Gao Yuan-Yuan takes fashionable Milan by storm

Milan is the fashion capital of Italy and, some would say the center for fashion and design for the entire world--although they almost always say it in Italian. It is an essential stop on the twice yearly slog of Fashion Weeks that winds through New York City, London, Paris and the home of A.C. Milan. Gao Yuan-Yuan made quite a splash, hitting several of the most important shows and openings, hobnobbing with designers and owners while seated in the first row. She was all over the place at Dolce and Gabbana, here with another brown-eyed movie goddess Monica Bellucci:

Deploying her million Renminbi smile in the country (but not the city) where "paparazzi" was first defined. It is as if someone told her to "stand in the gutter and look great", so she did, gorgeous in a form fitting sequined dress from D&G:

Inside waiting for the show to start and going along with the photographers' request for "just one more".

And then there was the Giorgio Armani show:

She lit up the Ferragamo flagship store; designers take their branded stores veryseriously. They are hugely profitable and serve as a literal shop window for their entire line:

And off to the Ferragamo show sharing the place of honor between Leonardo Ferragamo (striped shirt) and James Ferragamo (scruffy) with Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor:

Lovely outfit, perfect colors for a sun-kissed afternoon:

I don't know if Gao Yuan-Yuan was the only Chinese actress as a guest at Milan fashion week but she was the only one covered in any detail by the PRC entertainment press. The Italians love selling luxury goods in China, not only clothing,. For example Bulgari gets most of its sales and profit growth from their boutiques throughout the mainland and China is the second largest overseas market for auto maker Ferrari. But women's garments are the most heavily promoted high-end products. In years past Zhang Ziyi has been the face of both Fendi and Emporio Armani. She was succeeded by Shu Qi for Armani. Shu Qi has also been a brand ambassador for Cavalli and Ferragamo. It may be that Gao Yuan-Yuan will be the next heavily promoted style icon for the Milanese.

Xinhua; CRI; Yahoo; Zimbio