The International Garment Industry City held an opening ceremony in Qingdao's Jimo city, East China's Shandong province, on September 12.

Covering an area of 2,000 mu (1.3 square km), the industry city has received investments of 8 billion yuan by Qingdao’s Joint Industry Development Group. It consists of three parts, including a manufacturing area, trading area and residential area.

The industry city has attracted more than 400 brands, such as Macksemon and Minipetre.

Li Wei, chief designer of the International Garment Industry City, shared his research findings on the trends in the international garment industry at the opening ceremony. He said that only by adding fashionable elements to traditional clothing, could a brand catch customers’ eyes.

A joint press conference was another highlight, attracting various famous entrepreneurs and designers, such as Zhang Yihua, a ‘China Top Ten’ Fashion Designer, and Caesar, a young German designer.

“We are committed to building a multifunctional research and manufacturing headquarters for garment enterprises. Meanwhile, a service platform is also planned to promote industry operations,” said Liu Jiang, the industry city project director. He added that the garment industry as a cultural creative industry needed a strong fashionable environment to boost its upgrade.

Liu also said that they would hold a fashion show, a model contest and creative completion in the garment industry to promote promising brands and attract experts and customers in areas of fashion.

The industry city has built a garment creative and cultural center to work with many famous designers from home and abroad, helping the local designers follow international fashion trends.

Qingdao Agricultural Bank of China’s Jimo Branch signed a cooperation agreement with the industry city to provide mortgage support in factory building, which is conducive to fund-raising for the small and medium-sized enterprises in the industry city.

Qingdao Textile and Garment Special Union will cooperate with the industry city to publish Qingdao Style, the first magazine for the garment industry in Qingdao, to promote local garment brands and expand the influence of Qingdao’s apparel in the country.