Join our panel and discover the heavy weights that are shapping the new side of China’s independent fashion industry. To talk about China’s evolution in fashion and the catwalk are: Hung Huang, publisher of iLook magazine, who has been dubbed ‘the Oprah of China’ for her insightful thoughts on fashion and Chinese culture. We will also be joined by designers Vega Wang and Liu Lu to talk about being independent designers in this fast, emerging market.

Only a few decades ago, wearing anything aside from a dull grey Mao suit was demonised as bourgeoise. Now, China’s luxury market is pegged to become one of the world’s largest at $27 billion, according to McKinsey & Co. Most importantly, fashion is becoming a powerful way of expression for younger generations who move away from big international fashion brands as they develop a fashion identity of their own. Join our panel and discover the heavy weights that are shapping the new side of China’s independent fashion industry. To talk about China’s evolution in fashion and the catwalk are: Hung Huang, publisher of iLook magazine, who has been dubbed ‘the Oprah of China’ for her insightful thoughts on fashion and Chinese culture. We will also be joined by designers Vega Wang and Liu Lu to talk about being independent designers in this fast, emerging market.

Hung Huang serves as the CEO of the China Interactive Media Group, which publishes iLook fashion magazine. She’s the author of a popular blog and micro-blog, with the latter having more than 9 million followers. The Vassar College alumna has also written a best-selling autobiography, My Abnormal Life as a Publisher, and starred in the independent Chinese film, “Perpetual Motion,” which made its international debut at the 2005 Venice Film Festival. In 2011, TIME magazine selected Ms Hung as one of the world’s most influential people. Her latest business venture, Brand New China, is a mutli-brand shop in Beijing that promotes homegrown talent, showcasing everything from apparel to home accessories by more than 100 cutting-edge Chinese designers.

In 2001, when she just 16 years old, Vega Wang moved to London, where she studied at the London College of Fashion and Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design, while interning with the likes of Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. She returned to China in 2008 to establish her Vega Zaishi Wang brand and has become one of the country’s most leading and widely recognized independent designers. Her beautiful hand-made creations, drawn from Chinese and British influences, have won Wang a growing clientele among China’s starlets and fashion elite.

Liu Lu studied fashion design at New York City’s famed Parsons and after graduating from there in 2006, she helped design clothes for Puff Daddy and other prominent American celebrities.  Although Liu was clearly on the fast track toward the top of the New York fashion world, she chose to return to China and make her mark in the Middle Kingdom, establishing first her Lu12.28 brand, followed more recently by Luvon.  Her designs have taken inspiration from both New York and Beijing, providing a modern and cosmopolitan twist on the traditional Chinese sense of female beauty.  With these innovative fashion ideas and her collaboration with photographer Quentin Shi, Liu is making a name for herself from Beijing to Shanghai.

The moderator, Alice McInerney is a fashion journalist, consultant and entrepreneur and has been based in Beijing since 2008. Upon discovering China’s emerging young designers back in 2009, her work has been committed to promoting and documenting China’s rapidly evolving fashion scene. Last September she conceived the STYLE EAST project at Milan Fashion Week, a showcase supporting Asian designers. She recently sold her interest in her first fashion e-commerce startup and is set to launch a B2B platform later this year.