Snow Xue Gao Finds Inspiration in Beijing Opera Houses

The phrase "East meets West" has long elicited an eye roll and stifled yawn when applied to the fashion world, but, this season it came as a jolt in Snow Xue Gao's first solo collection. The designer, who comes from the prestigious Parsons MFA program, showcased her third collection this season and managed to fuse the dichotomous cultures of the East and West in a fresh new take on the trope.

The designer's influence this season came from the Beijing opera customs she observed as a child while watching her grandma act in the operas, and it showed. Gorgeous Chinese silks and florals mixed with sequins and ruffles, while chinoiserie and the traditional qipao techniques blended with a modern, masculine silhouette for a lilting, gender-defying culture clash.

Photos Courtesy of Zheng Zhao