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Chinese youth have more money today to spend on fashion than ever before. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the annual per capita disposable income of urban dwellers increased by an average of 7.2 percent per year between 1978 and 2007. In 2008, the average disposable income was 15,700 yuan, or approximately $2,300.

    History

        With the rise of China's middle class, Chinese adolescents and twentysomethings have more money to spend on clothes than their parents' generation. This has encouraged the development of a "fast fashion" market in China where international retailers sell affordable approximations of clothes by popular and brand-name designers.
    Fast Fashion

        International fast fashion retailers like Zara and H&M have recently opened in China. Both stores aim to bring the newest fashion trends to the general market as quickly as possible. Fast fashion, coupled with the availability of disposable income in China, has led to a rise in teenage fashionistas.
    International Influence

        Fashion has changed dramatically in China in the past 10 years with the introduction of international brands. The fact that China is the largest manufacturing country in the world has helped China's economy, but it hasn't necessarily been a boon for Chinese fashion designers. Most Chinese designers depend on the Chinese market for survival, but the flood of international brands has provided them with fierce competition.
    Music's Influence

        The United States and other countries have mixed music and fashion for decades, but the concept is relatively new to the Chinese, which emerged about 10 years ago in China and is related to the increase of Internet usage there, which provided photos and examples of this trend.
    Original Style

        Though influenced by Taiwan, Korea, Japan and the West, Chinese youth are creating a style entirely their own. This is related to this generation being the first to grow up under China's one-child policy and during a time when the country has undergone economic reorganization, an opening of economic markets, and an adoption of a kind of capitalism with a Communist twist. According to consumer researchers, while 15- to 25-year-olds in China want to own global fashion brands and styles, they also seem to lack the cynicism that can be found in other youth markets.
    Anchoring the Look

        While some women in China deck themselves out in a head-to-toe runway look, many young women like to add chunky shoes or sneakers as a fashion statement. This so-called "anchoring" of their fashion is an important part of a woman's individual style in China since freedom of expression can still be limited.

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