Measuring up

Photo Provided to China Daily

"It allows fashion to gain a new life: the new oriental aesthetics is explained with an understanding heart."

The collection features natural fibers, especially silk and soft cottons, as well as innovative techno fabrics, all with detailed embroidery.

The Ji Wenbo fashion-house headquarters are in Fujian's coastal city Xiamen. His production factory in Shandong province employs 1,000. The Ji Wenbo Fashion Agency has a design laboratory and a research laboratory.

The brand also has 100 boutiques spread across Asia, with the bulk in China. It plans to expand to Europe soon.

Chinese brands are working to gain international exposure but are held back by a lack of international commercial appeal, Ji says.

But he hopes that will change.

"We have done a lot of things but we need to do more - invest in brand building, education and communication, and then expand incrementally."

Local brands should develop identities domestically while reaching Western qualitative standards, he believes.

"We already have our own excellences - local designers who are a signature of excellence. But it is necessary for us to increase the number of those with a distinctive style in order to accelerate the process."

Ji believes the frenetic buying of luxury foreign brands by China's wealthy will soon taper.

"This phase is already underway."