[Photo provided to China Daily]

Every model wore at least four shades of blue in the next series, which featured Zhang's denim designs.

It presented dresses and jackets created from parts of pants, made recognizable by the repurposed jeans' pockets.

Their cuffs, shoulders, backs and hems were also adorned with bronze patterns. The buzi fabric that was popular in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties was a mainstay of Zhang's denim pieces. The embroidery style's motifs include animals - cranes, golden pheasants and peacocks - that represented ancient officials' ranks.

He believes the fusion of buzi, which recalls feudal history, and jeans, which represent free-spirited modernity, create a cultural connection with Hubei.