Yang Ziming, born in 1971 in Shishi, was once a boxing runner-up at the Fujian provincial games. He launched his brand, named Cabbeen after his childhood nickname, in Hong Kong in 1997. Yang held a grand fashion show in his hometown in 2005 and won the Golden Thimble Award five years later. In 2013, his company went public in Hong Kong.

In 2012, Cabbeen staged its second fashion show in Shishi. To mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Cabbeen brand this year, Yang decided to stage a third show in his hometown.

Yang explained this hometown commitment, saying that no matter how far away he has’ gone, Shishi is always the place where his understanding and his dream for fashion started, and it will always be an important inspiration for his creations.

Gong Beibi, who starred in director Dayyan Eng’s 2005 movie Waiting Alone, was the first face on the runway. As a Shishi native, Gong knows the development of Shishi’s fashion industry by heart. The city became known as China’s gateway to the global fashion industry in 1980s, thanks to local residents’ rich overseas connections. Gong recalled that back then every household was making garments, which set a solid foundation for the later prosperity of Shishi as the fashion powerhouse of China.

Gong admires Yang Ziming as a visionary. Gong attended Cabbeen’s runway at the China Fashion Week earlier this year, together with Dong Li, a promising young fencer in China’s national team.

Fencer Dong Li from China’s national team during Cabbeen’s runway show early this year at the 2017 China Fashion Week. [Photo/Xinhua]