Young Chinese designer Riko Manchit Au and her designs are in the Vogue Talents Corner section. Provided to China Daily

Chinese fashion designer Uma Wang is filled with happiness when she finds out her creations are displayed with those from Emporio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and Z Zegna.

Italian luxury e-commerce site Thecorner.com has, for the first time, introduced five emerging Chinese designers, including Wang, Christine Lau, Riko Manchit Au, Shangguan Zhe and Zou You.

The website, launched by Italian Internet mail order retailer Yoox, in 2008, is in partnership with Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue, to launch Vogue Fashion Fund, supporting young, American fashion designers.

In Italy, it collaborated with Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italy, to promote the country's young designers.

Now, it is China's turn.

The website presents 87 garments from the five designers' fall-winter collections, including overcoats, evening dresses and pencil pants, all of which are featured in the Vogue Talents Corner section.

Yoox founder and CEO Federico Marchetti approached Angelica Cheung, editorial director of Vogue China, when he decided to bring his business to China at the beginning of 2011, saying she wanted to introduce Chinese designers' works to the world.

Cheung immediately agreed. She and her team started hunting and recommended several of the country's best designers.

Uma Wang, for example, graduated from St Martins College, and opened her own label in London, in 2005. Now she has 15 shops around the world. Her trademark overcoats are dark, and the heavy fabrics can be wrapped over the body, which creates an elegant style.

Christine Lau founded her label Chictopia in 2009. Her creations can be characterized as vintage. One of her evening dresses, priced at 2,280 yuan ($358) on the website, looks like a qipao, with floral embroidery.

It is not the first time that Zou You has taken part in The Vogue Talents Corner. He used to submit his creations to the project in Italy, which caused a stir in the country's fashion industry. He sums his style up as: gray, black and deep blue colors, clean lines, minimalist details - or "exaggerated simplicity".

"This project will promote the country's emerging fashion designers. Their creations will get more attention from the world, and it is proof that the power of China's fashion designers is growing stronger," Vogue China's Cheung says.

The designers will be featured in the January issue of Vogue China, with the up-and-coming supermodel Ming Xi presenting their creations, Cheung says.

The website, which was launched in China in September, was at first filled with garments from labels such as Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen and Emporio Armani, but now has Chinese elements.

"We invest in China, as we believe in China, Marchetti says. "We think it is going to be a top three market by 2015. We are investing locally, not only in operations, but also in Chinese designs."

China Daily

(China Daily 12/17/2011 page11)