Suit consisting of two jackets and a pair of trousers in silk damask, designed for Shanghai Tang, China, 1999

Suit for a man, consisting of three parts - two jackets and a pair of trousers - which are all made of self-patterned silk damask. All three pieces have the woven Shanghai Tang label sewn into the inside back and all have a card price label attached.

Given by Mr David Tang

Shanghai Tang has a high profile in the press because the owner, David Tang, the Hong Kong entrepreneur and art collector, has become something of a celebrity on the euroamerican party circuit. His distinctive clothes are worn by the famous although it remains to be seen how much he can keep his style in the public eye once the initial interest has worn off.

See for example:
Sunday Telelgraph: The Telegraph Magazine, 22 June, 1996
London Evening Standard, Tuesday, 24 September, 1996
The Art Newspaper, no. 69, April, 1997
London Evening Standard, Wednesday, 17 March, 1999

Historical significance: David Tang could be called a Chinese nationalist as he celebrated Hong Kong's return to the People's Republic of China in 1997 with special Chinese-made clothes & a clever advertising campaign, while others were not so jubilant about relinquishing British rule. For some, 1997 represented a poignant moment at the end of Empire.

Although these V&A clothes come from 1999, and post-date the Handover of Hong Kong in 1997, the whole period in the late 1990s was one of reinvention of China's national symbols. These clothes can be seen in this context.

This so-called 'Tang Suit' was chosen by the V&A curator as an example of a classic style always in stock at Shanghai Tang.

FE.58:1 to 3-1999