China proudly presents...

The blossoming of the love affair between East and West is being led by a young generation of Chinese designers who are not only bringing us the promise of something new, but are also making it their mission to redefine what "Made in China" means. Masha Ma, Qiu Hao and Zhang Huishan are proud of their Chinese roots.

Fashion developed late in China, as Masha Ma points out, "but developed with an unexpected speed". She says: "Now the fashion industry in China is offering valuable opportunities to local designers to express themselves."

All three designers trained at Central Saint Martins in London, the alma mater of Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney. Ma graduated in 2008 and then worked for McQueen before launching her own label, which has bases in Paris and Shanghai.

Qiu sells his collection in Shanghai at One by One, which he founded and co-owns with his partner Qiao Qiao; the boutique also stocks Ma by Ma's Studio, her diffusion line.

Qiu had already established his own ready-to-wear line Neither Nor in China before going to London in 2004 to do an MA at Central Saint Martins. Two years later, he returned to Shanghai.

"I had started my business and wasn't planning to stay in London. I just wanted to upgrade my designs," he explains. "Sometimes I think it's unfair that most Chinese designers don't understand the rules of the Western fashion industry, and that's why Western customers think Chinese design is not fashionable." Qiu, however, was determined to learn the Western business system and build contacts before returning home to re-establish his own label.

Zhang, meanwhile, graduated in 2010, and a year of working in the haute couture ateliers of Christian Dior in Paris led to the launch of his own beautifully handcrafted demi-couture collection in 2011. His first collections were snapped up by Browns boutique in London and Joyce in Hong Kong, and are now available in the United States, the Middle East, Russia and China.

Unlike Ma and Qiu, Zhang chose to remain in London, but he produces his collection in his home city of Qingdao. His autumn collection is full of eyelet embroidery in wool (a bit of a signature), lace appliqué and crystals.

"When I started, people didn't make luxury products like that in China," he says.