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It was a bow on a dress that finally undid everything for Zuo Wen, when she wondered whether she really wanted to continue designing and making clothes for women.

"When I first returned to China in 2006, I did couture for ladies," said Zuo, 34, a fashion designer who graduated from the University of the Arts London.

"But then I was soon brought to face situations in which I had to choose between being a good designer and being one who simply pandered to people," Zuo said, recalling a customer with a bow fetish who insisted that Zuo add a giant bow to an elegant, minimal dress she had designed.