Chinese Young Fashion Designers’ Future Prospect
In 2018 A/W Shanghai Fashion Week, INXX and fashion studio LOFi unveiled the bus in the concept of “Enter the Void”. Apart from shooting some videos of this surrealistic space, we also interviewed several Chinese fashion brand directors. In the conversations, they shared with us their understandings about “INvincible” and some thoughts about fashion trend in China.
Let's start with introducing yourself first.
Sophie (hereinafter referred to as S): Hi everyone, I'm Sophie. I'm currently the design director of INXX and I also have my own namesake brand.
What's your comment on 2018A/W Shanghai Fashion Week?
S: Actually I've been involved in fashion weeks for many times before, I felt Shanghai Fashion Week this time is more diversified due to various fashion styles and abundant contents.It has been greatly improved in terms of inclusiveness and collaboration, which will help many young designers to realize their dreams.
From your perspective, how do you understand INXX's seasonal theme "INvincible"?
S: INvincible means “too strong to be defeated”, which is macro concept. But for me, it means continually challenging myself in fashion design. When this concept comes to INXX, it is more concrete. Because INXX is not only a brand but a fashion platform that aims to help other brands to development.
How do you think of branding collaboration?
S: Last year, SOPHIESUN released a co-branding series inspired by my hometown and traditional Chinese culture.My partner and I are greatly encouraged by the success of the series, and we plan to develop a new brand based on this collaboration. In specif designing assumption, we will pay more attention on local culture in China but express it in international way.
SOPHIESUN S/S 2017
Now that the Chinese fashion industry is developing rapidly, and more young designers involved in the industry. What advice would you give as a senior?
S: I have two words for them: modesty and diligence. As long as you step into this industry, you will have to communicate with many people, even with factories and media workers. You have to gradually adapt to the reality even though you have to overcome many obstacles. Well, so long as you keep modest and diligent, you will gain valuable experience finally.
Please introduce yourself to everyone first.
JON (hereafter referred to as J): Hello, I am JON and I am the brand director of UNROW. I am honored to attend this Fashion Week.
What influenced you to establish the brand UNROW?
J: Before establishing the brand, I found Chinese young people didn't have many choices for their own fashion style. As my working experience covered men's wear, suit customization and street fashion design, I gradually found that the young generation were eager for something could express themselves. Then I established the brand UNROW and incorporated my ideas of fashion into design.
UNROW 2017 A/W
How do you see the domestic fashion trend?
J: The domestic fashion culture has reached an explosion point. Now more young people and fashion industry workers have blurred the boundary between high fashion and street fashion. This is a chance for designers.
UNROW 2018 A/W
What are your suggestions for young designers?
J: Stick to it, insist on it, adjust yourselves in face of different situations, and then try hard to understand young people and yourself.
As the director of WOMB MONKEY, could you tell us how it distinguished from other street fashion brands?
Jeff: Street fashion culture is free with infinite inclusiveness in essence, so I will try more different styles in design and absorb more culture into WOMB MONKEY.
How do you apply inspirations to design?
Jeff: "For design, I prefer acquiring inspirations by retrospecting some primitive things and then applying them to design. We once appreciated the beauty of human's shape, so we were loyal to body aesthetics in fashion design. While the fashion design is much more free at present, so what I am trying to do now is breaking through existent design patterns and rules."
In China, fashion Industry is in a “golden period of development.”The young designers are just like explorers under this circumstance. They try to express their ideas towards the world in designing and to present more original ideas from China, which means we can expect more in the future.
Jon, Sophie and Jeff