Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    SHENZHEN’S annual lingerie fair will, for the first time, designate a zone for designers from the world over to showcase their latest pieces at its 10th session, which will open at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center on May 7.

    The designers, majorly from the Netherlands, France, Italy, Colombia, and Japan, are independent designers, the organizing committee for the Shenzhen International Brand Underwear Fair told reporters Friday.

    Nearly 500 lingerie producers will join the fair, which will cover an area of 58,000 square meters, more than 10 times the size of the fair’s first session in 2005.

    Now Asia’s largest, the fair will see more than a dozen Shenzhen lingerie designers exhibit their top products and tell stories about their brands during the three-day event as the city’s underwear trade association builds the brand of Shenzhen-made intimate apparel. A lingerie design competition will enter its final stage during the fair and 30 works are competing for the top award.

    The intimate apparel industry has become a pillar fashion industry for Shenzhen, according to Li Lan, a director for the city’s economy, trade and information commission. “Shenzhen currently boasts nearly 400 lingerie producers, which churn out 600 million pieces of lingerie annually,” Li told reporters. “The output of Shenzhen’s lingerie industry is 40 billion yuan (US$6.5 billion), accounting for 15 percent of the country’s total and one-third of the province’s total. Shenzhen’s top lingerie brands have a market share of more than 50 percent in China.”

    The city government hopes to promote Shenzhen-made lingerie as a world-recognized name by lending their support to the industry, Li said.