https://www.scmp.com/rss/330709/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com March and April are supposed to be busy times for designers in Shanghai as they prepare for Shanghai Fashion Week, which normally takes place in October and April. But with a Covid-19 flare up on March 1 and Shanghai entering a citywide lockdown a month later under China’s “dynamic zero Covid” strategy, some have found themselves under strict lockdown. Shanghai Fashion Week had been gaining momentum, largely thanks to Chinese consumers’ strong spending power and a growing army of Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3176620/shanghai-lockdown-fashion-designers-talk-about-uncertain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3176620/shanghai-lockdown-fashion-designers-talk-about-uncertain?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 May 2022 23:15:13 +0000 A collection of dresses inspired by those worn by ancient Chinese emperors and consorts made from plastic bags, discarded fabrics, and other household scraps have proved a hit on mainland Chinese social media. The dressmaker, surnamed Lv, from Luoyang in central China’s Henan province has spent the last five years making the unique period clothes during her spare time. “I’d seen other people make clothes out of eco-friendly materials and thought they were beautiful, so I thought I’d give this a... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3176016/chinese-imperial-court-clothes-made-plastic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3176016/chinese-imperial-court-clothes-made-plastic?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 May 2022 01:00:26 +0000 Van Cleef & Arpels is best known as a creator of opulent jewellery and watches informed by a certain Parisian sense of style. But since the luxury maison was founded at the start of the 20th century, it has also specialised in a field that receives far less publicity: creating whimsical, enigmatic objects imbued with a sense of wonder and enchantment. So it’s fitting that Van Cleef & Arpels marked this year’s Watches and Wonders with a little bit of both: a dazzling new horological creation as... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3175969/watches-wonders-edit-van-cleef-arpels-unveils-new-novelties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3175969/watches-wonders-edit-van-cleef-arpels-unveils-new-novelties?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 May 2022 04:08:04 +0000 A fashion group backed by a Chinese billionaire and named after the French brand it acquired last October has teamed up with Canadian e-commerce platform Shopify to tap American consumers. Lanvin Group, a subsidiary of Fosun International – owned by Chinese tycoon Guo Guangchang – announced a partnership with Shopify, an Ottawa-based e-commerce website, to bring European fashion brands to the US market. “Our goal is to have online sales in North America reach 25 per cent [of the total] in 2025,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3175677/chinese-owned-fashion-group-lanvin-aims-woo-us-consumers-shopify?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3175677/chinese-owned-fashion-group-lanvin-aims-woo-us-consumers-shopify?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Apr 2022 10:30:20 +0000 Shein, a Chinese online-only retailer of inexpensive fast-fashion clothes, and beauty and lifestyle products, is pushing a staggering valuation of US$100 billion in a new funding round from deep-pocketed investors. Yet its apparent meteoric rise raises both environmental and political issues such as encouraging waste by throwing away clothes after just a few wearings. As it becomes a full-fledged corporate retail giant, such inconvenient questions will come back to haunt it. The latest valuation... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3175088/slow-down-and-think-about-fast-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3175088/slow-down-and-think-about-fast-fashion?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Apr 2022 00:15:07 +0000 After its jaw-dropping autumn/winter 2022-23 show at Milan Fashion Week, Gucci surprised us with a new #GucciLoveParade recently. The retro-styled campaign features a slew of the world’s biggest names, such as Jared Leto, Miley Cyrus and Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae. One face that stands out from the rest is Chinese heartthrob Deng Lun, who looks dashing in a pinstripe wool suit featuring Gucci’s signature horsebit motif. View this post on Instagram A post shared... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3168909/meet-deng-lun-star-netflixs-ashes-love-chinese-actor-was?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3168909/meet-deng-lun-star-netflixs-ashes-love-chinese-actor-was?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Mar 2022 06:07:13 +0000 Major South Korean presidential candidates accused China of laying claim to their culture after a performer wore a traditional Korean dress during the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics. A woman in a white and light purple hanbok dress marched alongside other performers apparently representing China’s various ethnic groups as they carried the Chinese national flag during Friday’s event at Beijing’s National Stadium. The resentment expressed by politicians in South Korea came amid public... