New fashion festival

According to Ji, the successful appearance of Li Ning, the brand founded by Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast Li Ning in 1990, and Clot Family, which was created by Hong Kong actor Edison Chen in 2003, at the New York Fashion Week in February 2018 was a clear indication of the success of domestic fashion brands for young people.

Ji added that the younger generation in China today have become more accepting of homegrown labels as compared to five years ago when they preferred brands from other nations such as Japan and South Korea.

"Brand-awareness doesn't matter to the young generation, especially the generation born after 1995," Ji said. "They care more about the apparel itself and how it might help them express their attitude. They have strong personalities and refuse to imitate, and Chinese designers have now managed to get a hold of their attention."