business to "Vivienne Tam" before her first runway show at New York Fashion Week. The East-West fusion In the world of fashion, Vivienne Tam is known for her "East meets West" designs. Her life in Hong Kong and family history in China made Tam a "bridge between two cultures." Tam believes that the world is ruled by the yin-yang philosophy, so her collections often reflect this belief, merging the traditional and modern cultures. Through her works, the designer wanted to spread awareness in the West about the beauty of Chinese culture and national clothing. Vivienne's Tam collections highlight the unique character of Chinese culture. She uses them as a tool to show that Chinese national clothing is not just clothing but also a type of art, creativity, and a reflection of years of history. Works and collections Her first few collections were heavily influenced by traditional Chinese prints, fabrics, and designs. Her clothes were popular among fashion-forward women interested in Asian influence designs. MAO In 1995, she teamed up with artist Zhang Hongtu for her collection "MAO". Both Vivienne Tam's and Zhang Hongtu's families were denounced by Mao's regime, so their joint collection signifies "a kind of mental therapy," as Zhang puts it. The collection included several portraits of Mao that depicted him in comical light. For example, one of the images "Mao so Young" shows him with pigtails and gingham dress, and another image called "Ow Mao" shows Mao with a bee on his nose. The designer produced a series of printed t-shirts with these humorous images. Another collection included garments inspired by "Zhongshan suit", also known as the "Mao suit", since Mao regularly wore suits with the similar style. These suits featured black-and-white images of Mao that fully covered the garment. Vivienne Tam regarded this collection as "more serious, symbolizing the positive and negative effects Mao had on the Chinese culture" In the Asian American community this created some controversy as they felt it was in poor taste, since many had died under his power. She even had difficulty finding a manufacturer in Hong Kong that would take the job, and even several minor protests by her store. Despite the controversy in the launching of this collection, some of the pieces became permanent artworks in the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and even in the collections of the Los Angeles's Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Museum,