A fashion force by design

"In China, the fashion industry does not have a long history like in the West. Foreign designers have known about, seen and used many fashion products during their early years, while most Chinese fashion designers may have not even heard of these fashion brands till their college years. As a result, they have to make up the gap within a short period of time." 

There are more than 200 design schools in China, but classes tend to emphasize creativity over business. 

"Fashion designers are different from artists. Artists work for themselves and can let their imagination fly, while designers have to be more organized and business-orientated," Lan says. 

Lan adds a fashion designer is in charge of the process from product design to final delivery, including fabric choices, cost control and targeting customers. 

"Designers have to bear business and customers' needs and requirements in mind. Their designs and products are supposed to be understandable to their bosses and target clients and help increase sales," she says. 

ederick Wong, program director of the fashion design department at Raffles Design Institute in Beijing, says the most urgent issue is finding a way to nurture new designers. 

"To become professional fashion designers, school training is far from enough. And young designers need a good platform to grow and mature after graduation." 

Wong, a Chinese-Malaysian, says that it takes at least five years of working experience to become a professional designer. 

Wong suggests the government should, besides setting up design schools, give young designers more opportunities to get hands-on experience. 

"Fashion schools could set up incubation centers for young designers to experiment with their ideas, business plans and designs," he says. "More cooperation between schools and apparel companies in real-time projects is also helpful. These projects could familiarize young designers with the industry much earlier and help enterprises select the designers they need." 

Wong says that most Chinese fashion designers find it hard to promote themselves. 

Fashion shows can help advertise new designers, but it can be a struggle financially to start a new business. 

"The starting monthly salary for a designer is about 3,000 yuan ($469) to 5,000 yuan. But a one-hour fashion show costs around 1 million yuan ($156,345), not including the cost of staging, lights, music and models, which is beyond the financial abilities of most young designers."