Romance afoot as designer's shoes reflect Chinese opera

In the 17th century, Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu, often called the "Oriental Shakespeare", wrote the romantic love story The Peony Pavilion.

Now a Chinese designer has taken inspiration from the classic Chinese story and created Butterfly and Blossoms, a designer shoe collection which debuted at London Fashion Week in September.

"We prepared for 15 years for that debut," says Liu Qiongying, founder of Sheme, a custom-made women's shoe label from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.