text: Forget helicopters and BMWs, could the ultimate symbol of wealth be clothes made from gold? On a catwalk show which took place in Xi'an, the capital city of north-western China's Shaanxi province, models strutted their stuff in items made from the precious metal. Including underwear and a chain-mail style shirt which it has been revealed would be worth around £40,000. And this was no lightweight affair either. On a catwalk in Xi'an in China models strutted their stuff in gold underwear, it is thought the look is influenced by royal women in history . The shirt alone worn by the male model weighed in at 7lbs and the matching bra and underwear for the female model also came in at 7lbs. The idea for real gold clothing takes its inspiration from royal women in history, including Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette and Tsarina Alexandra who all reportedly had gold clothing. The organisers of the event said that it took 30 craftsmen three months to make the gold shirt and the women's clothing which is also worth around £40,000. Fashion photographer Manchu Peng, 30, who attended event said: 'There were some good designs there but the gold clothing items really stole the show.' It took 30 craftsmen three month to make this shirt which is mean out of real gold and has a chain-mail style . The model showed off his shirt as on-lookers checked out how the design was made . The idea came after a Chinese designer unveiled an extraordinary set of underwear made entirely of gold last year. The items however were produced as a work of art and not intended for sale. They were modelled by an unnamed woman who was joined by two other models - both of whom posed with glittering gold accessories, including necklaces, a shoe and a rabbit at a store in China. These two women proudly showed off their gold underwear, the items are not for sale but are said to be worth around £40,000 . This gold underwear set has an intricate design with the model wearing a pair of white pants underneath it to protect her modesty . And prior to that a Turkish jeweller unveiled a series glamorous gold dresses - each worth a staggering £85,000. Artisan Ahmet Atakan, based in Izmir, a city in Turkey, crafted each frock out of a total of 78,000 pieces of the expensive metal to form a mesh-like fabric. Despite the eye-watering price tag of 300 thousand Turkish Liras (about £84,800), eight of the unique gowns have already been sold.
target: Designs made from real gold were shown on the catwalk in Xi'an China .
  Models strutted their stuff in underwear and a shirt made from gold .
  The items cost around £40,000 each but are not intended for sale .