China's 1st all-Japanese fashion show opens in Shanghai

Asian Economic News, Nov 15, 2004

BEIJING, Nov. 8 Kyodo

An all-Japanese fashion show, the first of its kind in China, opened in Shanghai this week to show off 57 brands from 43 companies to a country increasingly keen on foreign apparel.

According to the Shanghai Exhibition Center, the show's venue, about 300 people signed up for Japan Fashion Fair in Shanghai 2004, which was organized by the Japan External Trade Organization and two Shanghai-based trade groups.

Japanese designers have joined previous China fashion shows but never held their own show, said Wang Lei, a spokesperson for the Shanghai International Exhibition Co., the show's Chinese host.

This show's lineup includes Daidoh Ltd., Sanyo Shokai Ltd. and Silver Ox Inc. It began Sunday and ends Tuesday.

A key objective is to give Japanese fashion a push into China, the Shanghai exhibition center said in a statement.

Although Chinese women like foreign clothing, most of the fashion-conscious cannot regularly afford boutique prices.

''A small amount of Japanese fashions have made it in to China due to exporting,'' the statement says. ''However, the majority of Japanese brands have not formally entered the Chinese market.

''This provides an opportunity for the Japanese fashion and garment brands to access the Chinese market, thus making it possible to initiate cooperation,'' it says.

Japan's fashion industry is the world's second largest after the United States, according to JETRO.