Yiqing Yin becomes first Chinese-born haute couture designer

The first Chinese-born designer has been admitted into Paris's elite coterie of haute couture creators.

French designer Yiqing Yin, who recently quit as artistic director of Leonard to concentrate on her own label, is also one of the youngest, at 30.

Haute couture exists only in Paris and is sustained by a small number of the world's richest women.

The designation - regarded as the pinnacle of the fashion world - is protected by French law and attributed exclusively by the ministry of industry to 14 houses whose clothes are entirely made by hand and tailored to each client. Yin was admitted to the club on Thursday.

Yin, who grew up in France after moving from China aged four, will feature in the next haute couture shows which take place in the French capital between January 24 and 28.