All said, the past decade has been a golden age for young Chinese fashion designers to grow and flourish. With a slew of designers making their debut in both the domestic and international fashion arena, many of them triumphantly moved from runways to boutiques where their works are exclusively showcased. Loosely dotted around Shanghai, these designer boutiques are a Mecca for the city's fashionistas and hipsters. The Global Times recently journeyed around town and discovered one particularly swanky rendezvous where a string of celebrated homegrown designer labels are on offer.

La Vie

Tucked away in a nook on the second floor of Xintiandi Style, one of the city's most recent up-scale shopping destinations and which mainly carries designer brands from home and abroad, La Vie is the brainchild of local fashion designer Jenny Ji.

After spending a couple years studying fashion in London and Milan, Ji returned to her native Shanghai and established her brand "La Vie" in 2002. The ready-to-wear label celebrates a clean and sophisticated design philosophy for metropolitan women.

With a nearly 10-year presence on the local fashion scene, and several outlets across town, Ji has expanded her product line from simple women's wear to wedding gowns and fashion accessories.

At her Xintiandi Style boutique, there is an extensive range of apparel and accessories on display, many of which are heavily influenced by traditional Chinese cultural symbols such as embroidery and the Chinese knot.

Ji also boldly incorporates "Chinese red" into the color scheme of her many designs. The prices range from a moderate 1,000 yuan ($159) for a silk shirt, to more than 4,500 yuan for a woolen overcoat.

Add: L202 Xintiandi Style, 245 Madang Road 马当路245号新天地时尚L202单元

Tel: 3310-0829

Uma Wang is another leading local designer who has won many awards for her fashion shows in Shanghai, Beijing, London, Paris and Milan. A graduate of  Shanghai Donghua University (the former China Textile University) and the London-based Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Wang designed for other Chinese labels for 10 years where she developed her signature knitting techniques, and defined her own style and aesthetic.

She launched her eponymous label in London in 2005 and gradually secured a place on the domestic fashion map by consistently producing high-quality products and collections that always manage to balance fashion with functionality.

At her Shanghai flagship store in the Xintiandi emporium, Uma Wang showcases her winter season collection of clothing and accessories. The eclectic designs are dominated by a neutral palette of black, white and grey to create a plain, yet powerful touch of the urban wear for women.

Her collection, which includes cotton jackets and pants, and woolen sweaters and dresses, exemplifies Wang's skills in mixing and matching different fabrics and textures to produce simple, but strong, garments with subtle detailing.

Add: L229 Xintiandi Style 新天地时尚L229单元

Tel: 3331-5109

This brand was established by Wang Yiyang, one of the country's most prominent fashion designers. A former graduate of Shanghai Donghua University and an once faculty member of the same design school, Wang was spotted by Chen Yifei, the late Chinese artist, during a fashion design contest in 1997.

Wang later quit his teaching job and steered Chen's Layefe fashion company as the chief designer before setting up his own label Zuczug in early 2002. The label targets well-educated and fashion-conscious women aged from their mid-20s to their early 40s who are looking for tasteful, yet edgy designs.

In a mere decade or so, Wang has successfully expanded his business across the country with a plethora of outlets in some 19 major Chinese cities.

Zuczug's Xintiandi boutique literally "outshines" its neighboring tenants with a brilliant color scheme of yellows, oranges, greens and blues characterizing its latest winter selection. Items on show range from casual hoodies and formal overcoats, to leather handbags and woolen scarves.

Wang Yiyang is also credited with developing "Cha Gang" (teapot in Chinese), a quaint boutique on Yongfu Road featuring some of today's freshest clothing and accessories defined by their conceptual, cutting-edge and limited-edition designs.

Add: L204 Xintiandi Style 新天地时尚L204单元

Tel: 6384-6322

Even Penniless

As its name suggests, Even Penniless embraces a brave, modern notion of "living and enjoying your life even if you're penniless."

The mastermind behind the label is Gao Xin, a Shanghai native who studied at a Hangzhou fashion school and worked as the former chief designer with the popular domestic clothing brand Meters/bonwe.

As one of the most promising young Chinese designers to garner acclaim at fashion weeks in Shanghai and Beijing, Gao is particularly enamored with the "deconstruction of clothing" to achieve a minimalistic and chic result.

Gao set up Even Penniless in 2006, and today the business stretches from Shanghai, Changzhou and Hangzhou, to Nanjing, Beijing and Wuhan. At his Xintiandi boutique, there is a wide array of seasonal apparel for women.

Most of the products on display feature simple patterns, but with an approach that pays close attention to design and quality. The smooth cuts and clean lines of these exquisite fabrics are proof of excellent craftsmanship.

Add: L230 Xintiandi Style 新天地时尚L230单元

Tel: 3308-3208