China's First Lady Sparks Homegrown Fashion Frenzy

New Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan's choicemichael michael kors handbags attire has sparked a flurrymichael michael kors shoulder bags excitement over an independent homegrown label, an unusual phenomenon in a country where political figures are more frumpy than fashionable and wives usually shy away from the spotlight.Imagesmichael michael kors tote bags Peng, 50, stepping off a plane arm-in-arm with her husband President Xi Jinping in Moscow on Friday have circulated widely on the Chinese Internet, prompting praisemichael michael kors clutch bags her style as understated and sophisticated.Eagle-eyed fashion-savvy bloggers identified the leather handbag she carried and smart, double-breasted black trench coat she wore as items designed by Guangzhou-based label Exception. The brand has been described as onemichael michael kors crossbody bags China's leading independent labels whose simple but unique designs stand out in an industry dominated by Western copycats.

\"First ladies are ambassadorsfake michael kors the culture and the design andfake michael kors wallet the soft powerfree shipping michael kors a country. I'm glad that she chose to wear Chinese and take up that rolecanada michael kors bags spokesperson for Chinese design here,\" said Hong Huang, publishermichael kors handbags the fashion magazine iLook and onemichael kors handbags sale the most popular microbloggers in China.Hong said it was too early to tell if Peng's high-profile public appearance signaled that she would be playing a more significant role in Chinese politics than her predecessors, who ? unlike manymichael kors handbags oullet their Western counterparts ? have been largely unseen. \"It's good that finally China has a very pretty, very beautiful first lady and she can hopefully speak up for a lot more and complement whatever Xi wants to say, in a way, like all first ladies do.\"

Online retailers have sought to associate their products with what news portals are terming the \"Peng Liyuan style,\" with searches for those key words resulting in listsmichael kors handbags cheap handbags and trench coats, manymichael kors handbags wholesale which did not even resemble the items she wore. Heavy online traffic to Exception's website has caused it to crash since Friday, with it loading only sporadically on Monday.The impact Peng, a celebrated performer on state television, is having on fashion bears some similarity to trends sparked by Britain's duchessmichael kors handbags macy's Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton, who helped bring Brazilian-born designer Issa to the world's attention before her marriage to Prince William. American first lady Michelle Obama has also lent cachet to designer Jason Wu by wearing a gown he custom-made to last month's inauguration.

For its part, Exception appears to be gauging its next move. Chinese politics is a traditionally secretive world and the company risks sparking a backlash by associating itself too publicly with the wifemichael kors handbags discount the headmcihael kors outlet state.Somemichael kors oullet store the more conservative among the Communist Party might frown upon the commercializationmichael kors outlet online the first lady's image or criticize such attention as being reflectivemichael kors outlet handbags an excessively materialistic society.Exception was founded in the mid-nineties by a couple who shared a lovemichael kors factory outlet design and the rock band The Ramones, according to Hong. Chief executive Mao Jihong, onemichael kors hamiltion outlet the co-founders, could not be reached on his cellphone. The label has expanded to become a high-end brand with nearly 100 stores and retail counters in China.Company spokeswoman Tan Yijia, reached in the company's Guangzhou headquarters, said she could not immediately confirm that the pieces Peng wore on the trip were made by the label. The city's quality supervision bureau, however, said on its official microblog site that it has confirmed that Peng's outfit was made by Exception.

Despite Exception's public silence, commentators in China's fashion world are celebrating the attention on the label and, more significantly, the risemichael kors offical outlet the profilemichael kors bags outlet a popular first lady.\"It's the first time that China's first lady appears like a modern woman. I think she dressed very well, with taste and confidence,\" said Zhang Yu, editormichael kors wallet outlet China's Vogue magazine. \"After so many years, we finally have a first lady who can represent us so appropriately. I think it is a landmark event.\"