Ng hopes that as visitors explore centuries-old French fashions, they will also discover ancient Chinese court clothing and jewelry in the other exhibition halls, adding that through cross-cultural dialogue across time and space, they will be able to appreciate the beauty of the convergence of cultures.

He says that in addition to this exhibition, the Hong Kong museum will hold a special exhibition in cooperation with the Palace of Versailles to celebrate the 60th anniversary in France at the end of this year.

The Musee des Arts Decoratifs has chosen the most historically valuable items from its 1.4 million-strong collection, many of which had never left France, for exhibition in Asia for the first time.

"We hope that people in Hong Kong and the mainland will have the opportunity to appreciate these precious exhibits," Denis Bruna, a curator at the French museum, says.

Mathieu Rousset-Perrier, another of the French museum's curators, says the storage, transportation and display of the artifacts require strict attention to temperature, humidity, lighting and other environmental conditions.

Prior to the exhibition, French cultural heritage personnel traveled to Hong Kong to inspect the facilities and equipment and were impressed by what they found.

"The costumes are all antiques, very fragile. We are particularly careful when we handle them," Yeung says, adding that the amount of time it took to organize the exhibition greatly exceeded that required for previous events.