Chinese stars Maggie Cheung, Chen Kun and Li Bingbing attend a fashion event by the brand Burberry in Beijing on Wednesday, April 13, 2011. Click for more photos. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Xu Jiaqi]

Burberry put the global spotlight on China as the location of its largest, most innovative fashion event to date.

The event, held at the Beijing TV station, aimed to combine cutting-edge digital technology with fashion and music and was streamed live by over 200 media outlets around the world.

Celebrities including Maggie Cheung, Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbing, Chen Kun, and Wang Xueqi walked the red carpet before the event, which included a multimedia fashion show followed by a performance from the British band, Keane. About 1,000 guests in total attended the event.

The global digital event emphasized the importance of the Chinese market to Burberry. "The future, the future of China and the future of Burberry, honestly, are inseparable. If we're successful here, we will have an incredibly successful business all over the world," Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts explained.

Wednesday's event was held to demonstrate Burberry's commitment to the Chinese market and to celebrate the opening of Burberry's new China flagship store. "We just opened our most innovative flagship store at Sparkle Roll Plaza and we've told investors that we'll have up to 100 stores in the market in the next few years. I think that's just the beginning, honestly," Ahrendts said.

In addition to being streamed live globally, the event was shown on the giant exterior LED walls of the new 12,500-square-foot flagship store at Beijing's Sparkle Roll Plaza.

The fashion show combined digital and holographic technology with live models to create a unique fashion show experience. Life-like holograms of the models walked the stage, sometimes transforming into snow or rain before reappearing in a different outfit. The real-life models periodically appeared on the stage, leaving the audience to guess when a real model or a hologram would emerge.

Vogue China Editor-in-Chief, Angelica Cheung, noted the groundbreaking quality of the show, "It's fashion meeting the digital age and it's a great way to express their vision and how they see fashion in the future."

However, the use of weather elements, such as rain and snow, are common across many of Burberry's campaigns. "We try to bring the weather wherever we are. The weather is something I actually feel is something to celebrate, so wherever we go, we try to incorporate it into something. It's a fun element," Christopher Bailey, Burberry's chief creative officer, said.

Following the fashion show, British band Keane took the stage for a 40 minute set, which marks their first concert on the Chinese mainland. Lead singer Tom Chaplin commented on an acoustic set they recently performed on the Great Wall of China, "When I was a kid, this was a thing that I only saw in books and marveled at. Being in a band, you get to go to lots of places and see things and sometimes they're a bit disappointing -- your childhood dreams are shattered! But when we got to the Great Wall of China, it was more than I expected, it was very grand, very beautiful."

The entire evening was musically charged, from MTV VJ Zhu Zhu hosting the red carpet, to the medley of contemporary soul that accompanied the fashion show, Keane's performance, and the British and Chinese DJ's who ended the night.

Christopher Bailey commented on the importance of music to Burberry's image, "Music to me is about emotion, music is about creating an energy, and I think when music and fashion mix, it creates something very exciting."

While the event was very well-received by the guests, both superstars and everyone else, Ahrendts acknowledges that Wednesday night was not just a fashion event, but a commemoration of the growing relationship between Burberry and China. "I have the deepest respect for this country, its culture and history, and it is truly an honor to be celebrating our presence in China at such an exciting time in its development," she said. "It's vital that we keep learning about China's unique culture and characteristics to ensure the Burberry offer remains relevant and appropriate."

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