Where once our designers looked to Paris, Milan and New York for global gains, the future for Australian talent now lies in China.

''For Australian designers the opportunity in China can really materialise now,'' editor-in-chief of Vogue China Angelica Cheung said.

''Until recently China's fashion consumption market was driven by the big luxury brands, because poor people who suddenly found wealth did not have fashion knowledge, so they gravitated to the obvious brands.

''But now the Chinese know a few things about fashion and want to choose something unique rather than just a logo, so that opens a door for the Australian designers.''

To capitalise on this new appetite for Australian brands, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia has signed a deal with Chinese internet company Tencent that will take our fashion direct to this fastest growing designers' market.

Tencent - the world's third largest internet company behind Google and Amazon - will broadcast Australian fashion videos, interviews, stories and images to its 798 million users with the aim of stimulating interest in and demand for our designers in China. ''We are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of searches and discussions on Australian fashion and Australian designers,'' Tencent fashion channel chief editor Xia Yue said.

''The partnership between IMG and Tencent provides an unprecedented opportunity for Australian designers [and] in terms of advertising value, we believe this offers the largest and most consolidated media coverage in China for Australian fashion.''

Tencent sponsored the show of Chinese designer and it-girl Lan Yu at MBFWA on Wednesday.

Lan Yu, who has more than 2 million social media followers in China, has been appointed an ambassador for the Tencent/IMG partnership and is using social media to share Australian fashion show and designer coverage with her fans. ''The response has been extremely positive,'' she said.

Her Starry Night collection of 12 white gowns inspired by the zodiac signs was enjoyed by the likes of Cheung, who as Vogue China chief is one of the world's most powerful fashion arbiters.

Where other fashion glossies publish 12 issues a year, Vogue China prints 16 and, according to Forbes magazine, has at least 200 more editorial pages than its American counterpart.