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3166235/dont-covet-our-culture-south-korean-presidential-hopefuls-hit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3166235/dont-covet-our-culture-south-korean-presidential-hopefuls-hit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Feb 2022 07:36:01 +0000 French fashion house Louis Vuitton (LV), a popular luxury brand in China, has found a huge new audience in an unlikely place: Kuaishou Technology, the short video-sharing platform known for its appeal with rural and small-town residents. Live-streamed and playback views of the brand’s autumn/winter 2022 menswear show last Thursday had reached 49 million as of mid-day Monday on the platform, China’s second largest short video app behind Douyin, the domestic version of TikTok that is also owned by... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3164538/louis-vuitton-sees-big-interest-kuaishou-fashion-show-live-stream?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3164538/louis-vuitton-sees-big-interest-kuaishou-fashion-show-live-stream?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jan 2022 10:00:26 +0000 Another deadly incident in Myanmar has resurfaced long-standing conversations about an industry to which Hong Kong and China have close ties. A landslide at a jade mine near Hpakant, in northern Kachin state, left at least three people dead and dozens missing in December 2021. Disasters like this regularly hit the open-pit mines in the state, which is a huge source of high-quality jade. In July 2020, another landslide near Hpakant triggered by heavy rainfall killed at least 160 miners. In July... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3163194/how-chinese-demand-myanmars-jade-fuels-deadly-corrupt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3163194/how-chinese-demand-myanmars-jade-fuels-deadly-corrupt?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jan 2022 10:15:07 +0000 Qiu Jiawei, a Chinese entrepreneur, can still remember a winter two years ago in New York. He had been surprised to see, while walking around the city, many passers-by wearing down jackets of his brand, Orolay. “I was so excited that I wanted to go up to them and ask them why they liked the clothes, but I don’t speak much English,” says Qiu. Orolay has, since 2017, been among the top sellers on e-commerce giant Amazon. In 2019, 20 of the top 100 bestselling winter-clothing items on Amazon came... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3156191/amazon-coat-brand-orolays-chinese-founder-his-success?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3156191/amazon-coat-brand-orolays-chinese-founder-his-success?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Nov 2021 23:15:14 +0000 When the 26-year-old, Shanghai-based designer Zhou Rui was awarded the 2021 LVMH Karl Lagerfeld Special Jury Prize in September, it placed a global spotlight on the latest generation of Chinese designers. Zhou and Rui, her genderless fashion brand, represents the emerging force of a wealth of home-grown talent hailing from the world’s largest luxury consumer market. The Tsinghua and Parsons graduate interprets fashion as a second skin with her bold designs which have been sported by pop culture... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3155865/chinese-designers-are-worn-rihanna-and-blackpinks-lisa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3155865/chinese-designers-are-worn-rihanna-and-blackpinks-lisa?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Nov 2021 09:18:11 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3150878/woman-behind-squid-game-vivienne-tams-muse-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3150878/woman-behind-squid-game-vivienne-tams-muse-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Oct 2021 07:10:23 +0000 Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Chinese tech giant Huawei, was recently freed from Canada after a deal with the US Department of Justice. The tech executive, who was previously under house arrest in her multimillion-dollar mansion in Vancouver, travelled to Shenzhen on a chartered Air China flight on September 25. Two Canadians detained in China were also released and returned to their home country. The best and worst dressed celebrities at the Met Gala 2021 During her three-year detention in Canada, the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3150728/meng-wanzhou-fashion-icon-controversial-huawei-cfos-most?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3150728/meng-wanzhou-fashion-icon-controversial-huawei-cfos-most?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Sep 2021 22:00:15 +0000 My parents came to Hong Kong from Guangzhou [in southern China] a year before I did. I came at three years old (in the early 1960s), via Macau, with foster parents and when we went through immigration I was coached to say they were my parents. At the time my parents struggled; they were from a landowning family and lost everything during the Cultural Revolution. We lived in a tiny Shek Kip Mei flat that only had a bed, which doubled as our table to do our homework and eat our meals on. Next to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/fashion/article/3149758/chinese-american-fashion-designer-vivienne-tam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/fashion/article/3149758/chinese-american-fashion-designer-vivienne-tam?