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Creative designs

William Shen, a Pinghu native born in 1985 and the son of a former tailor, runs a down clothing brand called Christopher Raxxy in the city.

The brand hosted a fashion show on the Simatai section of the Great Wall in Beijing in July and later received an invitation to attend Paris Fashion Week next February.

"The past few years have seen the rise of the guochao movement－a rise in support of Chinese cultural elements. I have drawn inspirations from traditional Chinese culture and applied them into my designs of down clothing," Shen said. "The weaving techniques used in the series of down clothing at the Great Wall show imitate the traditional bamboo weaving art prevalent in the lower reaches of Yangtze River."

"We have obtained four invention patents for the design and are applying for an international patent as well," Shen added.

Shen admitted that the designs of down clothing made in Pinghu were once extremely similar to one another, but the situation has greatly improved in the past few years as many local businesses have invested heavily in hiring designers and purchasing design patterns from across the country.

According to Wu Xuequan, the deputy general manager of China Garment City, a huge local wholesale market for down clothing, more than 20,000 registered original design patterns were sold this year, up from less than 200 in 2016.

Wu Linqi, the manager of the market planning department who once studied in South Korea, said that she has been surprised to see many merchants from South Korea, particularly Seoul's Dongdaemun Market, in Pinghu in recent years.

According to Wu, South Korean womenswear has long been popular among Chinese consumers and Dongdaemun has always been regarded by Chinese fashion designers as a mecca for such clothes, but this trend seems to be rapidly reversing now.

Christopher Raxxy hosts a fashion show on the Simatai section of the Great Wall in Beijing on July 20. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]