With a back beat of traditional Chinese drums and electronic percussion, one of China's leading haute couturiers takes to the catwalk.

The latest customized collection of NE.TIGER was a celebration of traditional Chinese knots, brocades and embroidery in the shapes of butterfly and fan when it went on show Monday for China Fashion Week.

Previously, the brand promoted itself as a luxury dress maker specializing in furs and rare fabrics, like Cloud Silk which was used to make royal robes in ancient times.

Zhang Zhifeng, a tailor who founded the brand 17 years ago, told reporters after the show that his clients included foreign and Chinese celebrities.

Born in northeast China, where winters can get bitterly cold, Zhang reveled in furs, which opened his path into luxury fashion.

Since expanding into haute couture four years ago, NE.TIGER has produced a range of garment in mostly western-style cuts richly decorated with Chinese elements. The company's team of designers include 11 from the United States, Japan and Hong Kong.

Chen Yiyan, media supervisor of the company, told Xinhua Thursday that a customized dress normally costs above 30,000 RMB (4,400 U.S. dollars) and a ready-to-wear gown can go for a five-figure sum.

Despite its high price, the brand is attracting increasing number of customers, Chen said. "Our customers think our designs are unique and right for important occasions, especially those attended by foreigners," she said.

With two outlets in Beijing, another two in east China's Qingdao and northeast Harbin, the company is planning to open three new stores, including a third one in Beijing and one in east China's Zhejiang Province.

China's fast economic growth and growing number of newly rich means great market potential in haute couture, Chen said. "We are doing pretty well, thanks to the support from our customers."

A report released September by a Hong Kong consulting firm showed that China had overtaken the United States as the world's second largest market for luxury goods, only after Japan.

The Shanghai Tang, another brand labeled as luxurious, sells on Chinese flavors too. It tries to present the flavor of old Shanghai, marked by the often tight-fitting Qipao gowns worn by Shanghai women in the 1930s.

Launched in Hong Kong in 1994, Shanghai Tang was taken over in 1998 by Swiss luxury goods company Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA that also owns Cartier, Alfred Dunhill and Montblanc.

A statement issued by the Richemont in September showed that the group's overall sales in the five months ended Aug. 31, 2009, registered a 16 percent decline year on year, but sales in the Asia-Pacific region, including China, grew by five percent although sales in Japan were down seven percent.

No current sales figures of the Shanghai Tang brand is available, but the fact that it now has stores across Asia, Europe, the United States and the Middle East at least proves the Chinese-element thing was a shot worthwhile.

Rare cases of success aside, Angelica Cheung, editorial director of Vogue China, told Xinhua that it would take some time before Chinese fashion brands can achieve real international influence.

"The biggest challenge facing Chinese brands featuring strong Chinese elements is how to add the modern elements in the designs that make the products both Chinese and international," Cheung said.

However, Cheung agreed that the Chinese fashion scene looks very promising as more talents are emerging from an increasing number of fashion schools in major cities.

"They are full of new ideas and enthusiasm as well as being a lot more exposed to international fashion," she said. "Chinese designers need to be aware of what is going on, not just in China, but also in the world, in order to get just the right balance between Chineseness and modernity."

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