Zhang is the winner of the Dorchester Collection fashion prize. [Photo provided to China Daily]

From his teen years, Zhang knew he wanted to be involved in the fashion business, but opportunities were few and far between at that time in northern China.

To broaden his horizons and improve his English, Zhang's parents sent him to study in New Zealand. A college there provided the neophyte designer with basic skills before he enrolled at the prestigious Central Saint Martins college in London, where renowned designers John Galliano and Alexander McQueen studied.

"It was a new way of working for me, a different approach," says Zhang. "When I went there, I was good at pattern cutting but not so good at processing and creating a collection, because I had not been trained. I had to learn from scratch."

Promising designers are often monitored by the big brands and later offered jobs.

In Zhang's case, he attracted keen personal attention from a hugely influential fashion figure - Delphine Arnault, daughter of the giant LVMH group boss Bernard Arnault - who offered the student a job working at the head office of the Dior brand.

It gave Zhang insights into the luxury-brand trade, along with the confidence to launch his own brand, Huishan Zhang, almost immediately after graduation. It was an instant success, with pieces stocked by prestigious boutiques and his couture Dragon Dress selected as a permanent exhibit in the T.T. Tsui gallery of the V&A Museum.

The past few years have seen Zhang embark on an upward trajectory, with his clothing stocked by such upmarket stores as Harvey Nichols. The annual output is about 1,000 pieces; the cheapest item is about 5,000 yuan ($826) for a top and trousers, with more expensive dresses selling for up to 20,000 yuan. Couture pieces made to order can cost 40,000 yuan or more, depending on the level of intricacy.