An illustrator and an expat fashion designer from Taiwan sparkled in London recently as the pair hosted an exhibition that presented their unique signature styles.

Held in the east of the capital, the exhibition, which ran Feb.9-12, featured clothes and artworks by fashion designer Liu Mei-hui printed with illustrations by artist Chao Min-tzu.

Liu, who grew up in Taitung County, eastern Taiwan, settled in London to pursue her passion for design in 1995. Her creations come mainly from her love for vintage fabrics like lace.

Liu told CNA that the exhibition marked the first time that she had worked with an artist from a different field. She explained that her collection, formed over the last six months, had been inspired by the three important females in her life: her 1-year-old daughter Freya, her London-based American expat friend Sue Kreitzman, and Diane Pernet, a friend and fashion critic from Paris.

The Taitung native noted that it had been a great challenge to work with Chao because they had not been particularly familiar with each other's works at the beginning of their collaboration.

Chao, who graduated from Ming Chuan University in Taiwan and completed her master's degree in Sequential Design and Illustration at the U.K.'s University of Brighton, has had artworks shown at several exhibitions in the U.K. over the years.

In order to create distinct illustrations for the outfits and artworks, she said, she visited the three subjects one by one to learn more about their characters and the stories that made up their lives.

The "Colorful Lady," for example, is the collection of pieces inspired by Kreitzman, an artist that is passionate about life and always dresses in vivid colors.

The expat New Yorker told CNA that the arts and colors are her life. She added that she adored both artists' pieces and felt thrilled to have been their inspiration.

(By Jennifer Huang and Nell Shen)

Source from FOCUS TAIWAN