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Sep 2021 01:15:09 +0000 Around the world, traditional crafts are falling victim to technology and globalisation. In Hong Kong, Miru Wong Ka-lam is doing her bit to keep the art of hand-embroidered shoes alive. Wong’s shop, Sindart, in Jordan, Kowloon, is one of just a few in the city to have survived the industry’s shift to mainland China, with its cheaper labour costs and mass-manufacturing capabilities. To share her skills, the third-generation owner of the 63-year-old small business holds weekly workshops for people... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3148931/custom-shoes-mid-autumn-festival-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3148931/custom-shoes-mid-autumn-festival-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Sep 2021 08:15:17 +0000 Transforming fluffy white silkworm cocoons nurtured on Chinese mulberry trees into high-fashion silk shirts, blouses, jackets and other garments is a long, multi-stage process of harvesting, washing, spinning, weaving, dying and sewing.  One privately owned Hong Kong company will soon own and manage every stage of this silk journey.  Bombyx, named after the Latin word for the silkworm, was established in 2018 by Andrew and Hilmond Hui, father-and-son entrepreneurs who have invested in the social... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3138471/bombyx-organic-silk-producer-j-crew-madewell-bets-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3138471/bombyx-organic-silk-producer-j-crew-madewell-bets-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jun 2021 23:15:16 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3138718/kung-fu-granny-rental-fashion-asia-and-racism-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3138718/kung-fu-granny-rental-fashion-asia-and-racism-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jun 2021 08:00:26 +0000 On May 17, Shein – pronounced “she-in” – ended Amazon’s 152-day streak as the most downloaded shopping app in the United States, a remarkable feat for any seven-year-old clothing brand, let alone one most Americans over 30 still haven’t heard of. The kids, though, are all over it. As with so many online phenomena, Gen Z and young millennial shoppers have propelled Shein’s rise, in thrall to the company’s never-ending, always-changing catalogue of clothes at prices that stretch even the most... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3137319/how-trumps-trade-war-helped-china-shopping-app-shein?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3137319/how-trumps-trade-war-helped-china-shopping-app-shein?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jun 2021 23:15:00 +0000 Xstep International is getting a HK$1 billion (US$129.4 million) investment boost from private equity firm Hillhouse Capital as Chinese sportswear manufacturing group seeks to expand its global market share following an earnings slump last year. The firm has proposed to issue two tranches of convertible bonds to offshore investment vehicles managed by Hillhouse Capital Management, according to stock exchange filings on Tuesday. The stock surged by a record 21 per cent on the news. The capital... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3137321/chinese-sportswear-maker-xtep-gets-us129-million-boost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3137321/chinese-sportswear-maker-xtep-gets-us129-million-boost?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jun 2021 05:31:33 +0000 Chinese consumers have turned to domestic sports apparel brands Anta Sports and Li-Ning amid a boycott of foreign brands that had announced they would cease using cotton from China’s Xinjiang region over concerns about the possible use of forced labour in its production. As the leading domestic sportswear brands, Anta Sports and Li-Ning had 15.4 per cent and 6.7 per cent shares respectively of China’s sportswear and athleisure market, according to Euromonitor International, a market research... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3129648/anta-sports-and-li-ning-rival-nike-and-adidas-sportswear?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3129648/anta-sports-and-li-ning-rival-nike-and-adidas-sportswear?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Apr 2021 23:15:07 +0000 Designer Zhou Li took to the stage amid applause following her runway show at China Fashion Week with a prop that has political overtones: a bouquet of cotton plants. “As far as I’m concerned, I think Xinjiang cotton is my sweetheart, my love, which is to say I’m very grateful it has brought me such happiness,” said Zhou, 56, after her show in Beijing on Tuesday. Zhou, chief designer and founder of Chinese fashion brand Sun-Bird, is a patriotic supporter of a boycott targeting several major... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3127919/xinjiang-cotton-my-love-designers-and-models-put-patriotism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3127919/xinjiang-cotton-my-love-designers-and-models-put-patriotism?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Apr 2021 06:33:44 +0000 Police in China have shut down a sophisticated counterfeit Louis Vuitton racket that netted 100 million yuan (US$15.4 million). Nearly 40 people, including one store saleswoman, were arrested in connection with the alleged forging of the bags over a four-year period, mainland media Thepaper.cn reported. In some cases, they produced counterfeit bags before the real versions had hit the market. The operation also added chip technology that they claimed allowed customers to verify genuine products... