Mode Shanghai is a platform for global fashion. Photo: CFP

Models in front of a booth displaying the latest trends Photo: CFP

If you've noticed even more well-dressed people in Xintiandi over the last few days, it could be because Shanghai Fashion Week 2015 Spring & Summer kicked off on Wednesday, bringing with it the movers and shakers of the international fashion scene. Big name designers from across the world are showing off their latest designs on the catwalk.

However, it's not just high-end clothing. Many international brands are also coming to the show to sound out the market and promote their new collections aimed at the retail market. The Global Times headed down to the Mode Shanghai trade show at the Shanghai Exhibition Center to talk to representatives of these international brands and get their views on the state of the fashion industry in China.

Graziana Maellaro, sales manager, Italy

China is the new center of the world, and Shanghai is the first step. We are a very old company - we started 70 years ago making shirts. We've been in China since 2010. All our production is in Italy, from fabrics to packaging. For us, this is our first step in China. The best thing is that Chinese people really appreciate made-in-Italy products, because they know what is fake and what is real. If you show them a fake product, they will see that you are trying to cheat them for sure.

Samantha Chambers, global sales director, the US

We're working on bridging the gap between the US and China markets as there's a growing market here in China. We've been here with Mode Shanghai before. We decided now is a good time to return and see how the market has changed and grown. We were last here in 2013, but things change so quickly. I think it's grown a lot in this short amount of time. There's more of an understanding but there's still room for growth of the understanding of the multi-store, multi-brand retail model that we're accustomed to in the rest of the world. But there's so much potential here. What's exciting about this show is having all the different countries together, and getting to meet people from all over the world. I can tell you that prints are going to be big, and also separates, like crop tops that show a very flattering portion of the stomach, with high-wasted mix-and-match bottoms for the summer. Winter is all about easily accessorized clothing and layering.

Models in front of a booth displaying the latest trends Photo: CFP

 

Models on the catwalk Photo: IC

Martin Pugh, company director

I'm here because we represent US labels through Asia-Pacific, and China is one of our regions. We've had the belief for the past 10 years that the China market is growing. But the growth hasn't been as rapid as we expected, or the growth may have been rapid, but the vehicle to get it to the people we sell to has not been working. Our clothing range is a middle-high-end contemporary range, then we have another that is pitched a little lower. We only sell US-manufactured clothes to China. We feel that the middle market wants to be able to differentiate themselves from the rest, and they want to be able to say this was made in a foreign country, not locally made. When you're out in Shanghai, you notice the wealth. When I was here three years ago there were more poor people on push bikes than there are now.

Regina Manevitz (left), jewelry trader, the US

This is my second time in China. I've also been to Beijing. The organizers asked us to join them here today. They offered a good price and we're trying to expand our business so we came here hoping to find people to buy. We make high-end fashion jewelry. We've had quite a bit of interest from journalists and other designers today. We're hoping to sell in China and to show our brand to China, either through distributors or retailers, but it hasn't happened so far. We sell very well in Europe, the Middle East and America.

China is becoming more global, but I think people are still somewhat stuck with the big brands and don't seem to want to explore more interesting, eclectic collections. Of course, this is just my feeling from today.

Elisa Viani, accessory trader, Italy

This is my first time in China. I came today because we'd like to open our products to the China market. We make women's leather handbags. I think there is interest in such products. So far, we've exhibited our products in Italy (in Milan) and there we had many visitors, including many from Japan. We work a lot with the Japanese market and we'd like to enter China as well. Our products are completely made in Italy, everything from the raw materials to the construction is all Italian, and we'd like to start selling here.

Global Times