Celeb Taiwan designer makes Canadian debut; Goji Lin will showcase his ’sculptural’ collection of evening wear and bridal gowns at cultural festival

Canwest News Service

Taiwanese celebrity fashion designer and TV star Goji Lin — he of hand-blown glass corsets, ceramic tops, computer-screen fabrics and hand-painted landscapes — makes his North American debut hitting the catwalks in Vancouver and Toronto with his sculptural, and often Asian-inspired, take on haute couture.

Lin, whose long list of celebrity customers includes Mandopop singer Jolin Tsai, Taiwanese supermodel Chi-Ling Lin and former Taiwanese vice-president Annette Lu, will present a collection of evening and wedding wear at Telus Taiwanfest 2009 on Saturday.

The collection is inspired by traditional Chinese and Taiwanese opera, Lin said in an interview. Expect to see long sleeves, embroidery, beading and hand-painted flowers and landscapes, said Lin, who once designed costumes for opera.

Although fall might seem a strange season to show wedding wear, Lin said it makes perfect sense to many Asian consumers.

"In the lunar calendar, July is the month of ghosts and people don’t want to get married then," he said. "They avoid celebrations and don’t go near water or fire. But many people want to get married before lunar New Year [in February] because everybody thinks this will help them have a good year, so they are planning now."

Lin was a poor fit for his conservative, rural childhood and he survived just two years as a mechanical engineer in a car parts factory before his passion for flamboyant, head-turning fashion became impossible to suppress.

He began studying fashion design in the U.K.’s Birmingham Institute of Art and Design at the age of 32. He then paid his dues designing for the department store market — "For me that was really boring," Lin said — before making the headlong leap into haute couture.

Today he is known for his three-dimensional, structural approach to design and his love for bold, bright colours.

Goji Lin’s designs are available in his signature boutique in Taipei, and in exclusive boutiques throughout Taiwan. The Taiwanfest fashion show is the Asian celebrity designer’s first foray into the North American market.

CLASH: Taiwan’s Revolutionary Runway features the work of Goji Lin with top Taiwanese models from the EeLin Modeling Agency and Miss Chinese Vancouver 2005, Saturday, Sept. 5 at 8:30 p.m. at the Plaza of Nations.

Print out free general admission tickets or purchase VIP tickets, $68, from the Taiwanfest website at http://taiwanfest.ca. Only VIP tickets will be available at the door.

jennylee@vancouversun.com

http://www.kelowna.com/2009/09/01/celeb-taiwan-designer-makes-canadian-debut-goji-lin-willshowcase-his-sculptural-collection-of-evening-wear-and-bridalgowns-at-cultural-festival/