He Ping, Fashion Designer

It was reported that the reason for this interview with He Ping was that 2014 spring and summer after the London Fashion Week, I randomly browse the news about fashion week on the Internet, and suddenly found a familiar face. She was with the British It Girl, including the social celebrities Bobbi Delevigne (Poppy Delevigne) and the beauty hostess Lara Whitmore. The main content of this news report is Bobby Devoy and Laura Whitmore's debut in the 2014 spring and summer fashion show of designer He Ping.

Back to 3 years ago, I met He Ping for the first time. At that time, she was the design director of Aftershock, the British clothing brand. She was one of the few Chinese designers who had a place in the top management of famous British fashion companies. The location of the interview was in a cafe near her company. Although it was three years ago, I still clearly remember the day when we met, He Ping was wearing her own red jacket, a dark straight long straight hair, no powder, just a little lipstick, and no imagination of fashion designer's aggressive feeling.

After chatting for a long time, she will find her heart full of self-confidence. She paints painstaking efforts and hardships on her way. At that time, I asked her if she wanted to set up her own brand. She answered me at the time, "I'm not ready yet." I then asked, "have you ever thought of moving your clothes to London Fashion week?" she answered categorically: "you will see that it's only a matter of time."

3 years later, He Ping did exactly what she said, and she did it! Not only did she create her own brand name "PINGHE", but also held a personal brand show on the London Fashion Week, one of the four fashion week, which is one of the four fashion week famous designers.

After 3 years of re interview with He Ping, the location has changed from the crowded and noisy cafe to He Ping in the west end of London.

Knightsbridge (Qi Shiqiao), a spacious and bright studio, a small villa in Vitoria, has its own small garden, and has a living room about three storeys high. In the past 3 years, He Ping had not changed much. She still had a long hair and no powder. She asked me if she felt any change. I said, "from a designer to today's operator, there are more examples."

　　 precipitate

He Ping studied pure art from childhood. She said that when she was ten years old, she thought she would be an artist. She liked to let her feelings go in the art field.

During the University, He Ping won the awards including Shanghai fashion week excellent women's wear design and Saga Nordic family design award. Before arriving in England, He Ping had been chief designer of Kurukawa, a Japanese fashion group. But in order to learn and absorb more knowledge when he was young, and to see the wider world, He Ping chose to study abroad. In December 2004, He Ping graduated with a master's degree from Distinction (excellent student). The school tutor gave this student a lot of opportunity to practice and work in the UK, such as an intern at London Fashion Week, Alexander Macqueen as an intern, etc.

At the end of her graduation, He Ping hoped to find a paid job to support her internship at Alexander McQueen company. She would bring her own design home to sell her works every day, and she would also make many samples of her own designs to the people who sell clothes. The work is very heavy. Every night when he comes home, He Ping says to himself, "Wow, another day." At that time, He Ping's husband, who was only a fiance at that time, was always encouraging He Ping: "you are almost there. Nothing is worse than now. Go on." "It's very easy to say it now, but it was really hard at that time." He Ping said.

Because of these experiences, He Ping has had more opportunities to understand the industry of the British clothing industry. In 2006, He Ping got the chief designer position of Aftershock after 3 rounds of intense interviews because of his rich work experience and academic qualifications.

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　　 Aftershock It is a luxury brand in the UK. It has star customers like Madonna (Madonna) and Umma Thurman (Uma Thurman), and has brand stores in the world including Paris, Milan and Dubai. As the chief designer of Aftershock, He Ping works for at least 8 to 10 hours a day. She leads the whole design team from costume design, proofing to factory production, and participates in and is responsible for it. He often flies to China, India, Spain and other places to understand the sales situation of factories and special stores. Under the leadership of He Ping, the fashion style of Aftershock has become more and more "He Ping". The costumes of the past Aftershock are very glamorous, and He Ping makes it more natural and practical. Aftershock only had 50 brand stores when He Ping joined the company, but after four years of joining He Ping's design team, he has already owned 150 brand stores all over the world.

