Made in China can mean high quality, say founders of New York-based knitwear label
Mijia Zhang and Wei Lin, the founders of fashion brand PH5, talk about the rise of Made in China and their goal to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Azzedine Alaia
How did you two meet? Wei Lin: “We met about eight years ago in New York, where we were roommates. [Mijia Zhang] was studying fashion at Parsons and I was a business consultant. I decided to quit my job to go back to China and work in the family business, a knitting factory not far from Hong Kong. I wanted to start a brand by using the factory’s technology so what I needed was the creative part and that’s why I called Mijia.”
What makes your knitwear different? Zhang: “We have a knitwear laboratory where we test a lot of swatches, we use a Japanese machine, the Shima Seiki – the best computerised knitwear machine – and we work with engineers to produce the pieces.”
How do you work together? Zhang: “It’s quite seamless. Lin is the one bringing opportunities in and I work based on that. It’s like a dialogue. We go to business meetings together and when I design I also listen to her so I can make products that have a purpose.”
Why show at New York Fashion Week instead of Shanghai? Lin: “We met in New York and we’ve both been in the United States since we were teenagers as we did high school and college there, so we’re a perfect mix of East meets West. Our ambition is to build a brand beyond the Chinese market. We want to be a younger Alaïa, but not just for China, for the world, so it makes more sense for us to be in New York.”
