You know spring is in the air when China Fashion Week kicks off. The Fall and Winter Collection debuts every March with every color imaginable and a variety of looks you must be daring enough to sport. 

While the fashion show in Beijing is known as a hub for fostering young and rising local talents, it was veteran designer Hu Sheguang who opened the 2018 China Fashion Week.

Sunday marked the hottest day in Beijing so far this year and also the opening day of China Fashion Week. Lines of people, even celebrities, queued to get into designer Hu Sheguang's opening show. Inside, Hu was doing his final checks, as models got in place amid orderly chaos.

A bright yellow long coat accentuated with a large bow-tie and sparkling stones opened the show. 

Bright monochromatic neon colors dominate the collection, but pulling these looks off is harder than it looks.

Model Andresa Pedroni tells me, "I worked with Mr. Hu for about two or three years already, doing shows for him all the time, so I got used to it. With him, it's always a challenge, but I love it. I love crazy, and most his clothes are pretty heavy and with those shoes, it's pretty hard. One time they gave me a camouflage dress and it weighed 15 kg. When I sat down, I had to have three people helping me stand up and walk on the catwalk, but everything was alright."

The bold and inquisitive designs owe to Hu's upbringing. He was born in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region but emigrated to the Netherlands to study design at the age of 16.

His clients include the Queen of the Netherlands and Lady Gaga, and he has an eye for breathing new life into old items.

Designer Hu shows me an elaborate dress with ornate floral patterns.

"This is an old dress, really old, an evening gown. I translated it, I transformed it into this ball. For me the old and beautiful, the good and bad can all be combined," he says.

"This reminds me of the Dongbei cotton padded jacket,” I answer. "What I see is baroque style…" and we both laugh. This is the perfect example of how much our perspectives are influenced by our backgrounds.

The models and audiences at the opening show of China Fashion Week came from all over the world and all walks of life. However, it wouldn't be difficult for them to relate to what Hu was trying to convey – and that is simply "Be Yourself."

The full masks in the collection are both self-effacing and an invitation to audiences to ponder the question of "who are we?"

And for Hu: "I think if you look at my collection, you can see Hu Sheguang is forceful, really colorful. I think I'm really young in my mind. I'm an old guy, but in here it's really young. I try to make myself happy with my collection."

That's it! You'll know who you are when you're truly happy! That's the takeaway from the veteran designer's fashion.

China Fashion Week F/W collection runs until April 1, 2018.