CATEGORY

Asian fashion--exciting, unpredictable, inventive--is reminiscent of Paris haute couture in the 1930s. With growing media exposure, it has come as a refreshing shock to Western fashion aficionados. Here is an approach to fashion that isn't about what you wear but about who you are, a showcase for the deepest values of identity, expressing both timelessness and the moment. Organized country by country and designer by designer, Fashion Asia provides a visually stunning portrait of the different trends and styles in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It offers rare access to some of the most innovative designs to have emanated from a fashion world in which many private commissions are never seen by the public. And it presents Asian fashion through the eyes of those who are shaping the nascent industry: in candid, enlightening interviews, the designers describe their thoughts and working processes in their own words. 242 color illustrations.