On the 28th, the grand opening of the Sixth China Chongqing International Garment Festival took place. The event was set to commence that evening at the National Auditorium with a ceremony titled "Beautiful Chongqing." Yesterday, the city authorities held a press conference announcing that the seven major events of this year's garment festival would be spectacular, vividly showcasing the fashion of the mountain city while also promoting Chongqing as a fashion capital.
The vice director of the organizing committee and deputy director of the Municipal Economic Commission, Ma Mingyuan, introduced that the garment industry is the core part of the fashion industry. As the highlight of the 2008 Chongqing Fashion Carnival, the festival, which will take place in the golden autumn season, aims to "highlight design, cultivate brands, enhance cooperation, and expand openness." Grounded in Chongqing but oriented towards the whole nation, it adheres to the goals of leading fashion trends, gathering market popularity, advancing industrial development, and enhancing the city's image.
It is understood that apart from retaining traditional projects such as the opening gala, brand exhibitions, and modeling competitions, the festival has newly launched seven important activities including a trade negotiation meeting for garment export processing factories, the 2008 National Higher Education Women's Wear Design Invitational Competition, and the Chongqing Garment Brand Selection.
The Women's Wear Design Competition will continue for three years. Five universities in Chongqing have five designers entering the 2008 National Higher Education Women's Wear Design Invitational Competition. On the 26th, Ma Mingyuan announced that the list of finalists for the design competition had been released. It was confirmed that 31 fashion designers from 27 institutions across the country, carrying 139 sets of clothing, would come to Chongqing to participate in the finals on the evening of the 29th.
The male host of the competition is Yao Xuesong, host of CCTV Channel Two's "Economy and Law," while the female host is Li Lu from Chongqing Radio Station. The judges include renowned Chongqing-born fashion designer Liang Mingyu.
The five entrants from Chongqing are from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute School of Design Art, Chongqing Normal University School of Fashion, Chongqing Urban Management Vocational College, Chongqing Wanzhou Three Gorges Fashion Art School, and Southwest University School of Textiles and Apparel.
The organizing committee introduced that the National Higher Education Design Invitational Competition, as one of the seven major professional fashion design competitions created by the China Fashion Designers Association, is held annually in different cities or regions, already having significant influence both domestically and internationally. After agreement between the organizing committee of the garment festival and the China Fashion Designers Association, the women's wear design invitational competition will be held continuously for three years starting this year in Chongqing.
The competition requires each finalist to present a series of 2009 spring-summer fashionable women's wear with distinct style characteristics and original personal designs. Ultimately, professional judges will select one gold prize winner, two silver prize winners, one bronze prize winner, and several excellence award winners, who will receive rewards of 20,000 yuan, 12,000 yuan, 10,000 yuan, and 2,000 yuan respectively.
Ma Mingyuan, Deputy Director of the Municipal Economic Commission, introduced that on the evening of the 28th, the opening ceremony of "Splendid Chongqing" will be held at the People's Auditorium, where 12 famous models from home and abroad will showcase creative garments from Chongqing.