Introduce yourself
Gwen Vikkey Miao, a fashion blogger of Chinese origin born in Denver, Colorado first started her blog with a review of the ten best in the “big four” fashion weeks Spring/Summer 2010 in January, 2010.   In the following month, she set up a fan page on Facebook reaching almost 3,000 followers today. Miao has lived a kind of nomadic lifestyle between Hong Kong and Taiwan, Taiwan and Perth, Perth and Europe and so on since she was a child. Her multicultural background has exposed her to various  lifestyles and different attitudes towards fashion yet even strengthened her motherland ties and her pride in being Chinese. Having worked in visual merchandising and marketing for the brands such as Ralph Lauren and TSE New York, Miao was trained to have a good eye on fashion and luxury goods. She doesn’t believe fashion as an individual entity, it has got to be linked up with history and culture. Miao is especially keen on the design inspired by oriental aesthetics. She sees it kind of her mission to bring any talented Chinese/Asian designers to the world’s attention.

What’s about your blog?
Realizing the blogging market is so over-saturated, which means fashion bloggers from all over the world are doing more or less the same thing. Miao, being conscious of her Chinese heritage, tends to make her blog (http://lamode-gvmiao.blogspot.com/) unique and genuine by specializing herself in oriental-inspired fashion with eastern motifs cross-fertilizing western styles which brings an exotic feel to it. While most bloggers are keeping an eye on the traditional “big four” fashion cities in the West and craving for the latest news about Karl Lagerfeld, Miao is exploring the emerging fashion markets in the East and helps spread the word about the best up-and-coming designers from China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, etc. On top of that, La Mode by GV Miao provides a platform for fashionistas to comment on their favorite oriental/ethnic/folklore designs and express their views on fashion of an oriental theme. Followers are also welcome to leave words about what they think “orientalism” may possibly mean, and what necessary elements should be there to make it oriental fashion. Miao, in addition to being a keen admirer of the glitz and glamour of oriental style, celebrates antique and vintage fashion in her blog. What makes each historical piece special and appealing is the story behind them. It is indeed an interesting experience to feel like having gone through a nostalgia phase when blogging about vintage.

What do you think is the relationship between fashion and technology?
Advancement in technology helps maximize the many possibilities in fashion design, meaning that designers can always keep their creativity sharp and possibly come up with some unprecedented new designs with the help of textile and material innovation. Viktor & Rolf and the Belgian avant-garde designers who emphasize the structural and architectural styles are a few cases in point. On top of that, technology has played a vital role in establishing eco-friendly fashion which is one of the biggest trends of the decade. As the earth’s resources are running out, the technology of fashion produces new fibers and synthetic materials which offer better options to replace the rare fabrics such as animal furs being replaced by faux fur fabrics to prevent the extinction of endangered species yet without ever going out of style.

How will be for you the future of fashion?
I reckon fashion in the future will be perceived in a postmodern sense. As one’s identity is reflected in  the way one dresses, fashion becomes a strong personal statement. Everyone one of us can be a fashion icon and be our own fashion master by dressing up to individualism of one’s characters.