奢侈品牌瞄准亚洲市场

Asian-inspired fashion is nothing new, but it's not just on the runway anymore. Today's biggest names in luxury are repositioning their strategies to cater to this vast market. French luxury label Louis Vuitton's newest ad campaign features an Asian model, a first for the fashion house. Even merchandising is changing. British shoemaker Rupert Sanderson's newest design is tailored specifically to Asian feet.

We’re going into the dressing room of Hong Kong designer Barney Cheng.

Luxury brands can take a cue from what's going on behind the scenes of Hong Kong fashion week. Designer Barney Cheng has been catering his couture designs for the Asia's wealthiest for 18 years.

People are totally like running over themselves to get into the Chinese market, because seriously that's where money is. And I'm sort of happy that I start a base in Hong Kong so it’s at the right time at the right place. And hopefully I'm doing the right things.

How much would an outfit like this cost?

This would probably be about 50,000 HKD.

50,000 HKD, so that's about 6,000 US dollars.

Yeah, they are about… I mean compared to the major brands, it's still a bargain. Everything’s done by hand and then it’s basically just done on a layer of what we call “baby touch”. It is very soft fabric. And so, each and every little bit is put on by hand. The Asian clients are really into the, the details, so even zippers they request, like, Riri zipper just because it's one of the most expensive zipper brands in the world.

It's not just the finer details, there's a difference in taste.

Chinese people tend to like lace more. (It’s like) Malaysians and Indonesians like handy work bar and Japanese, they are like very understated.

The fashion world has changed dramatically since Cheng first stepped into the industry in the early 90s.

Back then, what I remember, like, when I first started out, (that I was), that I had to go to Paris, get the fabrics. And then, a lot of the fabrics mills would not let me into their store because, at first they think I was Japanese. Opened arms, and then I said I'm from Hong Kong. “Nay”! Because I won’t need any people copy other people’s designs. “I’m not from Tai Wan”. “Nay, different Chinese”. so….It was really, it was quite difficult but now I mean, they actually fly over, my suppliers they fly over to Hong Kong, show me the collection, and then they go on to Shanghai, so actually, it's nice to be Chinese at the moment.

The table has turned a little bit.

The table has turned totally. And I think it’s like, obviously people still love Europe, because that's where luxury and aspirational living products started out. But I think now all eyes on Asia.

On stage, Cheng's opulent designs reflect his clientele's taste, a mix of fun, glamor with an international twist. It’s a vision this designer has homed over the years and what international luxury brands hope to discover now.

Pauline Chiou, cnn, Hong Kong.