A slow pace and pleasant environment afford designers opportunities to reflect and be inspired, Song Mengxing reports.
In the eyes of fashion designers, Xiamen offers an excellent environment where they can draw inspiration and focus on creation.
Zeng Fengfei, a noted designer in the Chinese fashion industry, has worked in the coastal city in southeastern China for more than two decades.
"Xiamen is innately a place where people can quiet down and concentrate on creation," said Zeng in an interview with China Daily before the 2016 Xiamen International Fashion Week, which started on Nov 5.
He said the inclusive city offers him a free and pleasant atmosphere where he can create works happily.
In recent years, several rising fashion designers, including Wan Yifang, Liu Xiaolu and Yu Jing, went to live and create works in Xiamen.
Zeng said the city's excellent environment attracts people and Xiamen provides many policies favorable to designers to encourage them to settle in the city.
He added that designers also have many opportunities to develop in the city as local companies support costume design and sponsor events such as fashion shows. Zeng said he hopes the Xiamen government will provide even more support to local designers and companies.
Liu Yong, another noted fashion designer in China, said that upon arrival in Xiamen, he felt the slowed-down pace and had time to perceive his surroundings and draw inspiration for his work.
Liu said he likes to go to the cafe street beside the Yundang Lake to talk with his friends and drink coffee, their talks leading to the exchange of new insights and creative ideas.
Liu said Xiamen's clean air and blue skies help people to feel more relaxed.
Zeng and Liu both attended this year's fashion week and showed their work during the event.
Xiamen is not only home to many designers, but also boasts a well-established training system for design professionals.
Higher-learning institutions in the city such as Xiamen University, Xiamen University of Technology and Jimei University offer majors related to costume design and arts.
The Xiamen city government has released policies to attract high-level designers and better train clothing designers. It also encourages local designers and companies to create their own brands in the hopes that one day Xiamen will become a major fashion city like New York, London, Milan and Paris.
The city has organized the international fashion week and the Xiamen International Design Business Week Red Dot in China in recent years. The events have helped the city to become more attractive in the design field, local media reported.
Xiamen is now home to several creative design parks, among them the Cross-Straits Longshan Cultural and Creative Industrial Park, which focuses on industrial design.
Zengcuoan, a once obscure fishing village in southeastern Xiamen, has become a creation heaven for young professionals including painters, musicians and designers.
More than 100 cultural and creative workrooms as well as more than 1,000 cafes, bars, inns and shops have opened in the area in recent years.
The 2016 Xiamen International Fashion Week kicks off on Nov 5 in the Chinese coastal city, with a grand opening featuring a fashion show and music gala. [Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/China Daily]
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