Events Promoting Emerging Chinese Designers#
Following the success of last autumn's China Fashion Week, this week Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week F/W 2012/13 kicked off at 751 D-Park in Beijing's 798 Art Zone. Over the course of the week, members of the Jing Daily team attended the event's opening ceremony and a series of events and runway shows, which run through April 1.
One of the consistent themes of the current China Fashion Week has been the ubiquity of Mercedes-Benz. With the overarching theme of "Beyond Perfection," 2011 Mercedes-Benz Pioneer Design winner Wang Yutao (王玉涛) re-interpreted the collection he debuted during Berlin Fashion Week. Using liberal references to chocolate, Wang's runway show was inbued with a romantic and warm atmosphere, with the designs mingling onstage with Mercedes-Benz C-class cars.
The star-studded runway show was populated by well-known Chinese movie stars Yin Tao (殷桃), Wang Xuebing (王学兵) and Du Chun (杜淳), as well as famous Chinese supermodels Li Danni (李丹妮), Du Shibo (杜诗博), Ji Huanbo (纪焕博), Shan Jingya (单靖雅) and Hao Yunxiang (郝允祥).
As Mercedes-Benz China Vice President, Mao Jingbo said at the opening ceremony, "beyond perfection is the spirit of fashion advocated by Mercedes-Benz," adding that the partnership the automaker is forging with the Chinese fashion industry “will transfer the best of China to the best of the world.” Mao believes Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week will help China's emerging young designers go global while bringing new fashion concepts to China and China Fashion Week, ultimately helping all to develop in tandem.
Over the course of the nine-day long fashion week, 46 fashion brands and agencies, more than 30 fashion designers and nearly 400 emerging designers and models will have taken part in more than 60 activities. These include 41 special fashion shows, six professional contests and 14 press conferences and seminars held at different venues in Beijing, among them 751 D•PARK, the Beijing Hotel and Shin Kong Place.
In order to support outstanding young designers and tap budding entrepreneurs, starting from this year, the organizing committee of China Fashion Week launched a new section called "institutional releases," exhibiting inspired work by college-age design students.
While China Fashion Week clearly has a long way to go before it can live up to the standard set by fashion weeks in Paris or New York, the speed with which it has gone from an afterthought to an important event on the Chinese fashion calendar has been impressive, and definitely a development we've enjoyed watching.
