Opinion | Uphill battle awaits China's domestic fashion labels despite 'first lady effect'
Across Shanghai, stores in districts such as Xinitiandi, Jiuguang and at the Super Brand Mall in Pudong have reported a growth in visits and sales.
“Last month, I gave a piece of designer merchandise to a government official as a gift. She called me and said it was not appropriate to receive gifts but after she looked inside the box and determined it was ‘not worth a lot’ she decided to accept it…I think in the future, she won’t describe a piece by a Chinese designer like that anymore,” Hong wrote.
But despite all the recent hype, Chinese brands face an uphill battle. Before the weekend, most mainland consumers were still indifferent to homegrown fashion labels, let alone Exception.
"Independent fashion designers do not have enough financial support," he told the newspaper. "They also lack experience running fashion shows."
Wang’s collections have been presented at the prestigous Milan Fashion Week, a first for a mainland designer, but back home, his brand remains largely unheard of.