A Bridge Between Keqiao and Uzbekistan
An international fashion ambassador and cultural bridge along the ancient Silk Road
During Fashion Week, one of the world’s most important international showcases for womenswear, Vialina Lemann was among the leading figures at the Keqiao Fashion Show, where she walked the runway for Sancailiyi.
This season, Milan Fashion Week Women’s Collection runs from 22 to 28 September 2026 and presents the Spring/Summer 2027 collections. The Keqiao show took place on 23 September at the Società del Giardino. The third edition of the collective runway show, born of a three-year agreement between Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and the Keqiao district, brought together the Spring/Summer 2027 collections of four designers from the new generation of Chinese fashion: Gu Yuandai, Liu Hongchao, Sancailiyi, and Sayaanno. Sancailiyi interprets Eastern philosophy through an essential womenswear proposition, balancing nature, materials, and the body.
A Modern Ambassador of Fashion
Originally from Uzbekistan and with an international career in the fashion world, Vialina Lemann embodies the role of a modern fashion ambassador, creating meaningful connections between different cultures and countries. Her profile has grown steadily in recent seasons: in August 2025, she was the face of a pre-fall jewelry editorial for L’Officiel USA, and in October 2025, Marie Claire Serbia interviewed her following a shoot in Paris.
Her participation in the Keqiao Fashion Show took on particular significance by virtue of her Central Asian origins. Keqiao, in the Shaoxing area of Zhejiang province, is today one of China’s leading textile and manufacturing hubs.
Historically, the routes linking Central Asia and China were a fundamental meeting point for peoples, cultures, knowledge, craftsmanship, and textiles. In this context, Milan became the contemporary meeting point between Keqiao and Uzbekistan, uniting two territories marked by deep textile traditions through the international language of fashion.
Along the Silk Road
Vialina’s presence therefore represented a contemporary tribute to the ancient Silk Road: an ideal route that once linked Central Asia and China and that today can be symbolically renewed through fashion, creativity, and international cultural exchange. Her Uzbek heritage and international experience met Chinese textile tradition and the Italian fashion system, creating a bridge between Central Asia, China, and Italy.
The fact that this encounter took place in Milan during Fashion Week gave the project an added international dimension. Milan became the stage on which the link between Vialina’s Central Asian origins and Keqiao’s Chinese textile identity was presented to the global fashion community.
Vialina’s presence on the runway for a Chinese designer added another layer to this dialogue: Uzbekistan, Keqiao, and Italy met through fashion, turning the runway into a contemporary expression of the cultural and commercial exchanges that once traveled the ancient Silk Road.
The dialogue is designed to run in both directions. Under the same agreement, a selection of emerging Italian designers will present at Keqiao Fashion Week in November, underscoring the project’s two-way nature.
Vialina’s role, then, was not simply to model in a fashion show but to serve as an international fashion ambassador, contributing to a broader dialogue between cultures through fashion. From Uzbekistan to Keqiao, via Milan, and from the ancient Silk Road to the global fashion stage, fashion has become a bridge between cultures.
From Keqiao to Luisa Beccaria
On the same day, Vialina Lemann also walked for the renowned Italian house Luisa Beccaria, further strengthening her presence at Fashion Week and her role as an international ambassador for fashion and women’s empowerment, connecting different cultures and fashion traditions.
The Luisa Beccaria show opened the second day of Milan Fashion Week in the gardens of the Acquario Civico di Milano, where the house presented Herbarium, its Spring/Summer 2027 collection. Inspired by the maison’s signature botanical imagery, the collection translated flowers, leaves, pomegranates, and vegetation into prints, embroidery, and appliqués, set against greenery and Liberty architecture that felt like a natural extension of the clothes.
