'Year of the Chinese consumer': Luxury fashion brands pin growth hope on China

A model presents a creation for Kenzo by Japanese fashion designer Tomoaki Nagao, aka Nigo, during Kenzo fashion show in Shanghai. Photo: AFP

Against Shanghai's glittering river skyline, Kenzo-clad models strutted down a breezy open-air runway on Friday (July 28) for the French fashion brand's first-ever show in China.

The country's vast pool of consumers is critical to the luxury market, and top brands like Kenzo are turning to wooing them on their own turf as domestic high-end shopping rises.