Fashion houses rush to stake their claims in China, Gan Tian reports.

Beijing-based fashionista Chen Bingxu feels much busier recently. He's had to attend a party or a show every two weeks during the past four months, sometimes running from one party to another on the same evening. "Big fashion labels rush into China to open stores, hold fashion shows, launch parties. It seems to have reached a peak during the first half of 2012," says the 31-year-old fashion designer.

Chen's experience illustrates that Beijing and Shanghai have now indeed become the cities of fashion.

From April to July, there is one internationally famous top fashion label coming here every two weeks, bringing over A-list celebrities, glamorous parties and eye-catching shows.

For Chen, the most impressive one was by Hugo Boss. For the past seven years, the German menswear held no shows in China, but this May, it brought more than 1,500 guests from all over the world to Beijing.

The fast-growing economy in this country has generated huge profits for fashion labels. This is the main reason why they are here.

"For us, it is a very important event because it's the only global fashion show Hugo Boss does this year, and on purpose, we decided to do it in China to pay tribute to its importance in the market," says Gerrit Ruetzel, president and CEO of Hugo Boss Asia Pacific.

According to him, China is already the third largest market for Hugo Boss in the world, followed by Germany and the US. In the Chinese mainland, there are 86 stores, and the company plans to open 20 more over the next couple of years.

The economy is not the main reason for the surge. They believe China is becoming more fashionable in terms of design.

When Francesco Russo, creative director of Sergio Rossi, first came to Beijing, he was amazed that there were so many Chinese women wearing trendy high heels. That is why he wants to create a special pair for this country.

"China is already a very important country for fashion. We have to bring something unique here," he says.

Lutz Bethge, CEO of Montblanc, says Chinese consumers are getting more sophisticated.

"For us, the main idea behind the creation of the Montblanc concept store here in China is that I always felt that our Chinese customers were interested in knowing more about the brand," he says, even small details.

For Chinese people who are involved in the fashion industry, like Chen, these events are good opportunities, and not just for deals.

Zhang Danyue, an independent model manager, lined up the catwalk talent for Versace's show held at the beginning of April.

She says it was a good opportunity for rookies to see how to work for an international fashion label.

"Chinese models, fashion designers, or public relation agencies - all of them can get inspired by those glamorous events," Zhang says.

Jean Cassegrain, CEO of Longchamp, says "all the pieces are coming together"in Shanghai as the label prepares to sponsor a French dance company's tour in China, and also announcing its first Chinese ambassador, Gao Yuanyuan.

He believes this is also the time when all of the pieces of China's fashion industry are coming together.

Contact the writer at gantian@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 07/15/2012 page13)