Jin Hui, another top fashion designer in China, will bring her series of jeans made of gambiered Guangdong silk, a National Intangible Cultural Heritage that has been made in Guangdong province for more than a hundred years. "This series of jeans fit the aesthetic tastes of the younger generation and make a breakthrough on the dyeing technology for gambiered Guangdong silk," Jin said.

 Jin believed that a bold attempt at combining intangible cultural heritage with popular elements is key to the successful spread of Chinese fashion designs on the global stage. Her skillful application of fashionable elements such as hand embroidery and nail beads into the traditional gambiered Guangdong silk has upgraded the elegance of the cultural heritage to a whole new level.

Pop-up shops build intellectual property for fashion designs.

Guangdong Fashion Week also seeks innovation in terms of business modes. It has introduced pop-up shops to make timed discounted sales of specific apparel at major fashion markets and in squares near the Guangdong Fashion Week venues. In the meantime, mainstream media, internet celebrities, entertainment stars, and e-commerce platforms joined hands to promote sales.

One of Zhao Huizhou's works is inspired by China's intangible cultural heritage. [Photo/gzdaily.dayoo.com]

Chen Fangming, the founder of a software company dedicated to the smart production of apparel, said to the reporter: "The existence of internet boosts the demand for special designs on the apparel, which requires the guidance of big data to bridge the gap between the designs and retail of the apparel." Chen also believed that, fashion designers in Guangzhou could make rapid progress in their careers, due to the city's advantageous geography, tradition, complete industrial chain, and tolerant culture, which can make technological innovation in the fashion industry grow very fast.

Cross border trade and industrial capital spur innovation.

With the continuous growth of China's apparel industry, the industry has gradually made a transition from the idea of "World Factory" and "Made in China" to the idea of "Designed in China". This year's Guangdong Fashion Week puts more emphasis on originality, relying on the power of cross border trade and industrial capital. 

On the one hand, Guangdong Fashion Week has cooperated with the online retail service provider AliExpress to build a trade platform for international apparel. On the other hand, it joined hands with the B2B platform Unite Garments Association to build an online service platform for China's garment industry, which raises the efficiency of the whole industry through a deeper connection between all links on the industrial chain, including purchase, design, production, and sales.