Chinese couture

Clockwise from the top: Alta Moda's show in Italy creates a big buzz in the fashion industry. Domenico Dolce (front) and Stefano Gabbana (back) fix the details of a dress before the show. All pieces are handmade by tailors in Milan. The new brand features the unique styles of Sicily and Baroque.

Fashion houses have been introducing haute couture lines to China, one after another. Italian design duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana tell Gan Tian if Chinese people are ready for such fashion.

Fashion watchers may think that Italian design duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are a step too late in launching their haute couture line Alta Moda in July. After all, a few other design houses have already introduced their haute couture lines a few months ahead of them.

But the two chief designers from the label insist they are not trying to catch up. Haute couture fashion has always been on top of their minds.

"This was our dream ever since we started doing this job!" says Dolce. "We've studied and did a lot of research. We have also created a dedicated atelier to create these special clothes."

Haute couture is the highest level of fashion. Each piece is unique. For example, Alta Moda's 73 pieces from this collection are all handmade by tailors in Milan. Every meter of lace is woven differently, and every bead is hand-stitched. But the collection keeps to the fashion house's unique style "of Sicily, Baroque, tailoring and sensuality, but in this case we re-interpreted all of them on unique clothes, following the Italian Alta Moda tradition", says Dolce.

Alta Moda, which was launched in Sicily, Italy, features black body-hugging long dresses, dresses decorated with pink lace, full skirts, velvet heels and floral prints. Each piece exudes romantic Sicilian style.

Hot on the heels was bad-boy French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, who celebrated his 60th birthday in May with a massive haute couture catwalk in Beijing, featuring tight shirts, biker jackets and trenches.

In early July, Stephane Rolland closed his couture fall/winter 2012 show in Paris with Chinese actress Fan Bingbing as the main guest model.

Does the duo have plans for China?

"Now that we know China better, our trips to China gave us many ideas and sources of inspiration," says Gabbana. They are thinking of "doing something special in China in the next few months".

Industry insiders say the label is planning their next Alta Moda show in Shanghai in November.

But they admit that the Chinese haute couture market is still in its infancy. "It is still at the beginning, as in many other markets, but it is developing very quickly. Chinese women want and like special things, because they have a very strong personality, so it is only natural for them to be drawn to Alta Moda," Dolce says.

As a general rule, haute couture designers do not talk about prices, or name their clients to protect their privacy. But Chinese consumers prefer prices to be upfront, and they link the designers' reputation with their client name list.

Does the duo classify their consumers? No. In Dolce's opinion, consumers all over the world nowadays are very similar. They all buy the same products at the same places, and products are now available everywhere.

"Today is really different from the past when certain things could only be bought in the boutiques of Monte Napoleone or in Paris and New York," he says.