Chinese fashion designers need to connect to international customers

Last September in the Portico Rooms of London's Somerset House, Huishan Zhang watched as models donning his creations paraded at London Fashion Week. A show at one of the world's top fashion weeks was not bad for a designer who only launched his label a year before.

Zhang, 30, a native of the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, quickly grabbed the attention of international fashion watchers with his modern, feminine, Chinese-inspired pieces. His first fall/winter collection, after he attended design school in England, featured blouses, dresses and coats with double-layered lace and Chinese silk brocade. They sold out within a month at a London boutique.

"When I first met him, I thought he was the first young designer who was a perfect creative fusion between East and West, ... a voice we've been waiting to hear," said Sarah Mower, ambassador for emerging talent at the British Fashion Council and contributing editor to US Vogue.