As part of the Chinese New Year celebrations that took place at the Leeds town hall on Friday night, designer Laura Henery’s ‘East meets West’ fashion show was a triumph in showcasing the evolution of both Chinese and European fashion from the last 100 years.

The event was a collaboration with the Business Confucius Institute and the Chinese Student Scholar Association at the University of Leeds with support from the Chinese Embassy in Manchester.

Henery’s show was a perfect combination of both cultures through a historic tour of a century’s worth of fashion. Each look was walked on from opposing sides of the stage to meet in the middle with today’s Western look even featuring a selfie from the model. The grand finale included two designs by Henery herself and Nicoleta Lonescu. Here again the combination of the two cultures was clear as the two designs shared a similar Eastern inspired silhouette but with fabrics traditionally associated with the respective cultures – Henery’s design in particular referencing English heritage with a tweed checked fabric.

The display was also a great celebration of the cities multiculturalism as Leeds prepares to launch its bid to become the European capital of culture in 2023.

Review: Victoria Copeland

Photography: Adriana de las Cuevas