(Photo :  Lv Xiaolei)

The fashion show, Design by Shanghai started on Sep. 14^th, in the Royal Opera of London. It is the first time that a group of Chinese designers show up in the London Fashion Week, including 11 designers from Shanghai. How is the event going? Let's have a talk with the vise general secretary, Lv Xiaolei.

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1. How many times has the Shanghai Fashion Design Council cooperated with the London Fashion Week? Why do you choose the London Fashion Week rather than other organization?

It is the second time we worked with the London Fashion Week. In the early this year, the Design by Shanghai projected launched the international design platform, and has been widely praised. To aim at establishing the design style of Shanghai, we set up this project and did a lot of work to introduce it to others. We are fortune to have the support from the British Fashion Council so that we can perform our work on the first day of the London Fashion Week.

We would like to work with London because it is a city rich in creation and energy. They provide opportunities to the young designers so that they can express their perspectives of design. We want the world to see what is new and creation from our own design.

2. How many designers are included in the fashion week? Are there any criteria for the selection? 

There are eleven designers performing in the event. The designers selected for the fashion week successfully express their focus on the technical quality, and more important, the essential sprit of Chinese culture; that is what makes their work special.

3. What is the goal for this project? Why the Chinese designers are so interested in the international fashion weeks?

It is a good opportunity for the others to know our Shanghai designers and for us to know the international design world. With the development of globalization, it is required that the designers have the capacity to express understanding and ideas of what are the fashionable design. In the old days, the traditional Chinese elements are over applied in the design. It is the human nature that they will be tired of the things that never change. However, it won't work if our designers copy other designers' idea. Chinese elements are still important and necessary; what they need to know is how to play with the traditional elements and to use it in the new design. We have a hope that our designers would make good use of the event, and show their best work to the world.

4. What we can learn from the London Fashion Week?

In London, the fashion market is mature and it firmly connects with the purchasers, the retail stores, and the malls; it is a highly effective system that the design turns out into the profitable product. In China the market is not yet well developed, and it is the weakness we need to address and work on in the future.