It is men's fashion that's sizzling on and scorching the catwalks in the ongoing China Fashion Week, making it one of the most memorable ever.
Opening with the finalists for the Hempel Award, which goes to an up-and-coming young designer, the autumn and winter collections were unveiled in the grand banquet hall of Beijing Hotel on Saturday.
The event this year features the work of 30 established clothing designers and stylists, more than 100 new apparel artists, and 27 fashion lines from 20 countries, including France, Germany, Italy and South Korea, besides China.
In contrast with earlier fashion weeks, when women's collections inevitably took the limelight, this time, men's collections are the highlight and account for nearly half the shows. Virtually all of China's top designers of men's clothing including Ji Wenbo, Cabbeen, Zhao Yufeng and Chen Wen are represented, with a batch of newcomers also marking a mark.
The audience of 700 or so fashion industry and media representatives seemed especially enthused as Ji Wenbo introduced his Li Lang clothing line on Monday. Taking inspiration from the famed buried terracotta army of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) that draws tourists from around the world to the city of Xi'an, Ji's offerings represent a kind of metropolitan warrior; his leather jackets, hued in gray and black with flashes of red, turquoise and peacock blue, hint of ancient armor.
Cabbeen, meanwhile, showed off faded jeans worn with rock 'n roll T-shirts and pinstriped blazers, a look favored by boy bands and entrepreneurs after-hours.
"The Chinese are often viewed as somewhat stiff and conservative," said Cabbeen, "so I'm always trying for a relaxed look."
Zhao Yufeng, one of the few female designers in China focusing on menswear, explores another sort of casualness in business attire. Inspired by military uniforms and hunting jackets, Zhao's collection also reflects the recent Milan Fashion Week in such aspects as double-breasted suits, big pockets, open collars and leather banding.
What the diverse collections have in common is the endeavor to establish a distinct identity using Chinese elements.
Ji relies on Chinese silk as the main material for men's shirts, Zhao incorporates Chinese red as the main theme of her collections and traditional Chinese tailoring for the detailing while Cabbeen does an East-West juxtaposition a mandarin-collar velvet blazer worn with white jeans and sneakers, or traditional pink cherry-blossom embroidery adorning a suit jacket.
"The year 2007 marks a turning point in Chinese menswear," said Wang Qing, president of the China Fashion Association. He cited the Chinese men's collections that Li Lang and Cabbeen presented during the Milan and New York fashion weeks respectively, as well as the prominence of men's attire during this China Fashion Week.
For the first time, China's fashion week brings together the finalists of four top design contests held in China in addition to the Hempel award, this year's fashion extravaganza also displays the work of finalists of the Hosa Swimwear Design Contest, the Qipai Innovative Design Contest and the Jeanswear Casual Wear Design Contest.
The theme of this year's Hempel contest was Beijing impressions, and drew entries from nearly 1,500 young designers from 28 countries. The organizing committee reported receiving 1,479 entries from 28 countries, and after months of appraisal, the finals came down to 32 young designs from 20 countries.
In contrast with the nine Chinese finalists, who emphasized traditional cultural symbols of Beijing such as the alleyway or hutong, the quadrangle and Peking Opera, the 23 foreign finalists focused more on Beijing's cosmopolitan side, with inspirations ranging from the traffic to skyscrapers and the emerging new Olympic architecture.
Wang Jing, a costume student at Beijing's Central Academy of Drama, took the top spot with shapes, colors and textures inspired by the unique stone drum fixtures of the hutong, which she said mirrored female body curves. Wang also won another award, for best craftsmanship.
The Hosa Cup for swimwear went to Qian Min, a Tsinghua University student majoring in design. Her designs, with delicate shades of blue and white and flowing lines inspired by the waves and tides of the sea, were the jury's unanimous choice.
The China Fashion Week has long been criticized as lacking drawing power for international buyers, but local clothing manufacturers are everywhere and this year many joined forces to present local brands collectively.
Elaborate press conferences by manufacturers from Shishi, Changshu, and Foshan, the three important clothing production centers in China, made for the sort of comprehensive promotion not seen in the past.
Shishi in Fujian Province, which boasts one of the largest garment trade marts in Asia, is home to more than 3,000 textile and clothing enterprises as well as thousands of related companies. The value of the city's production now exceeds 30 billion yuan ($3.88 billion) a year.
Shishi's mayor, Gao Yuncheng, said his city's emphasis during fashion week was on leisure clothing. Manufacturers there have registered about 3,000 trademarks for casual wear, including popular domestic brands such as Septwolves, Fuguiniao, Gemzboh, Yepao, Seven, K-Boxing and Edenbo.
Changshu, in Jiangsu Province, is strengthening its reputation for menswear and winter coats. The city has more than 4,000 clothing producers putting out more than 600 million garments annually, said Liu Weijun, president of the Hong Shan Shu line.
The Foshan clothing zone in Guangdong Province held a children's clothing show. "Kids' clothes have long been ignored by domestic clothing manufactures," said Lin Bangyan, a district government official. "It is time and it is our responsibility to show the world Chinese children's fashion."
"The era of product management in the clothing industry is now passing and will be gradually replaced by brand and design management," said Du Yuzhou, president of the China Textile Association. "And their participation in fashion week makes a bold statement about Chinese fashion," he added. "It is no longer just 'Made in China' the world's most fashionable clothes are designed in China, too."
