Italian fashion brand Penny Black set up a runway in Shanghai's Citic Square and covered the walkway with plane tree leaves.

The "pleasure of dressing" is what Penny Black advocates and it claims to be a creator of such dressing philosophy.

The fall and winter collections on display late last month near the Penny Black store were far from peculiar, excessive or exaggerated. Instead, they were elegant and simple, exuding a feeling of ease and comfort.

The return of black is inevitable for this winter. Black allows for a variety of hue changes and light and shadow tricks. Gray is also a focal point, with layers of steel gray, mottled gray, and pearl gray flannel, knit, and tweed.

This season's shirts are designed to be interchangeable, taking inspiration from long double-breasted ceremonial robes, fully expressing the feminine figure and yearning for the past.

The collection features soft fleece and tweed. Pants have also been constantly refined, able to give their wearers a model's figure. Dresses with simple yet elegant color schemes and uncomplicated prints can be worn as outer wear, combined with Capri pants to evoke images of the 1960s.

"We target customers who like the Italian fashion style and always like to be trendy and updated," says Luca Dallai, trade manager of Penny Black. "But they are by no means fashion victims."

Penny Black opened its first shop on the Chinese mainland in January in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, followed by the Shanghai shop and another two shops in Shenyang in the northeastern Liaoning Province.

"We entered the mainland after a careful, thorough analysis of the market and its potential," says Dallai. "Shanghai, as the economic center of China, is most important for the brand's development in the country."

He says the brand plans to open more stores in Beijing and Chengdu in Sichuan Province by the end of this year.

Another top brand, DKNY, of the US opened its first Shanghai store at Plaza 66 earlier this year. DKNY also recently held its first runway show in the city in a newly renovated old factory.

A yellow cab perched at the entrance symbolized "New York Culture" and has attracted many trendy guests to be photographed. When the show started, big screens on the walls displayed typical scenes of cosmopolitan New York.

When it comes to style, New Yorkers like it unscripted. DKNY has created a look as confident and sophisticated as the city that inspired it.

A total of 25 models presented 45 sets of outfits.

Schoolgirl dressing of extreme proportions has a fresh, modern ease. Dark shades of navy, bottle green and orchid wine light up with sexy flashes of sky blue and lemon.

Everything has a spontaneous, just-thrown-on feel: strong-shoulder jackets and coats, small wool duffels over short kilts, tailored velour blazer suits with high-waisted shorts, chiffon pinafore slips and easy silk T-shirt dresses. For the evening, the colored silk dresses are airy and voluminous.

For men, the season's coats are city classic - a wool peacoat, a black cotton puffer and a tailored leather jacket. To add a little color, a long striped scarf or a loose schoolboy necktie will be the first choices.

DKNY: Henglong Square,No. 1266, Nanjing W. Rd., Shanghai