China Fashion Week highlights eco-friendly materials, technology

The ongoing China Fashion Week held in Beijing is showcasing a slew of fashion works made with eco-friendly materials and technologies, with designers racing to present the country's intangible cultural heritages in fashion making through innovation.

At the 2025 edition of China Fashion Week, which opened on March 20 and which will run until Friday, designers showcased their works, modeled after ancient crafts such as ethnic minority Miao embroidery, batik, and lacquer painting.

As the show increasingly pursues rising trends like eco-friendliness and technology, fashion industry insiders are also actively integrating traditional Chinese designs with innovation and the notion of sustainable development.

A session of the fashion week held Tuesday showcased works of Yang Chunshan, who takes inspiration from the dragon, bird, and butterfly patterns of the Miao ethnic minority group's Bainiaoyi, a national intangible cultural heritage in China, and the images of Xing Shi, or literally the awakening lion.

The designers have also incorporated the idea of environmental protection and sustainable development into dyeing, using natural dyes from fruits like apple, pitaya, and mulberry instead of chemical dyes.

Xie Fangming, vice chairman of China Fashion Association, said the designers at the fashion week have been making innovations in areas like materials and dyeing techniques, reflecting the rising trend of promoting the development of fashion industry with state-of-the-art technology and embracing eco-friendliness.

"We've adopted a great number of technologies, including using new materials like soft, glossy, and more lightweight fabrics to develop new products. In addition, we've made lots of efforts to pursue sustainable development, like using recycled materials, recyclable materials, and plant-based dyes," he said.

The fashion week also features robot models sharing the runway with their human counterparts and also robot dogs running in lion dance costumes.

Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 185 prisoners of conflict on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Moscow brought 185 Russian servicemen back from territory controlled by Ukraine, while handing 185 Ukrainian captives over to Kiev, it said.

It added that the returned Russian servicemen are currently in Belarus receiving psychological and medical care and will later be transferred to Russia for further treatment and rehabilitation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on the same day the return of 185 soldiers as well as one civilian to Ukraine.