Photos: Child models hit the runway at China Fashion Week

Child models present creations from the YAMIDO Spring/Summer 2021 collection show by Shuo Jiang, during China Fashion Week in Beijing. The 9-day event kicked off in Beijing on Saturday.

Over the weekend, crowds packed a former industrial warehouse in Beijing as the China fashion Week got underway, with models strutting mask-less on a square runway and guests oblivious to social distancing norms.

Similarly vibrant scenes are being seen elsewhere in China as consumers return to cinemas, live performances and restaurants.

To many, they indicate a late-summer recovery in Chinese household spending is broadening and propelling the next stage of the economic recovery. Above, child models present creations from the MIBAI Spring/Summer 2021 collection show by Qingmei Lou, during China Fashion Week.

A child model has her makeup applied before a rehearsal for the MIBAI Spring/Summer 2021 collection show by Qingmei Lou, during China Fashion Week.

Sales of consumer goods, a proxy for consumption in China, rose across the board at the end of the third quarter, led by auto purchases, as household incomes returned to positive growth and employment conditions improved after being slammed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But with the easing of curbs gathering pace in the third quarter, the hospitality sector is poised to accelerate its recovery. Already, its contraction in output narrowed in the third quarter versus the previous three months. Above, a child model presents a creation from the YAMIDO Spring/Summer 2021 collection show by Shuo Jiang.

A child model presents a creation by Qingmei Lou at the China fashion week.

Child models present creations from the MIBAI Spring/Summer 2021 collection, during China Fashion Week in Beijing.

“This August, sales in the domestic (apparel) market turned from negative to positive,” Zhang Qinghui, chairman of the China Fashion Designers Committee, said. “I think the numbers for September, or even the fourth quarter, will be better.”

A man takes selfies with a child model outside a venue for China Fashion Week, in Beijing.

Child models present creations by Qingmei Lou, during China Fashion Week in Beijing.