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, which is scheduled for the end of this month. After nine years' development, the annual activity has become the largest in Asia.
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 11 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 China 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 favorites in America and Europe.
(China Daily 03/22/2001)
