Romance afoot as designer's shoes reflect Chinese opera

Butterfly and Blossoms, a collection by the Chinese label Sheme. Photos provided to China Daily

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"The words are beautiful and so is the music," Liu says of The Peony Pavilion. "I hope what we show to Western fashion society is the essence of traditional Chinese culture.

"We use silk to reflect the smooth curves drawn under the designer's pen, and then use the laser to accurately burn out slots for the crystals on the smooth silk fabric," she says.

Then more than 100 crystals are inserted into the slots by hand. After high-temperature ironing and pressing, Liu says, these glittering crystals are tightly embedded in the smooth silk.

It takes 12 hours to embed the crystals into the uppers.

People who watch the show may not know the story of The Peony Pavilion, Liu notes, but they can still experience the charm of Asian culture.

Wang Yanyan, a Chinese student who studied design in the British capital, was happy to see a Chinese designer on the catwalks of Europe.

"I hope more and more Chinese design will step into the international spotlight," Wang says. Other observers said that it's time China started making efforts to ensure that products carry "Designed in China" instead of "Made in China" labels.

Sheme was founded by Liu in 1998. The company now has four stores in Shanghai, Chengdu and Beijing. "Our current plan is that Sheme can become China's top custom-made women's shoe brand and can release our designs at international fashion weeks. This is the first step," Liu says.