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3125158/fake-louis-vuitton-luxury-bag-operation-china-worth-us154?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3125158/fake-louis-vuitton-luxury-bag-operation-china-worth-us154?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Mar 2021 06:22:06 +0000 Buddhism and Hermès are unlikely bedfellows, but a former monastery in Chengdu has become a center for selfies and handbags, thanks to the brightly lit Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li mega-mall.  While the pandemic has contributed to China’s role as a future fashion leader, with cities to rival Paris and Milan, that doesn’t mean all the attention should be focused on Shanghai. Far from it, in fact. While Western luxury brands have traditionally poured all of their resources into securing the best sites in... https://www.scmp.com/style/future-fashion-may-be-tier-2-chinese-cities/article/3118302?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/style/future-fashion-may-be-tier-2-chinese-cities/article/3118302?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Jan 2021 09:35:06 +0000 The Japanese have their kimonos. Koreans, the hanbok. Indians, the sari. These cultures have traditional clothing that can also be worn in day-to-day life, without looking out of place.   Even though there is a small but growing trend of young people in China trying to normalize wearing the clothes their ancestors did, the majority of Chinese people around the world would only wear traditional Chinese clothes like the qipao and the Tang suit during celebrations and ceremonies. “If we wore qipao... https://www.scmp.com/culture/can-you-make-traditional-chinese-clothing-cool-again/article/3117758?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/can-you-make-traditional-chinese-clothing-cool-again/article/3117758?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jan 2021 10:10:29 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3116952/why-chinas-gen-z-are-touching-fish-elderly-influencers-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3116952/why-chinas-gen-z-are-touching-fish-elderly-influencers-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Jan 2021 08:49:16 +0000 French fashion designer Pierre Cardin, who died on December 29, 2020 at the age of 98, was a pioneer for Western fashion in China.  In 1979 he became the first Western fashion designer to stage a fashion show in China, soon after the country adopted its reform and opening-up policy. In 1983, he opened a Beijing outpost of his Parisian restaurant Maxim’s about 3km from Tiananmen Square. The high-end establishment is where many Beijingers had their first taste of authentic French food without... https://www.scmp.com/style/meet-man-who-brought-western-fashion-china/article/3116594?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/style/meet-man-who-brought-western-fashion-china/article/3116594?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jan 2021 09:37:28 +0000 Banned in China but popular among the country’s elite, American-owned social media site Instagram is a ‘gold mine’ for international brands to reach the country’s luxury shoppers, according to experts. Launched in 2010, Instagram is part of a long list of websites and apps banned by the Chinese government. Facebook, Google and Twitter were blocked, followed a few years later in 2014 by Instagram. In its place, Chinese-owned social media sites have sprung up, gaining millions of followers for a... https://www.scmp.com/style/instagram-crashes-through-chinas-great-firewall-woo-wealthy-shoppers/article/3114161?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/style/instagram-crashes-through-chinas-great-firewall-woo-wealthy-shoppers/article/3114161?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Dec 2020 10:10:06 +0000 Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Explains unravels the ideas and context behind the headlines to help you understand news about China. Videos of stylish people walking on the streets of China are cropping up on social media out of seemingly nowhere. A couple in matching black and white outfits, paired with a bag by an avant-garde Japanese designer. A buff man wearing a white tank top that exposes his defined biceps, with a guitar bag on his back. A woman dressed in traditional Chinese hanfu... https://www.scmp.com/style/why-stylish-pedestrians-china-are-showing-your-feed/article/3105316?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/style/why-stylish-pedestrians-china-are-showing-your-feed/article/3105316?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Oct 2020 10:26:26 +0000 Read up our roundup of the most powerful women in Asian fashion and a new generation of influencers and Instagrammers hot on their heels – from Vera Wang and Angelica Cheung to Yoyo Cao and Irene Kim. Get into the latest sneaker trends and how Covid-19 is shaping not only what we wear, but how we talk about it. Plus, traditional dress from around the world, a brief history of hats in China and some of the most stylish moments from Hong Kong's past. https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/series/3102024/fall-2020-fashion-issue-top-asian-designers-emerging?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/series/3102024/fall-2020-fashion-issue-top-asian-designers-emerging?