Beijing school nurtures fashion talent

Now for a look at some up-and-comers we head to the campus of The Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology where CCTV's Mu Fangzhou looks at how they work to nurture rising chinese fashion talents.

Fashion is a fast-paced and exciting industry, but, it's not all glamorous runway shows with cat-walking models. Here at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, young fashion students are working hard to learn the hands-on, technical skills - sketching, designing, draping, pattern drafting, and theory - necessary to succeed in this fiercely competitive field.

Director of the Clothing Art Design Department, Xie Ping, describes herself as a designer and an educator. She believes that in fashion the practical skills are just as critical as the vision.

Xie Ping, director of Clothing Art Design Dept., BIFT, said, "Our goal is to find the balance between creativity and technology. When you have a great idea, you'll need the proper skills to make it real. But if all you can master is pattern-cutting and machining, you're a technician, not a designer who makes desirable clothing for everyone. The best thing about the balance is that, when you are able to put together your garment, you'll reinvent your ideas during the process."

Many of the undergraduates have dreams of becoming world-renowned designers. But the reality is that there is more than one way forward. The industry encompasses careers ranging from modeling to retailing, from business to manufacturing. Meanwhile, in a business where experience may be even more critical than education, the institute has launched several joint-programmes with world-class design houses, fashion publishing companies and industrial trade shows, aimed at helping the graduates develop experience and professional contacts.

Xie Ping said, "We recruit about 2-hundred freshmen each year in the bachelor program for clothing design, which is a pretty big number. First they're taken into for foundational courses, then seminars, workshops and internships. So that when they graduate, they can choose a career path according to their interests. Of course one need to be very talented, hardworking and sociable to succeed in this business, but we try our best to develop their potential. Methodology is the key to our education. Styles of clothing may vary from each other, but once the students learned how to think, create and design in the right way, it's only a matter of time before they'll succeed with the right works."

CCTV's Mu Fangzhou said, "We're totally overwhelmed by the sheer talent that we have come across within China, and some of their works have already surpassed our expectation. For these apprentices, launching a career in the fashion business takes equal parts real-world experience and the guiding hand of industry professionals, and most crucially, absolute dedication."