　　 Transformation

3 years ago, when I asked He Ping if she wanted to set up her own studio, she replied to me: "at the beginning of my graduation work, I thought that if I set up my own studio, the time would not be very mature, because this is my second hometown. My understanding and knowledge of Western clothing market is still very superficial. So I choose the way to work and learn from all kinds of experience and lessons, which I think is very important to me. Perhaps in the near future, I will set up my own brand in London. At this time, I must be very confident. "

Compared with other Chinese designers, years of work experience has made He Ping more mature and more aware of how to make a solid and effective step in her design. She said that she always had dreams of having her own brand, but she had worked for others for so long that she could understand that the industry could not rush into the world merely by her own enthusiasm. She hoped to solve all the difficulties she had imagined before settling down, and then set up her own brand, and her mind would be more realistic.

In April 2011, after 5 years of washing and polishing in British fashion companies, He Ping finally got ready to leave Aftershock and set up his own dress brand "PINGHE". In just two years, from scratch, only He Ping himself is from the company. He now has an international team. There are only 8 London studios, and one studio in Beijing. All the costumes are made in Beijing studio.

As for the change of professional identity from designer to operator, He Ping admits that now design has become part of it, and much time is spent in operation. When thinking about a product, it not only stays in the design aspect, but also takes into account the whole part from design to marketing to the final sale. But because of this, He Ping said she can now more effectively grasp the style and get what she wants most. "I think I am also growing in constant practice. I used to write every day, and now I am solving problems every day." The interview with He Ping was before Christmas. She started thinking about the market for PINGHE 3 months ago, and also took into account this. Fashion Show After the end, the response is very good. How can PINGHE keep this heat and not let it cool down? "Every day, I want to think a lot of ways to meet and discuss with my team, get the way we want eventually, and then execute it with the fastest speed." He Ping said that the greatest advantage of her design director is that she only needs to consider how to closely integrate the brand's needs with her design and maintain the tradition of the brand, but now she has to do more than design.

　 Fortune is reserved for those who are prepared.

From many of the design graduates, to be the fashion director of British fashion companies, to start their own brand at the right time, He Ping has not suffered much setbacks along the way. In my view, she always gets luck from this road.

At the time of He Ping's entry into Aftershock, many fashion processing plants chose to establish in China because of the world's fashion industry. At the same time, He Ping was a Chinese and had a working experience in Shanghai, which was very familiar with China's garment processing industry. So with this advantage, He Ping successfully got the entry notice of Aftershock. At that time, Aftershock company was only a He Ping Chinese.

After that, He Ping The creation of his personal brand has been supported by his family. When she first asked her husband to quit her job and set up her personal brand idea, she replied, "good, I can't wait." When he started to build his personal brand, He Ping encountered many difficulties. He felt tired and could not help telling his husband. He put down his work and comforted He Pingdao very patiently. "Don't worry, do what you want to do, you can do as much as you can, but you can't do anything. When you fail, you go home and paint. " Back then, He Ping told me, "these words make me very happy. He lets me know how much I can do and how much I can do. I don't have to finish it. It's more because of my interests and hobbies to do it. This feeling of" going back to the second place "makes me throw away my burden and face all kinds of challenges with ease. I think it is because of family support that without any pressure of life, He Pingcai will be able to go further in his favorite career.

In the near future, the "PINGHE" women's clothing will enter the senior department stores such as Harvey Nichols. He Ping's dream is to turn PINGHE into an international fashion brand and become a leader in the new generation of fashion brands. The structure is more perfect. Every department has the most suitable professionals to lead, not to let a designer do one thousand things, but to let people who are suitable to do it.

At the end of the interview, she said something to me, which impressed me: "from the designer to the operator, I have changed from a girl to a woman. When I am a girl, I don't need to rush everything, but after becoming a woman, I begin to understand the need to control the pace and do the most appropriate thing at the most suitable time."