tour included an ivory brocade jacket with a high collar, which she matched with a white skirt and bag and a seafoam green chiffon scarf. On another occasion she wore a high-collared jacket bearing traditional blue and white Chinese folk patterns. source : China.org