Touches of grace

The 2017 spring/summer collection by Grace Chen interprets the beauty of love with evening dresses, cocktail dresses and capes. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Following the Beijing show, the designer hosted another salon show at House of Grace Chen in Shanghai.

Unlike grand runway shows, the Shanghai event was held in a more intimate atmosphere with private clients, like the haute couture shows in earlier times.

Chen was trained in Chinese calligraphy as a child. She studied fashion design at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology before attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

She later worked in the United States for brands like Zum Zum, Halston and Tadashi Shoji.

She founded her own studio in Shanghai in 2009. The brand attracted investment from private equity firm Cheng Wei Capital last year.

Last July, Chen opened the House of Grace Chen in Shanghai, following the studio in Beijing. The three-story mansion designed by Italian firm Kokaistudios integrates showrooms, fitting salons, an art gallery, a library, a fashion lounge and a VIP suite.