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This season’s London Fashion Week schedule has a few surprise entries from China. As well as regulars like Huishan Zhang, Yuhan Wang and Mithridate, a number of newcomers have appeared on the schedule.
Chinese e-commerce conglomerate JD.com will present three — Ellassay, Marisfrolg and Pure Tea — alongside Korean brand Hazzys in a joint showcase. Consistence, founded by Tien Lu and Fang Fang in 2015, is another addition to the line-up (the brand was selected to show this season by Chinese supermodel Hu Bing, the international ambassador of London Fashion Week). They will all join Beijing’s Buerlangma and Zhaoyi, both of which are returning for their second outing. And while not new, Zifei Wang will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a runway show on Monday, marking its London Fashion Week (LFW) debut.
It’s a notable uptick from the past few seasons. Is LFW re-establishing itself as a rite of passage for Chinese designers?
The dual hits of Brexit and the pandemic have hindered London’s workability in recent years. The UK ended its tax incentive for tourists in 2021, and the environment for emerging brands has remained a challenge since. Chinese nationals also have to contend with cultural differences and visa requirements.
Anecdotal evidence indicates that LFW is still seen as a valuable springboard for Chinese talent, but building a brand in London today isn’t easy — especially in comparison to the myriad of routes for reaching consumers in China. Ida Petersson, co-founder of brand creative agency Good Egg, points to “newfound confidence in Chinese design and production”. Boosted by the initial sprinkling of LFW’s gold dust, the businesses that were built or being built pre-Covid switched focus to domestic opportunities during the lockdown period.
Many of the designers who were poised to be regulars at LFW pre-Covid have moved to — or stayed — in China. Xander Zhou, Pronounce, Xu Zhi and 8ON8 now hold runways or showrooms at Shanghai Fashion Week. Haizhan Wang, winner of the now-defunct Fashion Fringe Award in 2012 and once an established designer on the LFW schedule, has relocated to Shanghai to run his direct-to-consumer brand from China, while one of China’s biggest success stories in recent years, Shushu/Tong, now only shows domestically.
Meanwhile, the lure of Paris and Milan remains strong. Susan Fang, who bases her label between London and Shanghai, is skipping LFW this season due to “an incredible opportunity” to show in Milan supported by Dolce Gabbana and in collaboration with the Shanghai Fashion Week Association and Italy’s Camera Nazionale della Moda. Many other Chinese designers — such as Uma Wang, Didu, Feng Chen Wang, Caroline Hu, Ruohan and Sean Suen — opt to show in Paris due to its continued prestige and access to traditional luxury buyers. “This move reflects a strategic decision to align with the high-end luxury market that Paris is known for,” says luxury analyst Christopher Morency. Designers echo this sentiment. “As the brand grew, we wanted to reach other audiences and Paris was something that felt quite natural,” says Uma Wang.
London’s enduring appeal
Despite all of this, newer Chinese brands are flocking to the LFW schedule — but why?
Mithridate, which was founded by Demon Zhang in 2018 and is known for its experimentation in fabric and embellishment, joined the London schedule in 2020 — first digitally, then later with physical runways. It has attracted celebrity fans, such as actor Andrew Scott, who sat front row at the brand’s AW24 show in February. “[The London] schedule is renowned for being open-minded, unconventional and daring, embracing avant-garde designers and making the ideal environment for our growth,” Zhang says.
Part of the appeal of LFW is that it’s many things to many designers. “The flexibility of the LFW schedule, with a range of options to show both physically and digitally, allows designers to present their work in a manner that best suits their business stage,” says Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council. “It reduces financial restrictions and allows them the space to grow at their own pace.”
Central Saint Martins alum Yuhan Wang joined the London schedule in 2020 following a spot on the city’s incubator Fashion East in 2018. The LFW schedule aligns well with the brand’s global growth strategy, says namesake founder Wang. The exposure it receives during the event provides “invaluable opportunities to expand its reach beyond Asia and into Western markets”, she explains. It’s earned the brand high-profile fans, from Jennie Kim to Kylie Jenner and Billie Eilish. “This visibility not only elevates our brand but also fosters long-term business growth by enabling us to connect with influential retailers, editors and stylists,” adds Wang.
For an international newcomer like Qiqi Yuan of Buerlangma — whose designs have been worn by the likes of Beyoncé — the attraction is London’s underground drag culture. “I think it is a very safe place for new designers to show their own work on a global level. Attitudes are more open to design here,” Yuan explains. In addition, he says a spot in LFW is a useful tool to amplify visibility not only in China but also into Asia — a point that suits Buerlangma’s business-to-business model, which operates primarily through private commissions. “We are not a commercial brand for now, so for us, the purpose behind LFW is to show celebrities in China, Korea and the US because they need to see what we have done.”
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Zifei Wang decided to make a splash by holding a show outside of China at LFW. “This time, it’s more about the artistic and innovative point of view we want to show that brings together lots of different styles,” the founder shares before the show.
London’s emphasis on creativity has pros and cons, however. “It is really creative but less commercial to me,” says Didu founder Di Du, who shows in Paris and hosts a showroom during Shanghai Fashion Week. “There’s more buyers coming to Paris than London,” she adds.
Dipping in and out of schedules
Analyst Morency says that although London Fashion Week’s popularity has fluctuated in recent years, it continues to serve as “a key platform for emerging designers to gain initial recognition, which is often what buyers and press seek out in London”. He also thinks that Chinese designers who are new to Western fashion weeks view it as a means to experiment. “Designers use LFW as a testing ground to gauge reactions to their collections from both the media and consumers. This feedback is crucial for refining their designs and business strategies in a place where it’s not just celebrated, but expected.”
Another designer who has used LFW as a springboard to China is Huishan Zhang — the first Chinese designer from LFW to make “big waves”, according to Petersson. Zhang joined the schedule in 2012. Petersson explains that then, many Chinese designers felt they had to set up a base in Europe to break through. Many of these, like Zhang (who has a boutique on Mount Street), Feng Chen Wang and Yuhan Wang, have built solid business from a London base, which they used to gain recognition back home.
This idea of dipping in and out of schedules is second nature to designers from China, says Martyn Roberts, CEO of creative-led production agency Fashion Scout. “I think those who have an international market need to know what works for them. Many start with sales in their own country and then end up in Tranoï in Paris or White in Milan, but you’ll always see them looking to other schedules,” he explains.
On the plus side, this keeps your audience fresh — as the eponymous founder of Feng Chen Wang explains: “It felt so important to be part of LFW as the brand was conceived there, and a lot of our inspiration is still drawn from the city. However, we treat Feng Chen Wang as a global brand. Our audience resides in every corner of the world so it only makes sense to be a part of other fashion weeks, too.”
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