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2020 03:53:27 +0000 In China, nationalism sells. Months of a grueling trade war with the US and geopolitical spats with Asian neighbors have stoked nationalistic fervor among millennials, who are flexing their spending muscle, splashing out on Made-in-China brands at the expense of foreign icons. Dr Yu, a skincare business unit of the century-old Shanghai Jahwa, is one of the top names among the “patriotic” brands that Chinese consumers are gravitating toward to counter Western brands.  The unit, whose products are... https://www.scmp.com/business/chinese-retail-getting-nationalistic-boost/article/3048682?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/chinese-retail-getting-nationalistic-boost/article/3048682?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Feb 2020 10:15:31 +0000 When Alicia Lee launched her own fashion label, more than seven years ago, it was something of an uphill struggle. In many ways the design part was the easiest. Finding distributors and factories prepared to commit to smaller production runs was the trickiest part. It was particularly difficult for the Beijing-based designer, who was located some distance from where most China garment factories are. Being in the capital, however, did offer one huge advantage – the concentration of media... https://www.scmp.com/business/beijing-based-alicia-lee-designs-clothes-chinas-working-women/article/3048221?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/beijing-based-alicia-lee-designs-clothes-chinas-working-women/article/3048221?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jan 2020 09:42:23 +0000 You Wenfeng is one of only a few people who know how to create clothing from fish skin, a skill of the ethnic Hezhen people – who were once so skilled plying the waters of the nearby Heilong River that they are said to be “descended from mermaids.” The 68-year-old woman from Tongjiang, a city in China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province near the border with Russia, fears the loss of the ancient tradition. But that may start to change. She has started teaching others her craft. The exotic... https://www.scmp.com/society/traditional-fish-skin-clothing-chinas-mermaid-hezhen-people-may-hook-global-fashion/article/3048003?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/traditional-fish-skin-clothing-chinas-mermaid-hezhen-people-may-hook-global-fashion/article/3048003?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Jan 2020 10:02:58 +0000 China buys, produces and exports most of the world’s clothing, but most Western consumers would struggle to name a Chinese fashion brand. This begs the question: why are Chinese labels still struggling to find the spotlight? Xiaofeng Gu, a fashion marketing expert living between San Francisco and Shanghai, believes the absence of Chinese designers from the global fashion stage comes down to a combination of complacency and high cultural barriers. “China’s domestic market is so big that many... https://www.scmp.com/style/can-chinese-fashion-brands-and-designers-achieve-global-success/article/3047150?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/style/can-chinese-fashion-brands-and-designers-achieve-global-success/article/3047150?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jan 2020 09:23:46 +0000 On Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, it’s hard to miss the lithe, tan young man confidently strutting down dirt roads in his village like they’re his own personal catwalk. In one video, he’s wearing an intricate dress made from colorful tarp. In another, he has an air-conditioner slung around his shoulder like a messenger bag. Since May 2018, Lu Kaigang, who goes by Liuxianren online, has been dazzling viewers with his surprisingly fashionable pieces made from all manner of household... https://www.scmp.com/culture/village-supermodel-diy-fashion/article/3046067?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/village-supermodel-diy-fashion/article/3046067?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jan 2020 12:39:45 +0000 In New York’s Chinatown, an edgy fashion and lifestyle boutique has staked its claim on offering a spirited medley of Chinese artistry and imagination. Chop Suey Club, which sells cutting-edge designs from contemporary Chinese artists, is benefiting from a rise in popularity of Chinese fashion. As the “Made in China” label loses its negative connotations, Chinese designers are securing spots at global fashion weeks and embarking on crossovers with big-name Western retailers. (Read more: Can... https://www.scmp.com/culture/chop-suey-club-new-york-chinatown/article/3045600?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/chop-suey-club-new-york-chinatown/article/3045600?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jan 2020 11:17:13 +0000 Chinese brand “Cherlss & Keich” has denied it was a copycat, after consumers complained of being tricked by its close resemblances with Singaporean fast-fashion brand Charles & Keith. On the Twitter-like Weibo, some users said they shopped at stores that looked almost the same as Charles & Keith’s only to find the brand name on the products was spelled differently.  The Cherlss & Keich brand is run by a leather product company in the southern city of Guangzhou. In photos posted on social media,... https://www.scmp.com/business/charles-keith-vs-cherlss-keich-another-knock-brand-found-china/article/3044093?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/charles-keith-vs-cherlss-keich-another-knock-brand-found-china/article/3044093?