In China, Dreams of Bright Ideas

Western influence has persisted in the Chinese fashion scene. Most Chinese women of means prefer to buy famous brands such as Chanel or Ferragamo. And most Chinese designers still borrow from what they see in imported Western clothes rather then finding their themes in China's distinctive traditions of dress.

"We still have a lot of copying in China's fashion industry," Zhang Da said. "Right now, I can't say my stuff is 100 percent original, because it still reflects influence from designers in Belgium and Japan, but I am looking for my own style."

In the end, China's originality may arise from the crude fashions in vogue with country girls who come to the big city sporting spangles on their jeans and sharp points on their shoes, he said. The generation now coming of age may produce designers with the individuality to find inspiration there for something new, he said, "but I think it will take a long time."

After graduating, Wang spent two years with a Hong Kong fashion company that produced Western-designed clothes under license for sale in the Chinese market. He came away with a feel for the world beyond China and a sense of how to move toward his long-term goals. The crackdown after Tiananmen did not affect him or his friends.

In 1997, Wang went to work with the late Chen Yifei, a successful painter who spun his celebrity as an artist into a lucrative fashion business. For six years, he worked at Chen's side, helping open 175 stores in China, Japan and South Korea and market ready-to-wear designs for women.

Wang has trained 80 dressmakers to produce garments according to specifications from fashion houses in Europe. With that and his willingness to supply silk and other goods to European clients, Wang makes a living while awaiting what he hopes will be a breakthrough for his haute couture.

Some of his designs would be seen as Western-oriented and decadent if the Cultural Revolution were still underway. Coats resemble the robes of medieval Christian monks, with heavy hoods. Dresses have bulbous sleeves and bold stripes reminiscent of European court jesters. Nothing seems to look like Shanghai's traditional qipa o dress, let alone a bulky Mao suit.

By 2003, Wang was ready to step out on his own. Haute couture was his goal, he said, and he thought he was ready to conquer Paris, London and Milan.

After getting together a collection of designs, he toured European capitals last year, seeking to promote his clothes. He was invited to the sidelines of London Fashion Week and has an invitation to "Who's Next" in Paris this September. But the world market, he found, was not clamoring for his creations.

"So then I began to understand," he said. "I was not ready yet."