Prada Parade
Yesterday, under the general umbrella of ‘School Trip’, J and I went to an exhibition at the Peace Hotel. The Peace Hotel (5 Stars no less) sits right in the middle of the Bund, and is probably the most well-known (and for many years, the most luxurious) hotel in Shanghai. The exhibition was a history of Prada skirts, and as we have been looking at dress designing in D&T, and as I thought it would good for J’s Shanghai project to visit such a historic landmark, it seemed an ideal trip out.
We got to the Peace Hotel about 11.00am, and made our way through all the Americans in the lobby to the lift attendant. “Prada Exhibition?” I enquired. “7th Floor madam,” she replied politely. “Do you have your invitation?” Ah…I should have known there would be a catch. I hadn’t realized it was invitation only. We made our way back through the Americans, and pausing only to pick up some tourist leaflets from a display, we headed for the doors. Next moment, the lift attendant was by my side. “Here!” She was out of breath. “Invitations for you!”
We went back through the Americans again, and in the lift up to the 7th floor. The exhibition was stunning of course, beautiful skirts (and very strange skirts of course) whirling and hanging and draping and every other form of display imaginable. All artistically arranged within the 3 suites that housed the exhibition….the Chinese Suite, the American Suite and the British Suite. I’m not sure how much it costs to stay in one of these Suites, but I doubt I’ll be going in one again….there were beautiful rooms; dining rooms, sitting rooms, huge bathrooms, walk-in wardrobes, all the walls mahogany panels, all beautifully decorated and (I read later) all carefully preserved to remain how they were in the 1930s, when the Peace Hotel represented everything of the Jazz era that was Shanghai’s heyday.
A Chinese man came over to us and asked where we were from. England, I told him, but we live in Shanghai now. He studied Design in England for 6 years, he said, at Manchester. What a coincidence, I said, we used to live only 20 miles from there. I miss the Trafford Centre so much, he said. I miss it too, I said. But I love it here in Shanghai, I said.
We left the exhibition two hours later, with our souvenirs – two Prada badges (each showing a billowing skirt), two bars of Prada soap (each wrapped in a picture of one of the skirts on display), our invitations, and our Prada ‘Waist Down’ Exhibition Guide. Apparently, after Shanghai, the exhibition moves on to Europe and the US. We however moved onto the Bund History Museum over the road. On the way, J had her portrait drawn by a street artist.
We got to the Peace Hotel about 11.00am, and made our way through all the Americans in the lobby to the lift attendant. “Prada Exhibition?” I enquired. “7th Floor madam,” she replied politely. “Do you have your invitation?” Ah…I should have known there would be a catch. I hadn’t realized it was invitation only. We made our way back through the Americans, and pausing only to pick up some tourist leaflets from a display, we headed for the doors. Next moment, the lift attendant was by my side. “Here!” She was out of breath. “Invitations for you!”
We went back through the Americans again, and in the lift up to the 7th floor. The exhibition was stunning of course, beautiful skirts (and very strange skirts of course) whirling and hanging and draping and every other form of display imaginable. All artistically arranged within the 3 suites that housed the exhibition….the Chinese Suite, the American Suite and the British Suite. I’m not sure how much it costs to stay in one of these Suites, but I doubt I’ll be going in one again….there were beautiful rooms; dining rooms, sitting rooms, huge bathrooms, walk-in wardrobes, all the walls mahogany panels, all beautifully decorated and (I read later) all carefully preserved to remain how they were in the 1930s, when the Peace Hotel represented everything of the Jazz era that was Shanghai’s heyday.
A Chinese man came over to us and asked where we were from. England, I told him, but we live in Shanghai now. He studied Design in England for 6 years, he said, at Manchester. What a coincidence, I said, we used to live only 20 miles from there. I miss the Trafford Centre so much, he said. I miss it too, I said. But I love it here in Shanghai, I said.
We left the exhibition two hours later, with our souvenirs – two Prada badges (each showing a billowing skirt), two bars of Prada soap (each wrapped in a picture of one of the skirts on display), our invitations, and our Prada ‘Waist Down’ Exhibition Guide. Apparently, after Shanghai, the exhibition moves on to Europe and the US. We however moved onto the Bund History Museum over the road. On the way, J had her portrait drawn by a street artist.
posted by Linda at 11:26 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home