A model shows off NE•TIGER's huafu design at the opening show of China Fashion Week in Beijing on Saturday. Photo: Courtesy of NE•TIGER Fashion Company

The 2015 NE•TIGER "Ming Li" Haute Couture Huafu Fashion Show opened the nine-day Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week (2015 Spring/Summer) on Saturday in Beijing. During the show NE•TIGER presented its huafu (Chinese dress) designs based on traditional Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) clothing.

The fashion week this year has set a new record when it comes to scale, with 66 shows (including 63 collections and three design contests), 88 domestic and foreign brands and 83 designers, making it the largest fashion week in the Asia-Pacific region.

Compared to last year, the number of attendees has increased 33 percent, while half of the designers will make their debut at the event. A highlight of the week, three designers from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region will bring their original designs to the stage. Expectations are high that these designs will attract more attention on the local fashion industry in the area, thereby creating new opportunities for local employment.

Another highlight this year is the arrival of the first DHUB to be held in Beijing. Scheduled to be held from Monday to Thursday, DHUB is a new trade platform service that extends both up and down the production chain connecting fashion designers and the market. 

"This first time holding a DHUB here is something of an experiment. We are looking to help fashion cooperate with e-business so that the industry can support more fashion designers. We hope DHUB can expand in scale over the next three or five years and attract more attention from media and the public," Li Dangqi, president of the China Fashion Association, told the Global Times.

Global Times