City starting to close gap with world fashion capitals

Some 1,500 people registered an appointment at the showroom, up to 80 percent of whom were professional buyers and industry insiders, the organizers said.

"It saw many more visitors than its counterparts at shows in Europe," said Guo Yirantian, a 24-year-old designer who attended the latest fashion weeks in Paris and London.

There could be anywhere between 300 and 1,000 fashion buyers' stores in China. Real-estate consultancy RET Property claims there are 300, with Shanghai topping the list at 69, followed by Beijing and Chengdu of Sichuan province.

Yang Jiong, co-founder of Showroom Shanghai, estimates there are over 1,000.

"Every designer aspires to become Valentino and every buyers' store wants to be Lane Crawford," said Lin Jian, a fashion commentator based in Shanghai.

"A showroom is the bridge that connects the two parties and makes things possible," he said.

Lane Crawford is one of Asia's top luxury department stores, with a focus on the buyers' culture.

M.A.C Cosmetics China replaced Maybelline as the official make-up partner of Shanghai Fashion Week for the first time this year. The company is headquartered in New York.

"Many Chinese designers are still in the phase of growth, expansion, exploration and event transformation rather than being fully settled or established," said Mark Jiang, M.A.C China's general manager. "It means there is a lot of energy floating about."

Some designers create their own fabrics, some work magic with knitting yarns and others combine street and more upscale styles in inventive ways, he said.

According to The Wall Street Journal, M.A.C has "an uncanny knack for predicting what or who will be hot next". The brand supports 850 shows at 34 fashion weeks in 29 cities each year, including the big four.