Lilian Zhang grew up so isolated in China’s impoverished Anhui province that she didn’t see a sewing machine until she was a teenager. Her sister helped pay the nominal fee for sewing lessons and before long she knew she’d found her calling. Zhang moved to Shanghai, earned two degrees in fashion design, founded the Shanghai QiLian Fashion Co. Ltd. and worked with fashion houses in the United States and Europe.

Zhang, 41, will introduce a special collection of her designs at “East Meets West,” a fashion show presented by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii on April 2 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. She shared some thoughts on her work via email with an assist from her husband, Tony Chu.

JOHN BERGER: What is the most important thing about the collection you are showing in Honolulu?

LILIAN ZHANG: It is unusual for me because these designs are based on the individual models who will wear them. I haven’t met any of the models in person, and their ages, body shapes and backgrounds are all different. It is not like designing for an industry runway show.

JB: Is there a design that is the star of the collection?

LZ: Three gowns represent “East Meets West” in combining traditional Western designs with Eastern accents. The design I call Floral Cascade uses the tradition of Chinese watercolors delicately hand-painted with silk screen to bring to life flowers cascading on a pond. Cloud 9 expresses the ideal of Eastern female beauty with hand-embroidered butterflies and peonies intertwined on silver and gold flowers. In Mystique in the Night, accentuated laced leaves on the collar of a traditional midnight black qi-pao represents a mature yet mysterious Eastern femininity.

JB: What design principles define a Lilian Zhang design?

LZ: My gowns are designed from three-dimensional draping. They are elegant yet with a sense of power that provides each woman with a natural and distinctive presence.

JB:Paris has traditionally been the capital of the fashion universe, and New York maybe second. Where does Shanghai fit in?

LZ: I think of it as the breeding ground of the future of international fashion.

JB: What do you do for relaxation?

LZ: Hit the gym and lift weights. I like to squat-lift as much as I can!

“On the Scene” appears weekly in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Sunday Magazine. Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.