Remaking style statement

Sun Ke is among Chinese designers shining at the London Fashion Week.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"I am so proud of the increasing presence of Chinese designers at London Fashion Week, and you can see this growth in the showrooms here. Chinese designers are delivering work that is more sophisticated than ever, and they are now more warmly accepted by the market," she tells China Daily.

While the new Chinese designers are proud of their heritage, they are reluctant to be pigeon-holed as "Chinese designers" who are expected to use overt, and sometimes overused, Chinese elements, such as embroidered dragons in their designs.

"Chinese elements have an influence on me as a designer, but I don't use them deliberately in my designs," says Sun.

Wei, who is inspired by Victorian era jewelry, takes a similar position. "I want to use elements different from Western or oriental elements, by integrating the two to create something new."

Also echoing that view, fashion curator and author Gemma Williams writes in her 2015 book Fashion China: "Today, a wave of driven and enterprising designers is pushing forward the still nascent scene. Young, talented and ambitious, they have founded labels that seek to redefine the traditional connotations of what it means to be 'Made in China'."

However, on their way to expand their influence, Chinese designers face challenges to cater to the tastes of a global market which is so different from China.

With prices ranging from 300 to 800 pounds ($420 to $1,100), By Sun caters to a high-end European clientele that the designer makes every effort to please.