Brand Voyage
Grace Chen’s designs are for conquering the land and sea
Grace Chen’s designs are for conquering the land and sea
The Explorer Dream’s Palace Pool Deck made for the perfect, luxury setting to compliment Grace Chen’s Voyage collection. Part of the Dream Cruises’ signature “ship within a ship” concept, the Palace provides exclusive facilities to its guests, including the private pool that the models strutted down as their runway during the ship’s launch in cosmopolitan Shanghai.
Hailed as “the Power Dresser of China,” Chen unveiled a collection that showcased her aptitude for sophisticated designs, matched with well crafted construction fit for the modern woman.
Her soft, silk pieces in pastels were elegantly feminine. An impeccably tailored black-and-white wrap jumpsuit was an absolute thrill
to see come around the pool. There were those hints of the tassels Chen is well known for, a nod to Chinese calligraphy, which Chen believes is the essence of Chinese art and “chi.” It added that bit of something that makes a stylish woman stand out in a sophisticated crowd. A highlight was a tailored lace dress that mixed elements of an Eastern cheongsam silhouette with a Western Peter Pan collar. It managed to balance the softer sides of lace and a traditional figure with a modern and sensual touch. The styles hearkened to Western sensibilities and Old Hollywood glamour in its soft, flowing fabrics, with touches of the East in its craftsmanship and touches, through a wholly modern design approach. The pieces Chen chose to present captured the spirit of exploration and discovery, both of which not only embody the Dream Cruises, but also her story and development as a designer.
The first mainland Chinese graduate of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, Chen captures the heart and soul of East meeting West, of being and dressing the modern woman who is beyond geography and culture. Her pieces have been worn by iconic and internationally recognized women around the world, including Oprah Winfrey, Helen Mirren, Li Bingbing, and Lin Chi-ling.
As Dream Cruises’ Explorer Dream is set to push the boundaries of Asian luxury cruise travel on an international scale, Chen’s designs push the boundaries of couture that, as she puts it, “transcends culture, age, and time.”
The pieces Chen chose to present captured the spirit of exploration and discovery, both of which not only embody the Dream Cruises, but also her story and development as a designer