A model presents a creation by Grace Chen. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"A lot of people are thinking about this, but the thing is how do you make it happen. That's what we are trying to do now... how do you cut costs and maintain efficiency. That means using technology."

Born in China in the 1970s, Chen acquired a master's degree in fashion design from the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology before studying fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She worked as a fashion designer in New York and Los Angeles for 15 years for brands like Zum Zum, Halston and Tadashi Shoji, before she returned to China in 2009 to create her eponymous brand.

Chen's work, which fuses a Chinese spirit and craftsmanship with Western tailoring and aesthetics, is free of obvious, extravagant Chinese elements that are often found in China-inspired fashion.