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Dec 2019 09:50:30 +0000 In the space of mere months, David Yang went from a novice model to being featured on a billboard in Times Square in New York. Yang’s whirlwind rise to fame began when he received a call from his agent while in Kyoto, Japan. The model was told to fly to London to get a US visa and to book a ticket to New York for a potential shoot with H&M. Within weeks, Yang found himself on a beach shooting the images that would ultimately see him become the campaign poster-boy for the Swedish fast-fashion... https://www.scmp.com/arts/mere-months-david-yang-went-novice-drawing-comparisons-david-bowie-jim-morrison-and-rolling-stones/article/3042583?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/arts/mere-months-david-yang-went-novice-drawing-comparisons-david-bowie-jim-morrison-and-rolling-stones/article/3042583?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Dec 2019 10:12:43 +0000 Founded in 1994 by the late Sir David Tang, the Chinese-inspired luxury brand Shanghai Tang has seen its fortunes rise and fall under several owners. Now the brand has come full circle. In December the company’s latest owner, Shanghai-based firm Lunar Capital, announced it had hired Tang’s daughter, Victoria Tang-Owen, as the brand’s newest creative director. “I don’t think my father ever thought about [Shanghai Tang] as his legacy. Personally I don’t want to make the brand my only legacy – I... https://www.scmp.com/business/shanghai-tang-hong-kong-fashion-brand-comes-full-circle/article/3035756?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/shanghai-tang-hong-kong-fashion-brand-comes-full-circle/article/3035756?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Oct 2019 10:13:51 +0000 The facekini may be China’s most unusual fashion phenomenon. A full-face mask that covers the entire head, it’s the ultimate protection against beachgoers’ worst enemy: the sun. The infamous beach accessory was invented in 2004 by Zhang Shifan, an accountant in the seaside city of Qingdao in northeastern China. Her original intent was to create a mask that would prevent beachgoers from getting stung by jellyfish. But over the years, it’s evolved into a Chinese fashion anomaly—to the amusement... https://www.scmp.com/culture/zhang-shifan-facekini-inventor-interview/article/3029897?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/zhang-shifan-facekini-inventor-interview/article/3029897?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Sep 2019 04:05:05 +0000 Guochao (国潮), literally “national hip,” is the latest buzzword in the Chinese fashion world. The term initially referred to specific homegrown streetwear brands but now encompasses any Chinese aesthetic that counters style references from the West. That includes heritage brands like Feiyue, Li-Ning, and Warrior, apparel makers that were once popular in the 1970s and ’80s but overtaken by foreign brands like Nike and Adidas because of their global prestige. Now, Chinese youngsters wear guochao as... https://www.scmp.com/culture/made-in-china-guochao-hipster/article/3027942?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/made-in-china-guochao-hipster/article/3027942?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Sep 2019 14:26:53 +0000 When Amy Cui opened one of China’s first online shops for plus-size clothing 11 years ago, the word didn’t even exist. “There was no such thing as ‘plus-size fashion,” says Cui, who also goes by Tang Tang. “You could only buy ‘mom clothes’ or ‘fat people clothes.’ And the only colors you could find were black, gray, blue, and white. It was unbearable for young women.” Walking though her maze of a warehouse is a reminder of how far she—and society—have come. Her store boasts 1.1 million... https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-plus-size-clothing-body-positivity/article/3020519?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-plus-size-clothing-body-positivity/article/3020519?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jul 2019 11:28:53 +0000 2019 is one that will go down in fashion history, according to management consultants McKinsey & Company. They believe that Greater China will, for the first time in centuries, overtake the US as the world’s largest fashion market. Homegrown fast fashion brands are well placed to cash in. They’ve long dominated smaller Chinese cities barely penetrated by affordable international brands such as Zara, H&M and Uniqlo, and recently, they’ve been taking their collections to the international... https://www.scmp.com/business/five-chinese-high-street-fashion-brands-watch-they-go-global/article/3018641?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/five-chinese-high-street-fashion-brands-watch-they-go-global/article/3018641?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jul 2019 10:52:33 +0000 It’s the go-to footwear of Shaolin monks and kung fu practitioners. For nearly a century, the plimsolls of Chinese sneaker brand Feiyue have been coveted for their comfort, flexibility, and price (a pair still retails in China for about $3 to $8). The shoes’ history dates back to the 1920s, when a tire company in Shanghai decided to use its excess rubber to make footwear. They quickly became popular with athletes and martial arts practitioners, who found the shoes functional and light. They... https://www.scmp.com/culture/feiyue-shaolin-sneakers/article/3018193?