A parade of unknowns on the catwalks of Beijing Fashion Week highlights the challenges facing Chinese designers trying to break into an industry dominated by foreign brands: high production costs, excessive retail prices, and customers who still favour Western labels.
Not a single international fashion house exhibited at the show, much of which took place in a former factory building in the suburbs of the Chinese capital, far from the spotlights of Paris, New York or London.
Instead the event was opened by a group of young Chinese designers, some of them still students, who won a competition for the privilege.
Among them was Liang Xiudong, from Xian, who presented a mixture of black capes, silver epaulettes and oversized sleeves. His watching father -- dressed in a cheap grey-beige jacket -- said proudly: "It's good, very good, I see a great future for him."
But Liang was more sanguine. "I know the biggest difficulties are still ahead of me," he said.
Another winner, Liang Diyun, 22, opened his Beijing studio last year but his brand has yet to get off the ground.
"The Chinese public's taste is significantly less advanced" than in Western countries, he lamented.
A few Chinese labels that have appeared in the last 15 years -- such as Zuczug or JNBY -- have managed to establish themselves and now have hundreds of shops, but international experts say Chinese designers have yet to find their identity.
"Honestly, I see a lot of pretty things in China, but nothing I could call 'modern Chinese style' has emerged yet", Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, said on a visit in January.
China will drive almost half of global growth in the beauty and women's ready-to-wear luxury markets in the next 10 years, according to consultancy McKinsey.
Many would-be Chinese dressmakers head to elite Western fashion schools to learn, and some are returning to the country in an effort to capture that potential.
But the Asian giant's wealthiest customers remain captive to foreign brands.
At the same time, multi-brand shops in which they can exhibit their wares are a new concept in the country, leaving few retail outlets accessible to individual designers.
- Lacking 'space to grow' -
Zeng Yanjie recently returned from Milan to try to set up a label, only to find out that, in her view, "independent Chinese designers do not have a lot of space in which to grow".
"Beijing Fashion Week only has around 10 independent designers and it doesn't attract individual buyers," she added.
Most Chinese associate fashion with expensive foreign labels, but young designers often ask equally high prices in an effort to build their brand reputation -- leaving them offering poor value.
"The problem is that many of them have luxury prices for Taobao-style products," complained fashion commentator Hung Huang, referring to China's giant online equivalent of e-Bay. "You can't price it as luxury and sell something (whose) quality is not worth it."
Designers defend themselves, saying the problem is driven by high production costs and an inflexible textile industry, and Hung acknowledged that for a production run of, say a mere 500 shirts, "you need totally different equipment" than that required for larger orders.
"No one is willing to supply you, they just hang up the phone on you. The costs are too prohibitive," she said.
Alice McInerney, a fashion journalist and consultant based in Beijing, added: "Factories have specific minimum order quantities that can be extremely high for a young emerging designer. So price points get pushed higher and higher.
"This can be a hard sell for a customer when comparing a more established international brand having the same price point as a Chinese designer they have never heard of."
But Manix Wong, a Hong Kong designer who is helping several Chinese labels try to make a name in Europe, held out hope for a future in which he believes disdain for vulgar nouveau riche displays of wealth will create new opportunities.
"Not many Chinese customers appreciate unknown independent designers," he said. "But people are (becoming) more educated and sophisticated in fashion. They start to get bored of Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton -- and also too many rich people using the same bag and wearing the same clothes."
AFP RELAXNEWS
Sun Apr 05 2015
Many would-be Chinese dressmakers head to elite Western fashion schools to learn, and some are returning to the country in an effort to capture that potential. - AFPRelaxnews Photo
Pelajar tahfiz perlu teroka bidang teknologi
Kira-kira 200,000 pelajar tahfiz di negara ini, perlu dipastikan untuk mempunyai kemampuan dan peluang menjadi tenaga penggerak kepada umat Islam Malaysia dalam meneroka bidang yang dahulu dilihat sebagai asing., tegas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Perpaduan rakyat prasyarat ekonomi mampan
Tidak semua negara Islam mempunyai ruang dan kesempatan untuk terus aman dan damai, dan mempunyai peluang untuk menikmati ekonomi yang kukuh dan berkembang seperti Malaysia, tegas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Beliau berkata, rakyat Malaysia perlu mempunyai tekad untuk memahami maksud dan keperluan perpaduan di kalangan mereka, serta kekuatan dalaman yang seterusnya dapat dijadikan tonggak untuk negara membuat langkah seterusnya.
Beliau berkata, rakyat Malaysia perlu mempunyai tekad untuk memahami maksud dan keperluan perpaduan di kalangan mereka, serta kekuatan dalaman yang seterusnya dapat dijadikan tonggak untuk negara membuat langkah seterusnya.
Tidak perlu tergesa-gesa tukar ke lesen B - JPJ
Pemegang Lesen Memandu Malaysia (LMM) Kelas B2 dan B1 tidak perlu tergesa-gesa mendaftar Program Khas Peralihan LLM Kelas B2/B1 Kepada LMM Kelas B kerana tiada had masa ditetapkan untuk permohonan.
KPWKM teruskan lapan inisiatif bantu warga emas
Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat (KPWKM) akan terus menggerakkan lapan inisiatif utama dalam memenuhi keperluan jagaan dan sistem sokongan terhadap warga emas.
Warga emas maut ditikam anak kandung yang berhalusinasi
Seorang pesara guru maut ditikam anak kandungnya sendiri di sebuah rumah dekat Kampung Senaling, di sini, petang Sabtu.
Menurut Ketua Polis Daerah Kuala Pilah, Superintendan Amran Mohd Ghani, siasatan awal mendapati warga emas berusia 65 tahun itu cuba memujuk anak lelakinya yang juga pemegang kad orang kurang upaya (OKU) mental yang dikatakan mahu membunuh diri.
Menurut Ketua Polis Daerah Kuala Pilah, Superintendan Amran Mohd Ghani, siasatan awal mendapati warga emas berusia 65 tahun itu cuba memujuk anak lelakinya yang juga pemegang kad orang kurang upaya (OKU) mental yang dikatakan mahu membunuh diri.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Sabtu, 5 Oktober 2024.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Hezbollah lancar serangan peluru berpandu ke atas kompleks industri ketenteraan di utara Israel
Pergerakan Hezbollah di Lubnan berkata mereka telah melancarkan serangan peluru berpandu ke atas kemudahan ATA Defence Industries.
Tiada kaitan dengan pelantikan CEO MDEC, Anuar Fariz bukan adik saya - Fahmi
Menteri Komunikasi Fahmi Fadzil menyangkal dakwaan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) baharu Perbadanan Ekonomi Digital Malaysia (MDEC) Anuar Fariz Fadzil merupakan adiknya.
Israel lakukan persiapan untuk serang Iran - Laporan
Tentera Israel sedang bersiap untuk "tindakan balas besar-besaran dan ekstrem" terhadap Iran.
"You are too cool" - Joe Flizzow curi perhatian, duduk sebelah Anna Wintour!
Penyanyi Rap dan usahawan popular, Joe Flizzow berkongsi foto bersama Ketua Pengarang majalah fesyen Vogue Amerika Syarikat, Anna Wintour.
Penangan kuasa wanita dalam Ocean's 8
Oceans 8 menjanjikan kelainan dengan memberi tumpuan kepada watak lapan wanita sebagai penggerak utama filem berkenaan.
Apabila Amy Schumer ganti tempat pengarang Vogue Anna Wintour
Pengarang Vogue Anna Wintour yang terkenal dengan sikap dingin pula sahut cabaran untuk menjadi pelawak 'stand-up'.