"Asian fashion brands from South Korea, China and Japan are becoming serious rivals of their Western peers as Asian consumers become increasingly confident in their own style and take pride in buying home-grown labels. Most of these consumers are under 35, Internet-savvy and increasingly on the hunt for small, cool, original brands that will make them stand out from their parents, fashion executives and retailers say."

Asian fashion brands from South Korea, China and Japan are becoming serious rivals of their Western peers as Asian consumers become increasingly confident in their own style and take pride in buying home-grown labels. Most of these consumers are under 35, Internet-savvy and increasingly on the hunt for small, cool, original brands that will make them stand out from their parents, fashion executives and retailers say.

Fashion experts say, high quality is no longer the preserve of Western luxury brands and Asian brands are attracting attention as they experiment with new textiles and materials, facilitated by their local manufacturing base. Big luxury brands such as Prada, Kering's Bottega Veneta and Tod's, already suffering from plunging sales due to growing threat from East and are likely to face further problems. This also due to excessive price increases, over-exposure in certain markets such as China and mega-brand fatigue.

Asian brands riding high

Chinese fashion brands, such as Ms Min and Comme moi, are the fastest- growing contemporary labels sold at department store Lane Crawford, with outlets across China and Hong Kong, says chairman Andrew Keith. Lane Crawford also sells Korean menswear brands such as Woo Young Mi and expects to start selling Korean womenswear soon. Lane Crawford has seen its assortment of Chinese labels grow over the past four years to more than 30, from just four. Twenty per cent of Chinese-designed clothes bought online are shipped outside China mainly to Chinese nationals living abroad who want access to these brands, Keith said.

High on Asians' shopping list are Japanese brands, such as Sacai and Tsumori Chisato, many of them older and better established than South Korean or Chinese labels. Lady Gaga regularly wears Japan's Roggykei, created in 2006 by two graduates from Osaka College of Design.

New styles an attraction

Meanwhile, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai have fast-expanding fashion weeks, sponsored by local industrial groups, showing dozens of budding brands. Some labels have moved West and started showing at Milan and Paris fashion weeks and opened shops there. Guo Pei, the Beijing-based designer, whose yellow long cape dress was worn by Rihanna at the Met Gala last year, started showing at Paris Couture week in January, while Chinese shoe brand Stella Luna, whose stilettos cost more than €500, has three free-standing shops in Paris.

Another Chinese-born designer Yiqing Yin, whose creations are sold in China, New York and Paris, won several European fashion awards and has been hailed by the international fashion press as one of the most promising designers of her generation. Popular Korean brand SJYP, run by duo Steve Jung and Yoni Pai, sells in Europe and the United States, including at Selfridges in London and Opening Ceremony in New York and Los Angeles, while Chinese-born Uma Wang, a graduate of London's Central Saint Martins design school, sells in China and in Europe, including at l'Eclaireur in Paris. She also shows at Milan Fashion week.

Support from big businesses

Samsung C&T, affiliated to Samsung Electronics, maker of Apple rival Galaxy smartphones, is one of the biggest corporate investors in Seoul's up-and-coming fashion scene. Every year, it gives $100,000 to two or three designers to help them develop their collection and since 2005 has invested $2.7 million in 19 design teams through the Samsung Fashion & Design Fund. Samsung's fashion unit has a stable of brands, ranging from Korean brand Bean Pole to Belgian fashion label Ann Demeulemeester.

Koreans' self-esteem and self-confidence has been boosted by the power of 'K culture' and this is also why Korean and other Asian brands have started to become more popular, feels Sung-Joo Kim, one of Korea's most high-profile female entrepreneurs. She owns and runs German luxury leather goods brand MCM, known for its $700 studded logo-embossed canvas backpacks. Kim, who previously developed Gucci's Korean business, also pointed out that Asian brands cater better to Asian women's more petite shape

'Made in Asia, designed in Asia' has become cool, and the stigma that Asian brands had is disappearing fast. What’s more, Asian brands are also attracting interest from Western buyers.