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Foundations of Fame

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SUE WONG STANDS at the doorway of her home, resplendent in embroidered turquoise silk, jewellery draped around her neck and dripping from her ears. It might be 8.30am, but Wong is no slouch, any time of day.

'Welcome to The Cedars,' she says, shutting the door behind her.

Granted, 'The Cedars' could be a name for a rustic bed-and-breakfast in New England, or a cosy restaurant off the Californian coast. But here in Los Angeles it is the name of Wong's majestic hilltop mansion.

Fashion designer Wong, who is based in LA, escaped communist China with her family in the early 1950s and lived in Hong Kong before moving to the US. She is best known for her glamorous gowns which can be found in Harvey Nichols, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman-Marcus, as well as shops in about two dozen countries, and she is revered in the industry, particularly by retailers, for making couture-quality clothes at relatively affordable prices.

Aesthetically, she mines other eras for her collections, everything from Victorian England to 1930s Shanghai. But whether she's designing a simple blouse or a full-length gown, Wong is all about the details.

So it's not surprising that The Cedars, her home for the past few years, is all about the details: opulent, princely and soulful details.

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