Public diplomacy is now one of the key tasks for diplomats around the world. And I think wearing one of the most iconic Vietnamese masterpieces like the Ao Dai will be more powerful than a million statements because it will convey a message that Italy and Vietnam are strongly connected.

Mr Coghlan is helping find ways to build cultural connections and "soft power diplomacy" between the two countries, by taking designers and Australian fashion industry representatives into China - and vice versa. "There's still a knowledge gap in the Australian industry on how China operates and ways to do business with China in the fashion sector, so we're continuing to work on that and build China relevant capabilities," Mr Coghlan said.

While Chinese tourists in Australia for Lunar New Year are being targeted in the hope they will spend big on Australian fashion [...] Mr Coghlan is helping find ways to build cultural connections and "soft power diplomacy" between the two countries, by taking designers and Australian fashion industry representatives into China - and vice versa.

It's been dubbed “fashion diplomacy” but critics of Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop say the ­Louboutin-loving politician’s hosting of overseas runway shows has gone too far. From celebrating Australian designers creating “modest wear” at an Islamic fashion festival to a fashion showcase in the Taj Mahal, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is spending thousands of taxpayer dollars on promoting Australia as “a creative and innovative nation.”

In the photo series, shot by Steve McCurry in a Maasai village in Kenya's Amboseli National Park, the team recreated the runway show look, which also incorporates dreadlocks wrapped into a bun — and has subscribed to the Vogue school of using people of non-European cultures as a backdrop for white models wearing European designers' clothing. Valentino has tried to make clear that the collection and accompanying beauty looks were created in the name of cross-cultural exchange.

Mario Gonzalez is from Pro Mexico, the Mexican government's trade and investment agency that organized [a Mexican Design pop-up showroom in central London]. "Tonight is our first ever showroom with Mexican designers," he says. "The idea is to position Mexican designers in the UK. They're very well known in the States or other areas, but not in Europe.