Liu Lu was on a fast track to the top of the New York fashion world. In May of 2006, after finishing her studies at the Parsons School of Design, she won its annual "Golden Thimble" Award. One of her designs was showcased in the window of Saks Fifth Avenue, and she began working for celebrity stylist G. K. Reid, helping to design outfits for Puff Daddy, Nelly Furtrado, and Rihanna.

But in 2007, at the age of 27, Liu, who hails from Beijing, returned to her hometown, determined to become an independent designer. As we chat in her Sanlitun Nali Patio boutique, she tells me that in Beijing: "Everything is new, there's so much space, if you have a dream you can realize it."

Liu was one of the very first independent designers in Beijing's fashion scene.

"You wouldn't have seen me here 10 years ago."

This initially caused problems for her, as most Chinese women were reluctant to shop at small independent designer shops.

However, her business is now no longer in the red, and Liu believes that the Beijing independent design movement "is going forward", adding that it has "become a hot topic".

Indeed, VOGUE magazine recently did a full feature story on Chinese fashion, focusing on Liu and other up-and-coming young designers.

Liu believes that the capital provides the best environment in China for independent designers like herself because: "Beijing is much richer in terms of history and culture."

For Liu, independent fashion is like art - "If you want to be part of an artistic movement, you have to be in Beijing."

This artistic milieu is reflected in the fashion choices of Liu's local Chinese clients, mainly younger women who have studied overseas and now work for foreign companies. While Shanghai women are "very design conscious", Liu says, Beijing women "go for a funkier style and are more confident, due to the city's more artistic environment, especially its strong underground culture".

Liu makes 400-500 dresses a year for clients. Her designs have a cool and understated elegance. Liu emphasizes that her haute couture strives to be "very practical, to be worn both at work and on formal occasions".

She shows me two of her favorite dresses from her current Fall/Winter line. One is a "suit dress", which resembles a red suit jacket. Liu likes to add a "masculine touch" to her designs, which in this case is a lapel with a straight cut and clean lines.

"I believe simple is best," she says, and this design philosophy is also reflected in her solid color gray knit dress featuring wide masculine shoulders, but very feminine drape; it was worn by the editor of VOGUE for its story on Chinese fashion.

Liu finds ancient China "to be very mysterious" and is "fascinated by its history, fengshui, and the like". But she often draws inspiration from contemporary "everyday life" in the capital, including its hutong.

"I absorb things around me, I'm a collector."

At the same time, Liu believes that, "Design is now very global, very urban due to globalization, it's hard to be local and parochial."

In this sense, Liu very much embodies the new Beijing. Over the past two decades, the city has become a global metropolis, while still retaining much of its traditional culture, it's a city where China and the West come together in unique and interesting ways.

China Daily

(China Daily 10/13/2010)