In recent years, a lot of new designers have emerged in China, which has attracted the attention of foreign fashion industry, but they still have little voice in fashion power. Can China successfully resist Western forces and build its own fashion industry? Neil Koenig, the producer of The Life of Luxury, published the following articles on the BBC to analyze the growth of new Chinese designers from the perspective of the growth of new Chinese designers. National fashion has begun to challenge the West.
In mid-February, Masha Ma, a Chinese designer, was busy for Paris Fashion Week in March. "Time has always been my greatest challenge." She said. In the fashion world, time is money.
Martha worked as a design assistant for Veronique Branquinho and Alxander McQueen while pursuing her bachelor's and master's degrees in women's wear design at St. Martin's College of Art and Design in London. She also won awards including Lancome Color Fashion Creative Contest, Fashion Fringe Fashion Design Contest and WGSN Breakthrough Designer of the Year.
Ms. Ma said that her business development colleague told her that if her new store did not open on time, "it would be like throwing the iPhone 6 into the river and it would never turn on again."
Martha is one of the famous Chinese fashion designers who have brought about a new wave in recent years. People think that Chinese people are better at manufacturing than creating, and they intend to challenge this existing concept. "We Chinese have not encouraged innovation for a long time," said Zhang Yu, editor-in-chief of VOGUE Costumes and Beauty. "So it's understandable that there are no good designers in China."
At the Martha Show, she thought it was important to keep the outline simple.
But Ms. Zhang believes that this situation is changing rapidly, just as Chinese artists are rising, she has seen this phenomenon in other fields, such as fashion. "This generation of designers, they have been educated in both China and the West, so they have the ability to think in two directions." She added. "They will come up with some new ideas, and the Chinese learn fast."
Martha is a typical representative of fresh blood. She was born in Beijing and studied at St. Martin's College Central London. For her, Chinese fashion is not old-fashioned at all. When I was born, there were no dragon and Phoenix blankets everywhere. It was just after the Cultural Revolution that everyone dressed the same regardless of their social status. She recalled.
When she grew up, she stayed with her grandmother for a long time, and her grandmother had a great influence on her. Grandmother was an unknown actress. Ms. Ma remembered that she lived a very elegant and delicate life, which was rare in China at that time. At first, Ms. Ma studied art, but when she saw an article written by designer Alexander McQueen in a fashion magazine, she became interested in fashion and took the road.
"I was shocked. I can't believe that fashion can also be presented in this way. It's too artistic to describe that feeling in words." She recalled. She is deeply attracted by fashion, also because it can affect people's lives.
"Artists are selfish to some extent," she said. Because this field is more about the expression of their own views, designers would like to use their own learning to make our life better.
For Martha, there are several key factors to form a fashion style that can go beyond China and go further. One is color. "The color must be friendly to the people, not that very light, it can be red, it can be green, but it must be ornamental." She said. The other is the design of profile, which should be concise, which is often not an easy thing to achieve. The third point is more difficult to define and implement. Ms. Ma believes that good design needs to be linked to religion or sacred feelings. She felt that Chinese culture would help to reflect that feeling. “这将会是将好的设计师和设计大师区别开来的分水岭。” She said.
Many designers agree that it takes a lot of time, effort and experience to form a design style that can stand out on the world stage.
Gao Yang Simon Gao, another Chinese designer, is debating whether successful design depends on a more international style. He often travels around the world to try to experience more different cultures. He said that he could see the result of this through his works: "All my works are related to these experiences."
Gao Yang has his own views on design: many designers, including the shopkeepers we meet, are what we call the "rich second generation", but the word "rich" actually has many meanings, one is material wealth, the other is spiritual wealth. To make clothes, we need not only material, but also ideal support. In the end, success depends on the time, place and people.
But what happens when a different style is formed? Mr. Gao says he has made progress in business and, according to him, is starting to make money.
Martha talked about her goal not just to be a designer, but to be a "brand". Although she knew it wasn't a simple thing, she had a big plan for the future. Now, she has opened several physical stores in China and plans to build a supply chain network of a certain scale throughout the country. At the same time, Paris also has her studio, and she hopes to go further in the future.