Joyce publicity elves get hi-tech and creative for last-minute venue switch on photo shoot

The PR team at Joyce boutique might have had every reason to get ants in their to-die-for pants early last week when there was a last-minute hitch in arrangements for the photo shoot of Chanel's Paris-Shanghai collection, which is being launched at the chain's Central store this weekend.

Joyce originally booked mainland fashion photographer Chen Man (pictured above) to shoot the Chinese-inspired line of clothing in Paris from last Sunday to Tuesday with French stylist Camille Bidault Waddington. But Chen, 30, learned she was pregnant in the week before the shoot and said she would only complete the project in her Beijing studio.

Undaunted by the sudden bump in their plans, the Joyce publicity elves promptly made arrangements to fly 10 prominent fashionistas - including former actress Hilary Tsui Ho-yin, lyricist Wyman Wong Wai-man and makeup artist Zing Wong (above with Chen) - with the line's clothes and accessories to Beijing. Waddington missed the flight north because she could not get a mainland visa in time, but the boutique's elves rigged up a webcam link that enabled the Parisian stylist to talk online to Chen while she snapped the shots.

'I've never tried this before,' said Chen, who has a two-year-old daughter. 'We had two sets of the same clothes in Hong Kong and the Beijing studio. We left the webcam on during the shoot, so adjustments could be made at any time.'

The venue switch also meant mainland actress Fan Bingbing and actor Chen Kun could get involved, and they will feature in an exhibition of Chen's 22 photos, which opens at Yun Fu Restaurant and Bar in Central tonight. Guests can expect to see studio snapshots of the stylish. But the picture of the night might well be the look of relief on the Joyce publicists' faces when all their guests go home.