Time Line

1979: Pierre Cardin holds the first fashion show in China.

1988: French publisher Hachette Livre launches Elle China, the first fashion magazine in the country.

1992: Big names including Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci open shops in Beijing.

1993: Trends Magazine is launched. Five years later, it collaborates with US lifestyle magazine Cosmopolitan and later becomes the country's biggest fashion media group.

1995: China holds its first Fashion Week.

2000: Lu Yan, 19, is runner-up in the International Supermodel Competition held in Paris.

2005: Du Juan becomes the first supermodel from the Chinese mainland to appear on the cover of Time's supplement.

(China Daily 06/01/2011 page49)