2014上海时装周开幕

The 2014 Shanghai Fashion Week has kicked off in the trendy neighbourhood of Xintiandi on Wednesday. Forty-five shows are scheduled at the event sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, with about 20 percent of them featuring international designers. Chinese actress Gong Li was there to help get things started.

Shanghai Fashion Week will include foreign brands like Oasis from Britain and Dsquared from Italy, as well as brands from Israel, France, Spain and Vietnam.

But on the opening day, among the slew of international labels, local designer Zheng Shijing is in the spotlight. She studied at the Beijing Institute of Fashion and Technology before working for Aimer, the leading Chinese underwear brand.

"To be humble, we still can't compare with the big brands. But it won't take long for us to catch up," Zheng said. "Consumers are not as fixed on big brands as they were a couple of years ago. They are starting to buy items for the designs, not just fancy logos, which is a sign of progress. And I think China has a bright future."

Chinese movie icon Gong Li attends the event as the local label's ambassador.

"It's fashionable to wear swimsuits for things other than swimming. You can also wear them when you walk along the beach or dine in restaurants. Maybe sometimes our Chinese concept is different - we always wear one-piece swimming suits. But actually we can also wear bikinis and look really beautiful as well," Gong said.

Shanghai Fashion Week is held twice a year, and is part of Shanghai International Fashion Culture Festival.

The event offers an expansive window into China's vast territory and its markets for international fashion designs. It also helps increase the influence of Chinese fashion designers on the global playing field.