As winter's formidable cold abates and
spring brings back life and vitality, fashion is beginning to have
its say, dressing the Chinese up for the first year of the new century.
Beijing has just wrapped up this year's first national fashion design
contest in casual wear, and witnessed this year's first important
fashion show -- the Spring Collection of the esteemed Finland scarf
designer Marja Kurki.
The city is now busy preparing a grand gala for the fashion-conscious,
the 10th China International Clothing and Accessories Fair (CHIC),
which is scheduled for the end of this month. After nine years' development,
the annual activity has become the largest in Asia.
Two other major Chinese cities, Shanghai and Guangzhou, have already
ended their fairs for the year.
The 11th East China Fair reported that record deals worth US$1.5 billion
had been completed in Shanghai, with textiles and clothes the biggest
winners. The curtains fell on the First Guangzhou International Fashion
Festival on March 11th to the sound of great applause.
The success of such activities -- and the country's textile industry
finally climbing out of the doldrums in 1999 after six years -- is
attracting a great number of followers, said Li Xin, a leading official
with the China Fashion Designers' Association.
According to her, there are at least 40 more fairs to come throughout
the country.
But running from one fair or festival to another might jeopardize
the 18,300 still struggling Chinese textile companies because the
cost of attending them eats into the funds which would be used for
further research and development.
Because many municipalities and counties in Chinese regions like Zhejiang
and Guangdong provinces have fashion fairs or festivals of their own,
local garment producers have to attend them as a way of contributing
to the local economy by attracting more people and businessmen.
"Because they know how well recognized brands do, Chinese fashion
producers are anxious to attend as many fairs as possible as well
as put on their own in competition,'' Li said.
"But they rarely ask themselves why we are still stuck in the
garment processing trade instead of making clothing of high-quality
Chinese silk or cashmere -- like foreign designers such as Marja Kurki
do.''
Marja Kurki's Chinese-produced silk scarves have quickly become collection
favourites in America and Europe.
Li said if China wants to keep up its clothing exports, it has to
challenge its Western counterparts' edge in design and technology
because it is losing its previous competitiveness -- based on low
labour costs -- to other Asian countries.
(China Daily 03/21/01) |
