Charmed by the QiPao

Synonymous with oriental elegance for more than three decades, Taiwanese designer Tsai Mon-Sha continues to demonstrate the beauty and essence of the traditional Chinese dress through her Londee brand.
In Bangkok recently for a fashion showcase to mark Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s 60th birthday, Tsai joined with the Global Federation of Chinese Business Women and CentralWorld for a charity fashion show to raise funds for the Chinese school in Chiang Mai province.
Londee integrates the unique beauty of the qipao with elements of modern fashion design, allowing this elegant Chinese dress to match the demands of modern society and shine at many important occasions.
Tsai offers constant innovation and creativity while incorporating fine designing techniques, quality control, and cutting-edge tailoring. Her stories start from her two-metre-working desk, where she works days and nights with effort and energy. She puts her inspiration and passion into her traditional Chinese female line; sketching the designs, moulding the dresses and adding the final touches.
Despite Chinese clothing being considered unfashionable during certain periods, Tsai has never faltered. From her original Ming Meng studio to today’s Londee, she has always insisted on the very best quality and offered a variety of choices, both in customised dresses and those that are mass-produced. Her dream is to pass on the beauty of traditional Chinese dress and tailor the most suitable and elegant clothes for modern women.
To maximise the style of the qipao and adapt it to the body of the modern woman, Tsai adds such shape enhancements as shoulder pads. Other fine and durable materials apart from silk are also used to bring out the qipao’s original beauty, rhythm, and tempo.
Honorary models at the recent show included |A-listers Khunying Kalaya Sophonpanich, Juthatham Chirathivat, Kantana and Naruchol Kaljaruek, Tipaporn Atchanan, Nattaya Suwannaroj and Sarah Boll. Tsai presented a special collection featuring silk fabric, a modern silhouette, and an embroidered peacock motif.