SHANGHAI is gradually regaining its 1930s reputation as "the Paris of the East," and nowhere is that more evident than in the fashion world. Occupying a niche in the comeback is Denise Huang's Suzhou Cobblers, which designs and makes traditional embroidered footwear with a modern twist.

Housed in a small first-floor apartment in the historic Bund neighborhood along Fuzhou Road, Huang's footwear store sits behind a huge glass window displaying hand-sewn shoes with intricately stitched designs.

Huang, a Shanghai native born in the 1970s but coy about giving her actual age, named her business after the ancient Chinese city of Suzhou, which is renowned for its classic beauty. The silk slip-ons she designs and makes are a modern version of the shoes her grandmother used to wear.

Such footwear tradition, deeply rooted in centuries-old China's embroidery art, disappeared during the war years and the cultural revolution (1966-1976). Huang is determined to revive it.

"I missed those beautiful shoes..."

"I missed those beautiful shoes, but the market was devoid of any quality replicas, so I decided to recreate them myself," Huang said.

Her ambition began to take root when she resigned as a graphic designer from J Walter Thompson in Shanghai in 1998 and moved to Hong Kong with her husband. The change in environment spurred a change in her life.

Huang began doing sketches of designs for silk footwear and was lucky to find a group of handicraft masters in Suzhou willing to make the shoes.

After frustrating door-to-door visits to numerous shops in Hong Kong, she received her first order - for 20 pair of shoes - from the Asian Artworks Gallery in Repulse Bay. That first order really cheered her up, she said.

"I couldn't have achieved all that I did without that encouragement from my first client," Huang said.

Her wholesale custom-made business in Hong Kong prompted her to launch a shoe brand in 2001. When she moved back to Shanghai, she was ready to take the business further. In 2003, with an initial investment of 80,000 yuan (US$12,192), she opened a retail store, unaware of the challenges ahead.

She had her work cut out for her, having to do the interior design of the store with no experience in decorating.

On the first day the shop opened, a quarrel broke out between her landlord and a neighbor, ending up in a melee in her store that attracted unwanted attention from passers-by and forced her to close early.

Hearing of the fracas, her husband expressed concern about the shop's future, which did little to lift Huang's spirits.

After the first sale was made, she couldn't wait to call him. The words of her first customer still linger in her mind: "My parents always disapproved of my wardrobe, but I think they will like these," the girl said of her new pair of shoes.

To prove one's fashion taste is to prove another's business acumen, Huang said, clinging to the hope that her one-of-a-kind shoes would catch on sooner or later.

"Each pair of shoes here is self-designed and 100 percent handmade," Huang emphasized. "Every pair comes from the heart."

She is meticulous where materials are concerned, selecting only first-class silk and cashmere for uppers and interiors, and high-quality leather for welts and soles.

"To preserve the tradition is to transform, rather than to follow"

Huang's embroidery designs draw on traditional folk-art motifs like flowers, birds and fish and also embrace innovative patterns like vegetables, green tea and calligraphy.

"Embroidery is like a painting drawn stitch by stitch," Huang said.

A group of sewing and stitching experts in Suzhou, who have been with Huang from the very start, now help Suzhou Cobblers produce about 100 pairs of shoes a month.

"The work is very time-consuming. It must have taken at least two days to make that swallow come alive," said Huang, pointing at an exquisite pattern on one pair of shoes. "That's how we pay homage to traditional craftsmanship."

But stirring nostalgia in public hearts is not enough for Suzhou Cobblers, she said. A business also has to have a modern face.

So she has designed a whole line of old-fashioned slip-ons and the stylish arched-back shoes with more modern designs and fabrics, including soft leathers and bright colors.

"To preserve the tradition is to transform, rather than to merely follow," Huang said. "Fashion is ever-changing."

Her insightful strategy has helped her shop post steady sales growth. Huang said she now sells about 50 pairs a month and has annual revenue of about 360,000 yuan (US$54,878).

The price for a pair of embroidered shoes varies from 480 yuan to 2,000 yuan, depending on style, material and pattern. Those prices are at the high end of the footwear market, but discerning people looking for top-flight quality and distinctive design are willing to pay higher prices, she said.

"People are growing tired of big brand shoes, which mostly all look alike," she said. "They are looking for both quality and personality."

Loyal customers are great word-of-mouth promotion for the shop. Huang also launched an online shop several years ago to cope with increasing orders from overseas as a Chinese fashion wave swept across the world.

A pair of shoes embroidered with Chinese cabbages and soya beans is among her best-sellers.

Huang came up with the idea when shopping in a local vegetable market. It was a unique pattern for shoes, yet so quintessentially evocative of China.

"Staying ahead of those pirates is the best way to fight them"

Huang admitted that some of her shoes have been pirated by copy-cats. But she just laughs them off and constantly introduces new designs to thwart them.

"Staying ahead of those pirates is the best way to fight them," said Huang. "I find myself a compulsive designer now."

She still employs only one full-time employee to run the shop, giving her time to concentrate on product development.

Behind the glitz and glitter of the fashion industry is a hard-knuckles battle of survival. Huang said she thinks the average life span of a fashion design shop in Shanghai is barely more than three months. Many designers simply give up because they can't make ends meet.

"We are on our own," said Huang of the industry. "There is seldom any support from the government for the design community."

Recent hikes in material prices and rent have put pressure on the business, she said, but a rise in sales offsets the negatives. She's now expanding into clothing and handbag designs that coordinate with her shoes.

Huang said she wants to lift profile of her brand name as she charts a path ahead for her business.

To that end, a famous designer shop called Moris, located in Shanghai World Financial Center, has offered to act as a distributor for her shoes. The Amanfayun Hotel in Hangzhou, an upmarket destination, has invited her to design a collection of children's clothes for its boutique. She has also extended the brand's presence overseas in a UK store called the Great Haul of China.

Huang is busy preparing for a fashion show on April 23 to mark the 10th anniversary of her brand name.

"It's to remember how far I have come and to mark another decade of commitment to my dream," Huang said.