Chinese-Canadian designers grace Toronto

Toronto Fashion Week, the second-largest fashion show in North America, kicked off on March 12, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

In a previous interview with Xinhua, Canadian model and reality show judge Stacey McKenzie had named Wu's collection as one of the top must-see shows of the week. Kreesha Turner, a Canadian artist, even wore one of Wu's dresses from the previous season to show her support.

"Adrian is the youngest designer to be showing at Toronto Fashion Week, and for me to see where he is already at such a young age only shows that he is going to continue growing and keep improving," Turner said.

Wu started his career at the tender age of 18 during Vancouver Fashion Week and caught the media's attention after debuting at Toronto Fashion Week late last year.

Wu, who always delivers a statement in his designs, titled his collection "Hierarchy of Needs."

"It was specifically inspired by the kind of Parisian romanticism and citing, with the masks, like an ambiguous idea of 'V for Vendetta,' if you've ever seen that movie," said Wu. "I guess I like my work to have context."

Wu's use of masks was in stark contrast with the soft romantic music and feminine touch of his designs.

"I'm a big fan of Adrian and how he loves to have the billowing fabrics. He always has a beautiful corset up top in which he accentuates the waist and all that," Turner said.

"So for me, it's reminiscent of what we know Adrian is capable of doing best, but also he's trying to be fashion-forward and trendsetting, and you can definitely see that in his collection," she said.

Next to Chen and Wu, other Chinese-Canadian designers like Cara Cheung, Sunny Fong and Martin Lim also presented their collections on the runway this week.

The event, which will last until Friday, is expected to attract 30,000 to 35,000 people.