Chinese women consume 8 per cent of their fashion budget on lingerie every year, compared with French women who spend 20 per cent, according to sources with the Shanghai Mode Lingerie, which is in its final day at Shanghai Exhibition Centre. ( Click to See Photos on Lingerie Fashion Show)

A model poses on the catwalk in designer underwear during the Shanghai International Fashionable Underwear Exposition on October 23, 2006. The expo attracted top designers at a time when underwear is making the shift from a practical necessity to a fashion item in China. [Newsphoto]

The Chinese lingerie market is a fast-moving one, said Marie-Laure Bellon-Homps, general manager of Eurovet, the organizer of the exhibition.

"The 8 per cent is small, but consider China has 503 million women and the number is huge and potential is promising,"added Anne-Manuele Hebert, international director of Eurovet. "Now the Chinese lingerie market rises 20 per cent per year and produces products valued at 2 billion euros."

"I don't see any difference between Chinese women and French women who look at the same movies and read the same fashion magazines," said Chantal Thomass, a fashion designer from Paris. "Chinese women also want to be seductive, it is the same all over the world."

China is the third largest country for luxury consumption, according to sources with the organizers. And statistics show that in the coming 10 years, luxury consumption in China will catch up with that of Japan.

"China is a key player in the fabrics industry - it is not a huge manufacturer, but will have huge potential for creation and consumption," Hebert said at a press conference yesterday.

This exhibition, which is the second of its kind in Shanghai, has attracted 25 famous international brands who believe the Chinese market is as important as those in France and Italy, according to Hebert.

The French presence at this session is all the more significant since some of the biggest names in lingerie come from there.

Newcomers include Aubade, Cacharel, Christian Lacroix, John Galliano, Eminence and Janine Robin.

In comparison to 2005, twice as many key players in the lingerie and beachwear sector have exhibited - including labels, raw materials, production and retail - coming from 21 different countries. It has hosted 145 exhibitors compared to 76 last year.