China Fashion Week Autumn , Winter 2008-2009
China Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2008-2009 in Full Bloom
2008/05/01
text by Amor Mao
The China Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2008–09, held March 25–31, was among the best in this fashion week’s 11-year history. Fashion week has evolved from a small-scale occasion with just three shows, to an influential event, featuring 30 fashion shows. This year’s event gave at least 50 designers from more than 20 countries a chance to reveal their newest work. It also featured a fashion design competition for young designers from around the globe, giving them a chance to show their talent. The event was a breath of fresh air for China’s burgeoning fashion industry.
In addition to the traditional venue at D-Park in the 798 Art Zone, the new China International Exhibition Center on Bei Sanhuan Donglu, with an exhibition space of more than 200,000 square metres, played host to most shows of the fashion week. All of the exhibition centre’s eight halls were filled with displays of men, women and children’s wear.
The new venues gave China Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2008–09 an opportunity to experiment with some new highlights and angles. Fashion week has never been so “Chinese,” with Chinese elements becoming popular and chic on the fashion scene around the globe. Domestic designers obviously have a natural advantage in interpreting the theme, and they did not waste the chance.
Wang Qing, president of China Fashion Week, said, “Currently, ideas about China are favoured by the whole industry. Many world renowned fashion designers have come up with their own China series, but I’m more impressed by our local designers’ performance this time.”
Another focus of this year’s fashion week is to present a stage for your designers. Nearly 30,000 students majoring in fashion design graduate every year from nearly 200 colleges or institutes. “They have become the new force pushing traditional garment making in China to upscale fashion,” Wang said. So this year featured a competition for your designers that gave many new talents a chance at recognition, including young designers from 16 countries. Read more
