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Chinese couturier Grace Chen, whose designs have been worn by a number of celebrities in the US, returned to China in 2009 where she established her own brand in Shanghai. Her designs have been popular with movie stars Liu Xiaoqing and Liu Tao, and Taiwanese celebrities including Lin Chi-ling and Annie Yi.

Chen told Shanghai's China Business News that there is potential in China's fashion industry but more needs to be done to make it stand out internationally. "I was lucky to be able to establish my own brand and studio in 2009," said Chen, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

Chen worked as a fashion designer in New York and Los Angeles for six years after she graduated and returned to Shanghai in 2009. Since her return to China, Chen said, she has noticed an increase in the number of high-income consumers.

the designer said she learned during her time overseas that foreign luxury clothing brands did not pay much attention to the Chinese market and their designers did not take time to analyze its needs. "This is where I wanted to make a breakthrough," Chen said, explaining how sought to cater to body types common among Chinese women.

The couture industry is based on a made-to-measure approach, she said. For Grace Chen dresses, two measuring tools are used — the measuring tape and the eye of the designer, she said. Designers observe the way a client moves to produce clothes that fit them well, Chen said.

"Couture is not just about selling a product but about setting a standard," Chen said. But that is not an easy task, because most designers tend to focus heavily on their products and do not have much time for management, marketing or seeking government support, she added. This, she said, creates a bottleneck in the process of developing China's couturier industry.

Business operations and brand building are two other areas than can be improved, Chen said.

In developing the couture industry, it is not enough to just spend money on promotion, Chen said. The improvement of designers and growth in the number of customers are among the key factors that will make China more competitive in the fashion world, Chen said.

Kiss your sweet pinks goodbye. This fall, tough, rebellious and '90s-inspired beauty looks include the extremes of shocking, I-dare-you-to-say-something-to-me, electric purple lips a la Rihanna along with moody-broody goth brown lipstick launched into the social media stratosphere by Kylie Jenner with her 40 million-plus Instagram followers.

The looks are in keeping with what we've seen in fashion, worn by celebrities on red carpets and by Southern Californians on the streets: At the Emmys actresses showed off gowns embellished with metallic hardware including chain-link straps, and at September's Kaaboo Music Festival in Del Mar it was 1995 all over again as girls flaunted flower-print baby doll dresses, chokers, blue jean jackets and Dr. Martens.

Don't worry, there's still enough room for smoky eyes and beautiful, bronzy eye shadows, but if you want to make a stronger statement, you'll be on-trend now too. "I feel like it's an '80s punk mash-up with the '90s because in the '80s you had all of those really hard, graphic lines and then in the '90s it was moving toward natural but grungy natural that really wasn't natural at all when I look back at it," says makeup artist Pati Dubroff, who worked with both Kevyn Aucoin and François Nars in the '90s.

Here are some looks to try, along with Dubroff's tips and some product choices.

Simply Tough: Graphic Eye Liner

Anna Sui, DKNY, Fendi, Oscar de la Renta. Versace — these are just a few designers who recently sent graphic eyeliner looks marching down their fall runways.

Dubroff's advice? Keep it simple. "If too many other colors or shadows are on the eye, you don't get the power of the graphic eye," she says. "You want to make a graphic, edgy statement. What you see in magazines is really hard to do. It's been retouched to make it look sharp and symmetrical. Just remember, it's not about perfect, it's not about symmetrical, it's about art … go into that punk mode."

To keep the black line on you upper lash line looking graphic, Dubroff recommends drawing straighter lines than a cat-eye and finishing with squared-off edges. A liquid liner gives the sharpest line but using cream liner may be easier. "Find a brush to use with it that has the right kind of tip for you," says Dubroff. "Sometimes a brush with a flat, straight edge can be better for a look than a pointy brush."

Brown, Berry, Black and Purple Lip Color

"When you Google ''90s makeup' you get pictures of Cindy [Crawford], Drew [Barrymore] and Gwen [Stefani] but then you also get all of these Kylie Jenner pictures," says Dubroff, adding that deep berry is the easiest color of the bunch to wear. "Honestly, it's pretty tricky to make brown lipstick look flattering. It's aging on a 17-year-old and it's especially aging for anyone who's over 17."

She says formulas are denser today, noting brands — such as Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick — that come in a range of deep, trendy colors. Bear in mind that we live in an era when people apply their makeup more for Instagram than for interacting in the real world, "and they're filtering and lighting it … it's hard to step out into daylight with those faces.... Brown lip color can be beautiful but it has to be a sheer layer, not thick," says Dubroff. For the real world, she recommends blotting the color after applying it and opting for a satin-finish formula rather than anything too glossy or matte. "Also the skin has to be beautiful and not overly painted or the whole thing looks mask-like, Kabuki-like," she says.

As for that over-drawn, dark lip liner so popular in the '90s? "The first time around, we all cherished our MAC Spice Lip Pencil," says Dubroff. To keep it modern she suggests gently lining the lips with a very fine line for a finished, but not harsh, look.

Colors like black, aubergine and purple purposefully say, "Don't mess with me," says Dubroff. "It can be an amazing statement, but not for everyone everyday."

The 24th Ulverston Fashion Show, which this year was rebranded as Fashion, Food and Fizz, saw models from boutiques across the town take to the stage at the Coronation Hall on Friday night, displaying the latest trends and designer outfits.

Some of the highlights during the show included a fun jig along to I’ve Got My Socks On, a Russian-themed catwalk display featuring plenty of wooly hats in time for winter, and a swimsuit section.

In addition to the usual fashion show, there was food and drink supplied to the organisers by various Ulverston outlets for free.

The massive event raised money for the North West Air Ambulance Service and Blackpool Cardiac unit, with the audience generously digging into their pockets in an auction, which featured use of a Mercedes sports car for the weekend, a bathroom suite and a charity teddy mascot.

Victoria Cash, one of the owners of Pretty Things in King Street, Ulverston, helped to organise the event and said tickets sold out within a couple of weeks due to the high demand.

She said: “We decided this year changing the focus of the fashion show and try and involve as much of Ulverston as possible.

“We’ve had many wonderful raffle prizes donated.”

The shops involved in the fashion parade were Pretty Things, Pure, Phoebe Fashion, Boudoir Pink, Rushforths and Two by Two.

The mixture of styles went down well with the audience as models strutted their stuff around the floor and around the tables.

The Old Farmhouse pub in Priory Road baked a huge cake in the shape of the yellow helicopter belonging to the North West Air Ambulance for the event, and Lisa Hart serenaded the audience during the interval.

Ralph Spours, Ulverston-based estate agent, said the feel-good event was always hugely popular, with the new elements this year adding to its appeal.

He said: “It’s absolutely amazing. It’s been going for 24 years but this one is just fantastic.

“The atmosphere is fantastic and everybody is enjoying themselves.

“All of the food on the tables is given to us by various establishments in Ulverston.

“All of the girls want to take part in the show. This sort of event is what Ulverston does best.”