Trendspotter

Sally, 23

Publicity Management, Shanghai

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Project Runway has been drawing attention in China since it was released on ICS (International Channel Shanghai). Hoping to cash in on the concept, Channel Young in Shanghai presented a similar design talent show, My Style, which attracted a large number of domestic and foreign fashion designers.

In Season 2, 2010 (season 1 aired in 2008), topics were more related to the hottest and most fashionable events in Shanghai including the 2010 World Expo, Fashion Festival and the Shanghai International Film Festival.

In the fifth round of the show, Everybody, Let’s T-shirt, Xue Lijuan and Xu Xiaomin won the competition and got a chance to sell their winning work, a T-shirt with a postmark on it and one with a Chinese door, in Giordano stores at a low price.

Despite this easy recipe to impress Chinese youth (take young designers, add publicity and an easy price point for let’s say – T-shirts), the show does not seem to be hitting the mark with its target audience.

I didn’t watch My Style very often. I don’t see the contestants’ individual style in their designs clearly. And honestly, that winning T-shirt is just not that cute or impressive to me.

-          Zhou Wei, 24, male, Graduate, Nantong

I only watched My Style season 1 back in 2008. I didn’t keep up with season 2 because it was so boring and lame, plus it looked just like a lousy copycat of Project Runway. I really hope they won’t make the audience play the fool any more.

-          Olivia, 23, female, English Teacher, Shanghai