The 2004-2005 China Garment Awards has started its search to find China's own top 10 national fashion brands of the year. The award ceremony will take place in March 2006.

Around 200 brands have signed up for selection, competing for the top 10 honours that will be awarded in the fields of brand genre, quality, potential and value, among others.

Dubbed by fashion doyens as "China's fashion Oscars", the annual event was launched last year by the China National Garment Association to introduce Chinese brands to the public and help them compete with international brands both at home and abroad, according to Chen Dapeng, secretary of the association.

Chinese clothing brands have faced many challenges since China entered the World Trade Organization and since the quotas on China's textiles entering international markets were lifted. To tackle the situation, China's garment industry has been promoting a branding strategy.

The creation of the awards, the first to promote Chinese fashion exclusively, is just one example of the initiatives taken.

"Though Chinese fashion brands are rather new on the international scene, there are quite a few top quality brands that are already competitive," Chen said. "Through the awards, we hope to promote and introduce them to the Chinese public, to get them known and even loved, while stimulating competition among the brands themselves."

Zoje, a national sewing machinery company, is again sponsoring the awards while Pricewaterhouse Coopers China is still the auditor to track and examine the whole event.

In addition to the opinions of the fashion industry, this year will also include around 1.2 million public votes to ensure the fairness of the event.

The award ceremony will be held on March 29, 2006 during the 2006 China International Clothing and Accessories Fair.

(China Daily October 17, 2005)