Shanghai Fashion Week

A model poses in a dress by La Vie on the runway of Shanghai Fashion Week. Photos: Cai Xianmin/GT and courtesy of Shanghai Fashion Week

A model on the runway show by Qiu Hao

With a total of 41 shows held at the 4000-square-meter runway area set up by Taiping Lake, Shanghai Fashion Week (SFW) 2014 spring/summer kicked off on October 16 and will conclude on Friday night with Vera Wang's runway show.

According to the SFW organizing committee, over 134 fashion labels are participating in the event; 30 percent of them are overseas brands, including Oasis from the UK, AK Club and MLB from the US, as well as Hana Havelková from the Czech Republic and Tautou Couture from Italy.

"More and more international brands would like to enter the Chinese market, which is gaining increasing attention from the world, and they regard SFW as a perfect platform to build their first image in the domestic market," said Lü Xiaolei, vice secretary of the SFW organizing committee.

According to Lü, by the end of last year, Shanghai's fashion industry comprised 11.3 percent of the city's GDP, not far off the 12 percent goal set in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).

SFW has always been a great stage for domestic designers, whose brands constitute 40 percent of the runway shows this fall. The rest of the schedule is set aside for university students and lingerie trends.

The Global Times looks at the most hotly anticipated new collections from well-established local designers who are gaining increasing popularity on the international stage.

Chinese influences

La Vie, created by Shanghai-based Ji Cheng in 2002, tells a Chinese love story through her 2014 spring/summer collection in collaboration with Scheme, a luxury women's footwear label based in Chengdu. Inspired by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) romance The Peony Pavilion, the collection makes use of 3D floral embroideries, fine patterns that resemble water ripples, and flowing skirts that add a fairy touch.

The collection was also showcased during last month's London Fashion Week and three stores in Europe now sell La Vie. Ji also revealed that she will devote more energy to developing her brand overseas, and her designs will take into consideration the different clothing customs of different countries.

While Ji was inspired by an ancient literary classic, Shanghai-based Taiwanese designer Chris Chang cited a diverse array of influences. The new collection integrates sartorial elements from Qing (1644-1911) concubines, nomadic peoples, Peking Opera costumes, as well as the graceful styles of China's early Republican period (1912-1949).

Chang took her cue from contemporary sources too, such as the hit TV series Legend of Zhen Huan and pop song Yueliang Zhi Shang (Over the Moon) by Phoenix Legend.

"Mainstream cultural phenomena may seem trite or vulgar in some people's eyes, but for me they are so fresh. I don't know why, maybe because I was educated abroad," the Parsons School of Design alumna told the Global Times.

Chang also believes that as China is attracting more and more attention from the rest of the world, it's fitting that she produce works that showcase Chinese costume history.

Minimalist beauty

Doll, the new collection from Just for Tee by Badwin Cheung, draws inspiration from an abandoned doll with broken hands and feet. The series features v-cuts and mainly uses black, gray and white, creating a minimalist beauty with subtle contrasting textures. The Shanghai-based Hong Kong designer said that he also hopes to deliver the message to audiences that sometimes people are too cold and they need to demonstrate their love towards the things and the people they care about.

This season, 2008 Woolmark Prize winner Qiu Hao demonstrates his trademark minimalism creating apparel for a female figure that remains calm amid the hustle-and-bustle of city life. With heavy silk, lambskin, and handmade sheepskin braids, the series features neat silhouettes that highlight the curves of the waistline. Qiu said the idea behind the collection gradually took shape and was not inspired by anything in particular.

A favorite of many female fashionistas in town, Xisu, a Shanghai-based brand founded by Li Xiaoming in 2012, took inspiration from the designer's tour to Kyoto and is divided into four series: Xi Xin (literally, clean soul), Kong (selfless), Wu Chuang (to reflect on oneself through watching the past and others) and Sen Ling (fairies in the forest).

The dominant colors of the collection are white, gray, black, rosy brown, dark olive green and dark slate blue, all projecting a calm feminine image, which represents the lifestyle the brand is dedicated to.