As the living standards and taste has been improved significantly nowadays, garment not only means a clothes keeping you warm and guarding against the cold weather, but also a combination of individuality and fashion. Thereinto, the knitting garments gradually become one fashionable element appearing in any collections of modern fashion designers.

Therefore, one highlight of the First China International Knitting trade Fair is the designer gallery, locating at the northeast corner of the exhibition hall. According to the organization committee, nearly 16 newly-emerged designers (eight of them are from Japan, and the others are domestic designers) were invited to exhibit their collections at the gallery, and the gallery will be free for domestic and overseas superior designers to represent their works for three years continuously.

And in the following parts, some information and interviews of the designers would be listed:

MITSUKANE AYUMI
The only female Japanese designers appearing in this exhibition. Owning to her outstanding achievement in variety of design competitions, she became a designer in the Japanese JMC Co., Ltd after graduated from University as a cultural garment major student.

Q: Could you please give a brief introduction of the collection that you bring to here?
A: Usually, market is the direction for a fashion designer. So that, I will do the design according to the market research of the targeted consumers. You can see the collection on my right hand; the style is common and easy to accept for normal people in daily life. On the other hand, being a fashion designer, I would like to design the cloth with more fashionable and stylish elements, just like the collection on my left hand. This is my favorite 08 S/S collection. I combined the accessories with the garment, which I think would be on trend in the coming season. The color and details of the clothed could make you look good when take part in a party or banquet. (加日本設計師光金美圖以及作品圖)

Q: What is the reaction of Chinese visitors for you designs during this exhibition?
A: Although I can not understand Chinese completely, I could see from their facial appearance, they like my design.

Q: What is the impression of the knitting exhibition?
A: The fabrics most Chinese knitting manufacture produced are more colorful and bright than Japanese enterprises do. However, I only know little about the underwear and knitting industry of China. If I have the opportunities to join more exhibition of Chinese fashion industry, I hope more and more Chinese consumers would enjoy my collection. 

Ma Ke (make3311@126.com)
Being a chief designer for domestic well-known women’s wear brands for nearly ten years, Ma Ke registered his own brand “FaZooFa” in 2007. 

Q: How do you define ‘design’?
A: As I worked for garment enterprises for ten years, when I decide to design a collection, I would like to know what the market really needs. I think the value of design, in my opinion, is the value of market, which means your designs and works could be widely accepted by consumers.

Q: Could you give a brief introduction of your designs?
A: My favorite colors, you could see from those garment, are black, white and grey, which I think are the most basic fashionable and cool color nowadays. I like the feeling that only the knitted garment could bring, that is why I choose knitted clothes to do my design. My design is neutral, however, effeminizing with several details, such as a mixture of different fabric materials, or mixing the knitting clothes with tatting, and so on. I have the confidence that most fashion people would like my designs.

Q: What do you think of the development of fashion industry in China, especially for those knitting garment designers?
A: Industrial upgrading is essential. Nowadays, for Chinese fashion industry, most enterprises and designers are working for “made in China”, not for themselves. This is a pity. However, there are also some domestic knitting garment brands being famous outside the domestic market, such as the designer for the brand “EXCEPTION”, and the designer Xie Feng, who do their own brand very successfully. That is also a power for me to register my own brand ‘FaZooFa’. Branding is a necessary process for Chinese fashion industry, I wish government, the industrial council, and also along with the enterprises could unite together to make a great effort. And this knitting trade fair provides a platform for us to know more about the consumption market, and to communicate with more fabric suppliers sincerely.  

Xie Jiaqi (X_JIA QI@126.com)
The domestic designer exhibits his amazing evening dresses. Generally speaking, among all the designers at the designer gallery, he is the first one catching my eyes directly to his exhibition booth. Not only because of his wonderful design, but also the model that he decorated with his dresses and Victoria’s Secret. According to the designer, this evening dress is 100% hand made, costing the design studio nearly one and half month to handtailor.

After awarded with numerous of golden medal of design competition, in 2007, Xie Jiaqi owns his brand of ‘J. Queen’ and his design group.

Q: What do you think of the exhibition? 
A: I think it is very well. The exhibition provides a platform for us, so that more and more people could see and enjoy our design, furthermore, we could easily communicate with those fabric enterprises and garment manufacturer. For example, I know more new functional material and fiber that emerge in market through this exhibition, which would become one important part of my designs in the future; and yesterday, the manager of the Jiangsu AB Co., Ltd (one of the famous domestic underwear manufacturers) found me, and he told me he like my design, and wondered if I could give them some advice on how to design and change the mode of Chinese traditional underwear. This kind of face-to-face talk, now, is very valuable for designer and enterprises.

Q: I find that you have already had your own design group. Could you please introduce it?
A: Usually, people would believe that a design group is the group of designers. But it means differently for me. In my opinion, a design group is an integrated group consisted of market consultation, brand evaluation, sales investigation, market exploitation and garment design, etc. So I’m trying to improve my group to achieve the standards. Being a designer, what you care about is not only on how to design the beautiful and stylish garment, the market and sales are also can not be avoided. That is the core of a design group, offering the designer a strong support.    

Q: This time, you also bring the famous brand Victoria’s Secret (V.S) here, why? (加內衣晚禮服圖)
A: I could not help appreciating the beauty of V.S anytime and anywhere. When I saw the show of V.S for the first time, I was shocked by its wonderful appearance, so that I began to decide to cooperate with the brand in Chinese market. Being an evening dress designer, I could not deny that I could learn more from the V.S, the color, material and technique it used can give me inspiration on my own design. Sometimes, I could imagine that the one who wears my design dressed the charming V.S inside, what an attractive women she would be.

LI Xiao
Be attractive with her gentleness and mild designs, Li Xiao owned her LIXIAO Fashion Knitting Garment Design Studio in 2005. Oriented with the design and exploitation of Wool knitting garment, Li Xiao makes effort to show the artistry and the sense of fashion of various knitting styles in her own designs. According to her, LIXIAO design studio is going to launch a designer’s brand ‘LIXIAO’, based on the designer’s unique sense of original creation.  (加李曉圖)  

Q: Why do you choose wool as the core of your design? Isn’t it too seasonal?
A: The woolen knitting garment could be used in any season, if you choose the right material. For example, in summer, I will mix the wool with silk, and bamboo fiber, which could be more comfortable and breathable to wear. Besides, usually, I would add several tatting to the process of knitting, leading to a more fashionable feeling of the garments.  

Q: What is your theme of design and brand?
A: Knitting is also fashionable. I think ‘fashion knitting’ is the theme for all my designs. Woolen knitting garment is not only suitable for daily life, but also could be designed as luxury and high-grade evening dresses. Being a brand, owning your own style is the key. As you could find that, these woolen knitting garments are my style, you can easily judge my designs from any other collections, which is what I really want and I did it. For Chinese knitting garment enterprises, maybe, to improve the techniques of designers and upgrade the value-added of the brand is the only way. 

china textile                          By Wang Ting