Top Biz News

Chinese chic steps up to the catwalk

By Yu Tianyu (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-11 08:00

Ji established his business, Far East Fashion Co Ltd, in 1993. The textile products he designed and produced were exported to European countries and branded European.

It was perhaps an unfortunate but necessary way for Ji to establish a foothold in the world of fashion.

He said: "It laid a solid foundation for me in the European market and gave me contacts with top fashion insiders."

The Mouse Ji label was created in 2003 and soon stood out from strong local competitors, appearing in many top fashion outlets including Who's Next, Pure London and GHV.

Mouse Ji is regarded as haute couture rather than a luxury brand. Ji said. "To compete with other luxury brands we use international languages to express Chinese culture.

"The essence of luxury branding relies on the values of culture and history the products embody. It takes a very long time to accumulate this. Luckily, our culture has much to be explored that is a significant condition for a luxury brand."

Shanghai Tang is an international clothing chain company founded in 1994 by Hong Kong businessman David Tang Wing Cheung and now controlled by Richemont, a Swiss luxury goods company.

With a network of 39 boutiques in locations as widespread as Shanghai, New York, Paris, London, Tokyo and Madrid, the company claims it was the first luxury brand to emerge from China. It supplies Chinese-inspired collections comprising a full range of ready-to-wear, accessories and home decorations using the most luxurious natural fabrics from Chinese silk to the best Mongolian cashmere.

Fashion industry insiders say pure red or green silk clothes with dragon or phoenix embroidery are not suitable for Western consumers, but if designers can cleverly employ Chinese characteristics in a plain and natural way, suitable for everyday use, they will be successful.

"Mouse Ji and Shanghai Tang are good examples for Chinese designers who are struggling to balance Chinese culture and Western demand and tastes," said the fashion buyer Sun.

Zhang Chi, a 26-year-old self-confessed "shopaholic", said: "I think China really needs a luxury brand. More good quality products, which are widely welcomed by consumers worldwide are more meaningful than items at ridiculous prices."

Zhao Qian, China director of Fdration Francaise de la Couture, the French fashion industry governing body, said: "Innovation plus time will give a birth to luxury brands. However, we'd better look further than just clothes. Luxury means a kind of scarce resource, for example a dying-out embroidery craft."

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