Xidan, a business area well known in Beijing as a shopping paradise, is aiming to become an international fashion hub in the near future.

The 2011 Xidan International Fashion Gala, the area's first fashion festival, debuted on Monday with a glamorous opening ceremony at the Seasons Place, a popular shopping mall. It had a star-studded red carpet walk, a dashing music fountain, a cheerful foreign band and a top models' fashion show.

Running until Thursday, the festival features 12 events such as a gold and jewelry festival, a fashion photography contest, creative cuisine presentations and a discussion between fashion industry insiders from the East and West.

The organizers plan to make it the largest summer fashion event in the city to attract more foreign and domestic brands to open shops here.

Paul Delaoutre, chief executive of Lafayette, the high-end department store in France, spoke at the opening ceremony, saying the fashion market is taking shape in Xidan and Lafayette is happy to join the process and help add more fun to people's shopping experience.

Lafayette's Beijing store, the first in Asia, should be open to customers before 2013, according to Wang Fujun, an official in charge of the district's commerce industry. "We share a lot in common ... and the Beijing store will be an essential part of our long-term development plan," Delaoutre said.

With a customer flow of about 300,000 a day, Xidan achieved annual revenue of 9.05 billion yuan last year, a growth of 19.75 percent year-on-year.

"In the future, people will no longer think of Xidan as the name of a place, but as the name of a brand," said Wang Shuxia, director of Beijing Commercial Information Consultation Center. "Xidan will be synonymous with fashion."

China Daily

(China Daily 06/01/2011)