Fashion is booming in China now and is an area that offers opportunities for Irish designers. Ahead of the 2015 Year of Irish Design, Paul Costelloe presented his spring-summer collection at an event in the Irish Embassy in Beijing, hosted by ambassador Paul Kavanagh and his wife Rosemary Kavanagh.

Last week, a highlight of Shanghai Fashion Week was the publication of Fashion China by Tipperary-born writer Gemma Williams.

The book is the first comprehensive English-language book about Chinese fashion and looks at 41 design talents – including Guo Pei, Uma Wang and Huishan Zhang.

“The Chinese fashion industry is incredibly complex and layered, even though it is relatively new,” Williams says, “so I have heard that perhaps one solution was seeing it through a different perspective to try and simplify it. The book offers the world a snapshot of what is happening currently in the industry.

“To be honest, I think there are opportunities for everyone in China, you just need to be brave enough to try it.”