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/feiyue-shaolin-sneakers/article/3018193?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jul 2019 09:27:46 +0000 Fashion trends tend to fall victim to overanalysis. Especially in China, where the hottest thing can become passé almost overnight, it’s easy to read too deeply into any particular trend. But when it comes to the suit, one might want to reconsider. In the Chinese fashion world, suits for women have become especially vogue in the past year, and they continue to be popular, both on the streets and in the office. Television may have contributed to that. One of the most-watched Chinese shows this... https://www.scmp.com/culture/why-are-more-chinese-women-wearing-suits/article/3015375?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/why-are-more-chinese-women-wearing-suits/article/3015375?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jun 2019 09:18:13 +0000 Chinese shoppers darted past security, traded punches, and even stripped mannequins of their clothing at Uniqlo stores across the country on Monday, just to get their hands on limited-edition KAWS shirts. The collection, a collaboration between the Japanese fast-fashion brand and American artist KAWS, included 12 adult T-shirts, six for children, and three bags selling at about $15 each. But thanks to the artist’s huge popularity, the KAWS pieces are resold online for as much as $115. In... https://www.scmp.com/culture/uniqlo-kaws-collaboration-chinese-shoppers-limited-edition-shirts/article/3013239?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/uniqlo-kaws-collaboration-chinese-shoppers-limited-edition-shirts/article/3013239?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jun 2019 10:59:56 +0000 One of the biggest showstoppers at New York Fashion Week last year was a collection of flashy Chinese sportswear in bold red and yellow, the colors of the Chinese flag. As if the message wasn’t already clear, the Chinese characters for “China” were also emblazoned on the front and back. The pieces were from athletic wear brand Li-Ning, founded in Beijing in 1989 by the Olympic gymnast of the same name. After years of losing ground to international sportswear brands such as Nike and Adidas,... https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-fashion-designers-nationalism/article/3006150?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/chinese-fashion-designers-nationalism/article/3006150?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Apr 2019 10:02:47 +0000 The Fall/Winter edition of China Fashion Week has just wrapped up in Beijing. The week-long event, which has been running for some 22 years, saw designers from across China present their work to the world. Check out our gallery, above, for a taste. https://www.scmp.com/style/photos-china-fashion-week-f/w-2019/article/3004098?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/style/photos-china-fashion-week-f/w-2019/article/3004098?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Apr 2019 10:17:08 +0000 Chinese goths have mounted a social media campaign to protest a Chinese subway station’s move to bar a woman from taking a train because her makeup was said to be “too scary.” The woman said last week that she had been stopped from entering a subway station in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou while wearing a long black dress, dark red lipstick and purple eyeshadow. Security officers said she looked “problematic, too scary,” and told her to remove the makeup before entering the station, the... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-goths-protest-after-woman-banned-guangzhou-subway-scary-make/article/3002310?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-goths-protest-after-woman-banned-guangzhou-subway-scary-make/article/3002310?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Mar 2019 09:41:25 +0000 For the Lunar New Year in February, China’s ubiquitous mobile payment service WeChat Pay hired Becky Li to be a “chief experience officer,” showing off how easy it was to pay for things with your phone, even when traveling overseas. “I thought WeChat would hire a celebrity,” said Li in her office in the heart of Guangzhou. Li is no pop star or TV personality. But in a way, she’s exactly the kind of celebrity that brands increasingly lust after. With more than 7.5 million combined followers on... https://www.scmp.com/style/chinas-key-opinion-leaders-turn-influence-sales/article/3001678?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/style/chinas-key-opinion-leaders-turn-influence-sales/article/3001678?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Mar 2019 10:19:08 +0000 In 2010, a young woman in Chengdu was attacked by a group of college students because she was wearing traditional Chinese robes. The students thought her dress was a Japanese kimono, forced her to take it off, and burned it in public. “I realized people didn’t know what hanfu [traditional Chinese clothing] was,” says Zhang Qinglin, a college student in Chengdu who started wearing the dress after hearing the story. “I wanted people to know more about these clothes and our history.” In the past 15... https://www.scmp.com/culture/its-not-just-costume-chinese-people-who-ditched-jeans-ancient-robes/article/3000310?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/its-not-just-costume-chinese-people-who-ditched-jeans-ancient-robes/article/3000310?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Dec 2018 09:56:42 +0000