Exhibit at the Museum of Chinese in America (NY)

Cheongsam (Qi Pao) Collection

Graciously donated by Pamela Chen, this collection includes 77 Chinese dresses (cheongsam / qi pao) custom-tailored in the 1930s and 1940s, once owned by her mother Phoebe Shou-Heng Chen (1917-1993).  These exquisite dresses express Chinese design and fashion sensibilities, and will be featured in an upcoming 2010 exhibition, That Chinese Dress: Fashion and Identity Through the Cheongsam. The exhibition will explore Chinese traditions, heritage and design, asking such questions as:  How does fashion help communities preserve family traditions, identity, and culture? How have Chinese American designers expressed their own cultural positioning/identities through their work?  What is the relationship between fashion trends and East-West politics?