As fashion messages go, it was a strong one: last October Fendi held a catwalk show on the Great Wall of China. Clearly that country, and its potential market, is much in the minds of western brands.

The show opened with 88 dresses in vibrant red, closed with a black cheongsam gown, and in between, “played with circles”, said creative director Karl Lagerfeld. “I experimented with cuts and prints to achieve a graceful effect that would look good on Chinese models.”