In February, the Global Language Monitor, a US company that analyzes trends in global languages, named Shanghai as Asia's most fashion conscious city.

The research group collected data from print and online media outlets and documented how many times a particular city was associated with fashion and haute couture topics.

Surpassing Singapore and Hong Kong for the top spot, Shanghai is now arguably both the financial and fashion hub of the East.

Overall, Shanghai was ranked the 10th most fashionable city in the world - the other nine were New York, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Rome, Berlin, Sydney and Antwerp.

Yet Shanghai's love with fashion is not a new phenomenon. This week saw the 11th Shanghai Fashion Week come to a close, as models for international brand Dsquared2 strutted down the runway in that clothing line's newest collection.  

But does Shanghai truly deserve its title as Asia's fashion capital? Moreover, does it deserve the more prestigious nomination as one of the world's top 10 most fashionable cities? The Global Language Monitor's method of measurement is hardly the most definitive way of defining how stylish a city is - it merely scans media outlets for buzzwords.

And Shanghai Fashion Week hasn't always been the roaring success which it is now - even today it remains a comparatively smaller affair than the Paris or London fashion weeks.

So what do Shanghai expats think of the city's status as Asia's fashion capital? Do they feel it is a city with a global fashion presence? And are there any particular trends in Shanghai which expats dislike?

Rebecca Unsworth, from the UK, magazine intern

The fashion in Shanghai is better than I expected. Some girls go very girly, which is nice, but they have a very girly look, a much pinker and younger look than I would go for. Some people do get it just right with what they wear but I don't like a lot of the hairpieces that some people wear or the pink velour tracksuits that a lot of women wear around the city.

Cornelia Bergholt, from Denmark, business intern

I'm surprised that Shanghai is one of the world's top 10 most fashionable cities. Yes, there are some lovely shops in Shanghai but I think other cities like Copenhagen are more stylish. I don't like some of the hats people wear - the bear hats - I think they look childish. People in Shanghai tend to be quite casual, there's not really that very sophisticated look that you often see in some other cities. However, a lot of girls in Shanghai wear a lot of color - they love color - and I always think that I wear a lot of black compared to them.

Andrea Palermo, from Italy, architect

If you compare fashion in Shanghai to fashion in other big cities like Milan, Paris or London you find that Shanghai doesn't have one particular style specific to it. People here love to mix colors, styles and everything and it often ends in disaster. On the other hand if you go to Xintiandi or Huaihai Road you see a lot of Chinese people who are clearly very fashion conscious.