China Fashion Week aims for locals

Sticking with China Fashion Week for a bit, the event may still be a far cry from those in Europe, but it continues to improve every year. And it's making a particular focus on Chinese designers. It hopes to launch more and more domestic designs onto international catwalks.

Fashion designer Yang Ziming, who runs his own independent label, was named "best menswear designer" during the 2007 China Fashion Week. The award allowed him to attend New York Fashion Week in February, which he described as a "mission impossible" if he wanted to do that on his own.

Yang Ziming, designer, said,"The event is a great opportunity for young designers like me. I have been going to the China Fashion Week since 2002. My brand Cabbeen and myself as a designer have grown a lot over the past decade. And all of that started from the China Fashion Week."

The fashion week has taken up promoting such independent designers as a central mission. That's pretty key. Without this support, it may be difficult for them to continue on.

Wang Peiyi, designer, said,"Independent fashion designers do not have massive financial support like those who work in a company. They also lack experience running a show. But they can grow up quickly by attending China Fashion Week."

More than 150 independent designers are participating in the event, including Wang Peiyi, Wang Yutao, and Zhang Jingjing.

Designers from Hong Kong and Taiwan are also taking part. Pan Yiliang has been running her own label from Taiwan for years, but came to Beijing in 2007 in hopes of making it to the runway for China Fashion Week. She says it's a much larger platform for designers.

And discovering new talent remains a main pillar of the week. This year, the event is boasting five professional contests, including sports equipment design, leather wear design and lingerie design. The winners will find access to new opportunities - even financial support if they want to run their own show.