Exclusive Interview With Threesociety Designer Edward Lee

Reporter:

What is the meaning behind an interesting brand name?

Edward: my Partner and I are both post-80s. I traveled from Taiwan to the United States to Shanghai, from Fujian to the United States to Shanghai. The brand name comes from the impact of different social groups on young people in our city, and this shock has given us inspiration and the spirit of threeSociety.

ThreeSociety represents culture, experience and vision.

We have been careful to observe and understand this society and integrate this feeling into our design, clothes.

Reporter: when was the brand founded and what kind of opportunity did you create this brand in Shanghai?

Edward: my Partner George Chen and I are classmates of the FTT (Fashion Institute of Technology New York Fashion Design Institute). We have been to Shanghai before graduation. At that time, of course, we haven't decided to create our own brand, but Shanghai and New York are our choices.

Later, because of the problems of the US economy, we felt that the market in Shanghai was more potential, so we founded this brand in 2010.

Besides, our study in school is actually a combination of men's and women's wear. The last choice is to make men's clothing brand. First, I think the market space is bigger. Besides, we can also do the clothes that we want to wear (laughter).

Reporter: talk about the style of the product?

Edward: of course, designer's brand will be dominated by the designer himself, so we want to do what we want to wear at first, and the idea is relatively simple.

Later, influenced by market factors, including their age, the design style gradually became clear.

The overall style should be a relatively simple New York style. It will not be very complicated, but it will not be too simple as the California style. It should be said that the American leisure style, but emphasizes the fashion and design details.

Reporter: what are the current consumer groups?

This is a good question.

At present, we are mainly male groups between 25 and 40 years old. Of course, there are some older people who still love fashion. (laughter)

They are more successful in their work, including many advertising or design related office workers.

They also know better about life. They will engage in leisure activities on weekends and pay attention to the quality and balance of life.

They have their own taste and will mix the big names with their favorite designer brands. I think this is great.

Reporter: I think the overall style of your design is still practical, not just expressing some ideas.

Maybe your education background is also relevant?

Edward:FIT itself is a school that emphasizes commercialization. When reading, teachers always emphasize that your clothes can not be sold.

Of course, I think the schools in New York may be more commercialized (laughs).

In addition, we do not like to design for the sake of design; because the former brand is mainly for the market, it is more emphasis on practicality.

Now that our brand is two years old, we also hope to have a show.

So this year we plan to take part in the fashion week of Xintiandi.

From the perspective of show, we may do some special design this year to express our design concepts and ideas.

Reporter: as designer brand is facing difficulties or challenges?

Edward: money is very important, because

It is our own establishment, no matter the pressure of capital turnover and input cost is relatively large.

Designer brand must be kept in order to develop; we have a clear idea of the brand, we move from New York, of course, want to do better.

Recently, some investors are talking about it, and do not rule out the expansion of brand size by external force.

Of course, we will also have our own requirements: the values and ideas of the two sides should match, we must protect our original style, not invest for investment.

Reporter: how to grasp the trend of every season?

Edward: of course, we will read the book of clothing forecast every season, including inspiration and different themes. We will integrate the market factors to make the products more commercial.

My Partner and I together design and discuss design drawings.

This design is very good because everyone has blind spots.

Of course, we often have arguments, and sometimes it's very fierce. (laughter)

Reporter: as a post-80s, evaluate or compare the young people in Shanghai, or the style of academy?

Edward: I think Shanghai has not yet formed a very recognizable city style, such as Paris's romance, New York's metropolis and Tokyo's tide.

But in general, the development is fast and can easily feel the changes and tastes of young people.

I have seen some local students design things, sometimes feel too exaggerated.

The concept of design is of course everywhere, but it is important to have a basic sense of beauty and culture.

If it is just to prove creativity, things are meaningless.

The emphasis of design is on aesthetic perception.

Reporter: what kind of designers do you like?

Edward: I like Alexander Wang and Phillip Lim. They are all Chinese designers. The style of design is representative of New York style. It is simple and practical, and there are many amazing design details.

Of course, I also like Givenchy, who can combine the sense of high fashion with the sense of street.