Chen adds grace to Chinese fashion

Chen said that through putting on shows around the world, she hopes to improve people's understanding of modern Chinese women. "Many people, even though they've been to China many times or they lived in China for many years, still don't get it," she explained. "But from one fashion show, they see it. The reason is that we have the ability to translate our view on fashion and Chinese culture into a common language that everyone can understand."

When asked about how she was able to successfully establish a new fashion label and get recognition, Chen said: "I was rewarded by my past, I was the first graduate at the FIT and I worked with many famous Hollywood stars when I lived in the US ... They introduced many high-end clients when I started my own brand in China."

She worked for Halston in New York and Tadashi Shoji in Los Angeles, where she designed for stars such as Oprah Winfrey and Helen Mirren. Chen said timing, too, is vital. Chinese luxury consumers used to have a reputation for favoring Western luxury labels like Gucci, Chanel and Prada, but now the trend has started to change.

"Our brand is really at the right moment - it's about the first generation of luxury brand customers in China who are starting to want something new and something for themselves," Chen said. "They are tired of big names and want something that can really present themselves, their Chinese background."

Chen said that given a long history of craftsmanship, luxury is in Chinese people's DNA. "Chinese people are used to having very fine, nicely made objects, it's in our blood." Her utmost hope is that China, as a country, can be perceived as a fashionable country in the future. "When you look at a society (to see) if they're fashionable or not, you're not looking at how many designers they have, you're looking at how people are wearing things," Chen said. "In order for China to have this global influence in fashion, Chinese people have to look really nice, really stylish."

"That's why Uniqlo, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto or Comme des Garcons, all of these brands have their own global influence, it's because people respect Japanese (designers) as they see (Japan) as a stylish country," Chen said. "We have to do the same thing. It's the same for everyone, like the Americans did in the '70s and '80s. You have to have a spirit, a philosophy behind it, (it is) not just about how many designers you have or how many fashion awards you won."