Money

Fifth Avenue style shows its origins

By Liu Yujie (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-11 07:55

Beijingers can now buy wedding dresses sold on New York's Fifth Avenue at unbelievably low prices - on the sixth floor of Blue Island Tower in Chaoyang district in Beijing.

The dresses are among items displayed at a trade fair of products from Chaozhou, Guangdong province.

Chaozhou is well known for manufacturing wedding gowns and eveningwear, and exports its products to more than 20 countries and regions, including the United States, Spain, Russia and Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

"I came here with my family specifically to look at wedding dresses coming directly from factories. I heard they are the same as those sold on Fifth Avenue in New York," a young woman, surnamed Cao, told Mirror Evening News on Sunday.

At one stall, eveningwear dresses were selling for as little as 300 yuan. The same dresses, if exported to the US, would sell for about $1,000 each, according to a stall owner, surnamed Guo.

"We produce dresses for David's Bridal, the ultimate mainstream bridal brand in the US, which recently partnered with Vera Wang, the woman who symbolizes the epitome of high-end designer bridal wear," Guo told METRO.

Guo was impressed with the interest shown by Beijing residents.

"Yesterday, a woman bought 20 different evening dresses from me. She was amazed by the exquisite workmanship and low prices of the gowns. She said it would be a pity not to buy a few for relatives and friends as gifts," said Guo.

"So far, even though it is only the second day of the fair, I've sold more than 30 dresses."

Guo and his partner picked up dresses dotted with exquisite sequins and beads and told METRO they were all handmade.

"Chaozhou boasts a long history of traditional handcrafts. Our patterns are either embroidered or stitched, rather than those made in Suzhou, which are printed by machine."

Asked whether they plan to open stores in Beijing, Guo said garment factories in Chaozhou were too busy with orders from abroad to spend much time on cultivating the domestic market.

"This time, we are not here to conduct individual sales. Actually, we were invited by the Beijing municipal government to show the most competitive products from Guangdong," said Guo.

"Fully supported by the local government, the production and export of wedding wear has become one of the cornerstone industries of Chaozhou."

Apart from wedding dresses, other stalls at the fair were crowded with people jostling to see other Chaozhou specialties including porcelain, stainless steel utensils and food.

The fair started on Sunday and will last until May 19.