VIVIENNE TAM SPRING/SUMMER 2018 RUNWAY SHOW

This New York Fashion Week will no longer just showcase the best names in fashion, but will also become a focus of the film industry this season, in the first cross-over collaboration between two of the industries' remarkable talents. Fashion designer Vivienne Tam and film director Raman Hui, renowned in fashion and animation film, respectively, bring traditional Chinese culture into the international spotlight and artfully combine Eastern and Western elements for a unique aesthetic. Directed by Hui, the popular adventureaction film series, Monster Hunt and the Monster Hunt 2, have inspired Tam to create a collection that is visually compelling and underscores the values of tolerance, co-existence, family, friendship, love and hope — as denoted in the film, by the unlikely alliance between humans and "monsters". The collection will be unveiled today, at 1pm at Skylight Clarkson Sq during the Vivienne Tam Spring/Summer 2018 runway fashion show.

Tam states "I am so excited, as there are many parallels here… Raman Hui and I are compatriots originally from HK, and made our careers here in the US. He incorporates Eastern elements into Western art forms, bringing together the best of the East and West, as I do in my designs. Also, I have always combined technology and fashion and in Monster Hunt, film meets technology, in a merger of live action and computer-generated imagery sequences."

Producer Bill Kong states "As Vivienne was inspired by the film's main character for her new collection – the adorable little monster Wuba, I hope that this collaboration not only displays its charm on the New York Fashion Week runway, but also gives Monster Hunt a more trendy and stylish vitality that will make audiences anticipate the upcoming sequel "Monster Hunt 2" in 2018! The adventurous Wuba will don designer clothing for the very first time on the runway, preparing him to step onto the international stage as Monster Hunt 2 will also be simultaneously released worldwide by Sony Pictures in major Asian territories and Lionsgate in North America and the United Kingdom."

The Spring/Summer 2018 collection reflects the mountains and river landscapes depicted in the film and features its main character, Wuba. The film's lush imagery finds expression in prints and colors reflecting nature – blues, greens, sands and other earth tones with touches of aurora corals, misty mauves and dusky pinks – rendered in soft denim, cotton twill, silk voile, silk chiffon, lace, and fine mesh. Signature mesh overlays and hand-crafted embroideries depict Wuba and other mystical creatures such as the double headed crane and fabled nine tailed fox in a magical dreamland where imagination makes all possible. Silhouettes are airy, relaxed and comfortable but are given shape by sash belts at the waist and sleeves and artful gathers. East meets West and Yin meets Yang – with a nod to the masculine in boxy, oversized coats and dusters with a Daoist influence to feminine, ruffled dresses with asymmetric hems and ruched blouses with a romantic flair. The collection speaks to a playful journey of the mind, from fantasy to modern, urban chic.