Chinese designers grace NY fashion week

Largest contingent ever of established and emerging talent takes over runway New York City is putting on the Ritz.

Thousands of designers, models and celebrities will gather in the Big Apple for the semi-annual New York Fashion Week (NYFW) from Thursday through Sept 13.

Sixteen Chinese designers - the most to date - are prepping to showcase their collections on the catwalks of the premier fashion event in the world.

"More and more Chinese designers coming to overseas fashion weeks reflect the rise of China's fashion market and its synchronization with the overseas fashion market," said Todd Hessert, founder of fashion media company Globe Fashion Runway.

"It's a good phenomenon," he added. "Design in China has gradually globalized and been recognized by overseas media and buyers."

Based in New York, Hessert and his teams in London, Milan and Paris help global designers market their brands.

Hessert said that over the past two years, be it in Paris or New York, Chinese designers have been more accepted by organizers.

"The door is open for Chinese designers to be more active in the world fashion market," he said, citing Wang Tao, Lan Yu, Zhang Chi, Yang Lu, Snow Xue Gao, Calvin Luo and Vivienne Hu as examples.

Taoray Wang, whose designs are a favorite of US first daughter Tiffany Trump, is returning to New York Fashion Week for the eighth time.

Once the chief designer of Chinese domestic brand Broadcast:Bo, Wang Tao launched her namesake Taoray Wang line three years ago.

Since then, her brand, which targets the modern professional woman, has been prominently featured in New York seven times.

Her latest collection, "Shanghai Baroque", will be debuted at NYFW on Saturday.

The line was inspired by a program of music by Baroque composers Henry Purcell and George Frederick Handel presented at the Shanghai International Music Festival.

Wang Tao said she embraced a blurring of time and culture, balancing the ornate detail of the baroque with her signature sophisticated tailoring.

On Sept 12, Taoray Wang will also present its new taoray taoray line, a brand designed to cross boundaries of age, gender, nationality and occupation.

As a third-time shower at NYFW, Lanyu will unveil her new ready-to-wear collection.

The namesake brand established by Chinese designer Lan Yu has been best known for its wedding dresses and evening gowns. The brand has earned widespread recognition not only in China but worldwide thanks to many celebrities wearing its dresses.

Nicole Zhao, CEO of Lanyu Couture in New York, said in an interview that the newly added ready-to-wear production line was a strategic move in the company's plans for global expansion.

Aside from the big names, China's younger generation of designers is testing the waters in New York City.

Emerging brand Lu Yang, established by 31-year-old Yang Lu, will debut its new collection "Fall in Love", which features bright colors and geometric figures derived from the flamingo, a metaphor for faithfulness in love.

"These designers have successfully established a world position of 'design in China'," said Hessert.

"In the future, I believe more and more Chinese brands will go to the Big Four Fashion Weeks. It's a process of accumulation; it's also a necessary course for Chinese designers to reach out to the world," he said.

Hessert's advice for Chinese designers who want to develop an international legacy brand: have a comprehensive outlook that balances design, media exposure and sales marketing.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com