W China magazine’s annual gala spread across two cities this year. Held under the title “A Tale of Two Cities”, the first leg of the 2026 W China Annual Gala took place on November 1 at Macau’s Galaxy Arena with a “Golden Age” theme, while the Shanghai leg began on November 9. On the Shanghai red carpet, China’s leading actors, singers and athletes turned to couture archives, period cuts and custom designs in keeping with the theme.
Among the most talked-about names of the night were actress Yang Mi and tennis player Zheng Qinwen. The common name behind their looks was Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad; the house announced each of its gala looks on its own official account.
Couture takes on the Golden Age
Yang Mi — archival Zuhair Murad
Yang Mi chose an archival piece from Zuhair Murad’s Couture Fall 2014 collection: turquoise satin, an asymmetrical one-shoulder neckline, a draped body-hugging silhouette and a dramatic side train. A necklace with blue and green stones completed the look. A twelve-year-old couture gown returning to the red carpet today showed once again how powerful archival pieces have become in celebrity styling.
See Zuhair Murad's post on Yang Mi on Instagram
Zheng Qinwen — two couture looks
Olympic champion tennis player Zheng Qinwen wore two looks during the night. The first was a strapless, steel-blue satin gown from Zuhair Murad Couture Spring 2026: a sweetheart neckline, an embellished corset and draping at the hips. For the other, she chose a voluminous gold-toned design from Robert Wun‘s couture line.
See Zuhair Murad's post on Zheng Qinwen on Instagram
Elaine Zhong — seafoam green
Actress Elaine Zhong was also in Zuhair Murad: a seafoam green gown from the house’s Couture Spring 2025 collection, with crystal embroidery, sculptural off-the-shoulder sleeves and a sweeping cape.
See Zuhair Murad's post on Elaine Zhong on Instagram
And the rest
- Liu Haocun: a pink strapless ball gown by Ines Di Santo.
- Sun Yi: a floral, layered look from ALMÉE Couture.
- Victoria Song: according to Red Carpet Fashion Awards, a custom copper-toned Louis Vuitton gown by Nicolas Ghesquière.
- Zhou Dongyu: according to the same source, a custom black Louis Vuitton design with voluminous sleeves and a sheer skirt.
- Ni Ni: a vintage 1940s qipao with colourful floral embroidery — one of the looks that answered the theme most directly.
- Tiffany Tang: a halterneck gown with a velvet skirt from Standing Ground Couture Fall 2026 and a black fascinator.
Why it matters
Magazine galas in China are now as important a showcase for international couture houses as Paris and New York. Zuhair Murad announcing three separate looks from a single night on its own account shows how seriously brands take these red carpets. Seen from Türkiye, the lesson is clear too: archival pieces and cuts drawn from local culture can express a theme like “Golden Age” more strongly than new designs. Ni Ni’s qipao was the best example of that. For all of the season’s fashion weeks, see our fashion week calendar.
Sources
- Red Carpet Fashion Awards — 2026 W China Annual Gala: A Tale of Two Cities in Shanghai
- Moralmoda Magazine — W China Gala 2026
- Zuhair Murad — official Instagram posts
Image: Shanghai’s Pudong skyline at night from the Bund (representative image) — David Zhang, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Instagram posts in this article are official posts by the respective accounts and are published using Instagram’s embed tool; the rights to the images belong to their owners.