First lady lets new Hong Kong leader reign on day in fashion stakes

Glamorous Peng Liyuan stays out of the limelight as Carrie Lam has four outfit changes, one appearing to show her loyalty to the mainland

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New Chief Executive Carrie Lam shakes hands with Peng Liyuan at the airport shortly before the first lady’s departure for Beijing. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:45pm, 1 Jul 2017Updated: 12:03am, 2 Jul 2017

China’s glamorous first lady Peng Liyuan let Hong Kong’s new leader, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, steal the show as Lam pulled out all the stops to dress to impress on her first day on the job.

Peng, clad in a long-sleeved, charcoal grey cheongsam, stayed out of the limelight as she wrapped up her first official visit to Hong Kong with her husband, President Xi Jinping, on Saturday.

Lam, in contrast, had four outfit changes in the span of six hours to match each event that marked her first day as chief executive.

The city’s first female leader appeared in a bright, floral cheongsam paired with a scarlet, fitted jacket during the flag-raising ceremony, followed by a peach cheongsam and a long white coat at her inauguration.

She then changed into a turquoise top and black slacks during a visit to the construction site of the bridge linking Hong Kong with Zhuhai and Macau. She finally bade farewell to Xi and Peng at the airport in a cream-coloured blazer over a muted bronze floral cheongsam.

“Peng choosing to wear black must have been a very conscious decision so she doesn’t upstage Carrie [on her big day]. You can see from what Peng usually wears that she’s not adverse to bright colours and high glamour,” said Jeanne Tan, an associate professor in the Polytechnic University’s Institute of Textiles and Clothing.

Carrie Lam attends the flag-raising ceremony on Saturday morning. Photo: AP

Tan praised Lam for her choice of attire, but also noted that it sent a deliberate message.
“These are the most beautiful outfits I’ve seen her in. This red outfit is a break from her usual image as a very efficient, professional civil servant. Her wearing red is also using non-verbal language to showcase her allegiance and loyalty to the mainland,” Tan added.