This Day, That Year: April 11

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

When French designer Pierre Cardin brought a fashion show with French models to Beijing in 1979, most young Chinese had not even heard the word "model".

In November 1980, the country's first model agency was established in Shanghai.

An item from July 10, 1984, in China Daily showed a fashion show at the Workers' Palace of Culture in Beijing, the first of its kind in China, co-sponsored by the Beijing Workers' Committee and Beijing Daily.

In August 1988, Peng Li won an international model competition in Salerno, Italy.

In the past two decades, increasing numbers of Chinese models have been hitting the international runways, and their images have been splashed across fashion magazines and designer brands around the world.

Liu Wen, one of the world's highest-paid models, was the first Chinese face to crack the top five in Forbes' annual list of top earners.

She was also the first Asian model to tread the catwalk for Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2009.

In 2017, the lingerie brand rolled out its annual extravaganza in Shanghai, the first time in an Asian city.

A record number of seven Chinese models took to the runway during the show at the Shanghai Mercedes-Benz Arena.

A total of 87 outfits were showcased by 55 models, including famous names such as Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel and Karlie Kloss.

Increasingly Chinese brands have presented at the world's top four fashion weeks.

A total of 33 Chinese brands took part in the New York Fashion Week 2019 Spring/Summer held in September last year, hitting a record high.

It was a significant increase from the 25 selected Chinese brands for the previous New York Fashion Week.