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With few exceptions, Chinese designers have struggled to break through to the international stage despite domestic success. Tonight, over champagne and canapés, entrepreneur and Yu Prize founder Wendy Yu is hoping to bridge the gap, with a new event on the official Paris Fashion Week calendar that aims to introduce industry stakeholders to the next generation of Chinese design.
Held at Hotel Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris, “The New Wave of Chinese Fashion” event brings together 11 Chinese designers, all finalists of the first and second editions of the Yu Prize, with international press and buyers attending Paris Fashion Week. It’s produced in association with industry professionals like Renzo Rosso, chairman of OTB Group; Madame Lyu Xiaolei, secretary general of Shanghai Fashion Week; and Pascal Morand, executive president of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de La Mode. For some of the designers, it marks their first venture to Europe since China’s latest pandemic lockdowns were lifted earlier this year.
“Paris is the centre of the world of fashion, so it’s very natural for us, especially after Covid, to bring these amazing designers to showcase on the international stage,” says Yu, speaking from Monaco a couple of days before the event. “It’s important for us to let the industry leaders, stakeholders and media see their work and give them more recognition and more opportunities in the future to develop their growth and their brands.”
Yu invited all finalists of previous editions of the Yu prize to the cocktail event, and the designers from Didu-Didu, Private Policy, 8ON8, Louis Shengtao Chen, Marrknull, Ming Ma, Ruohan, Windowsen, Shuting Qiu, At-One-Ment and Yueqi Qi will attend.
Yu, a longtime entrepreneur and investor, who funds fashion, beauty and technology companies via her company Yu Holdings, created the Yu Prize in 2020 to help emerging Chinese brands reach international success. Winners receive a cash prize of 1 million RMB, mentoring from top industry professionals and the opportunity to sell their wares at Harrods. Chen Peng, the 2021 winner, designed the Beijing Winter Olympics outfits, and has collaborated with Moncler. Both Chen Peng and 2022 winner Ponder.Er are stocked in Harrods and have presented at the Fédération’s Sphere showroom for emerging designers. The next Yu Prize will be awarded in early 2024.
Rosso has collaborated with Yu on the Yu Prize since its inception. OTB has provided mentorship to both winners and finalists, and 2021 winner Chen Peng developed a small capsule collection in collaboration with OTB brand MM6 in March. Tonight’s event will be the first time Rosso has met many of the designers, and he hopes they will go on to present on international calendars, meet international buyers and collaborate with international brands. “It will allow these talents to test themselves, their vision, their ability to service a global market,” he says. “It is fundamental though that they also stay closely connected to the Chinese audience; their home but also the world’s most important market for fashion and luxury today.”
With many of the Yu Prize cohort invited to the Paris event having studied abroad before launching their labels, they bring a mixture of Eastern and Western sensibilities to their designs. It sets them up well to reach consumers on both sides of the world, if given the right platform, Yu says. However, many young Chinese designers were negatively affected by lockdowns, with teams stuck indoors and unable to produce or send orders.
It should have a positive knock-on impact for brands that normally show at Shanghai Fashion Week, says Xiaolei. “We are dedicated to making the Yu Prize a crucial platform presenting Chinese designers internationally, helping them to expand globally, and by and large to enhance Sino-Franco collaborations within the fashion industry,” she says. Fashion councils are increasingly partnering together to introduce young talents to new regions: from Copenhagen trade show CIFF’s New York showcase, to Ukrainian designer showrooms in London and Paris, it helps promote smaller fashion weeks or regions to a new crowd.
In Europe, the fashion brand management system is already very sophisticated, Yu says, with a growing roster of talent available to designers. Whereas in China, designers struggle to find a team that both understands the creative vision as well as the business strategy needed for the long term. That’s why it’s important for them to learn from international industry leaders abroad, she says.
Paris is the meeting place for designers with international aspirations, says the Fédération’s Morand. “Paris Fashion Week brings together the entire fashion ecosystem. This enables Chinese brands to position themselves at the centre of the global fashion scene. For international designers, a presence in Paris is a visibility boost.”
Harrods will partner on tonight’s event, as a long-term partner of the Yu Prize. The tie-in has created a strong connection between Chinese designers and the Harrods customer base, says the retailer’s managing director, Michael Ward. “Our Harrods customer base has shown a growing appreciation for the unique creativity and craftsmanship that Chinese designers bring to the world of fashion. At Harrods, we have embraced the unique designs and perspectives, as well as the cultural influences found in these collections, making them an integral part of our overall fashion offering.”
In the future, Yu plans for the event to be a mainstay on the PFW schedule, while planning further cultural exchanges. “We’re definitely looking into more in-depth collaboration,” she says. “And also, I’m actually quite interested in bringing the very best of Western designers to China as well, to expose them to the Chinese market,” she says. “I think I see my role really as a bridge or a fairy godmother to these young talents. We’ll look to do events in London or New York in the future as well.”
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