Is It True That Young Designers In China Are Really Ready To Kill In The Fashion Design Industry?

"We have seen at least 50 of these two days.

"

American buyers

After talking down and drinking a cup of coffee, Jesse Hudnutt, who sat next to her, tacitly answered the words: "look at clothes, take photos, and communicate with designers. There are many steps before placing orders."

Carol Song and Jesse Hudnutt work for buyer's shop Opening Ceremony. They are invited guests of the 2016 autumn winter fashion week in Shanghai.

Not long ago, Opening Ceremony, an American buyer's shop in the two place, announced its entry into the "2016 China year". It not only launched a joint capsule series with Chinese designers such as Anna Sui, Vivienne Tam, but also introduced a group of Chinese cutting-edge designer brands, such as Angel Chen, Museum of friendship, and friendship, which they excavated in Shanghai.

Just like them, there are 3 international buyers invited by Shanghai fashion week.

Wang Zhi, Shangguan Zhe, Li Xiao... Have been active in recent years.

The eastern face makes "

This concept is constantly being concrete.

H.Lorenzo, Opening Ceremony, 10 Croso Como and other European and American well-known buyer shops are the most diligent. In recent years, Shanghai fashion week has never been absent, looking for design stars in China.

But under the bustling appearance, can we assert that after the Six Gentlemen of Antwerp and the three swordsmen of Japan, China will soon usher in the new era? It is far from enough to win the media attention and fame in the Chinese local market, which is far from enough to be called an "era".

The opening of the Shanghai fashion week in April 8th is likely to be the most gorgeous record ever recorded.

French fashion Union chief executive officer Pascal Morand, Italy Fashion Association chairman Carlo Pascal, French L claireur claireur founder Armand Hadida, Vogue Italy edition senior editor Sara Maino, and British fashion columnist Vogue are all guests.

Gemma Williams published her new book "Fashion China" last year, introducing 41 Chinese independence.

。

The most famous Chinese designer she knows is from British fashion colleges, such as Wang Haizhen, Guo Yiran, Wang Fengchen, and so on. Interestingly, the watershed is: the older generation of graduates usually stay in London for internships, jobs and independent portals, while the new generation designers tend to return to create the same brand.

"The number of designers in Shanghai fashion week is two times higher this season."

She quickly discovered this change in every show and showroom, "no one can predict how long these brands will survive."

Apart from the external factors that are not mature enough for China's fashion industry, the lack of careful consideration and business experience are the main causes leading to the halfway exit of young designers.

Since last year, the timing of entrepreneurship has become the focus of discussion in the industry.

Vogue American editor Anna Wintour reminded students more than once: "there are very few successful examples of building a brand with the same name after graduation."

Because fashion is a business after all, and most design schools do not spend much time teaching students how to produce, deliver, sell and pr. As for brand positioning, product pricing and other business strategies, they can not be explained clearly by one or two courses.

Gemma Williams and Chinese designers found that young people standing opposite themselves were more fond of talking about dreams, but their preparations for commercial production such as supply, production and sales were almost blank.

"That's why I suggest they work for the brand for 1-3 years after graduation, and then decide whether to create a personal brand.

In their current situation

Maybe we can survive, but if we want to open up the international market, we need at least several trials. "

Embarrassing is that only when overseas buyers ask questions, can Chinese young designers realize their crux.

Last year, Lorenzo, founder of H.Lorenzo, a Losangeles buyer's shop, mentioned the chaos in showroom during the fashion week in Shanghai.

In addition, many Chinese designers often do not know FOB prices and do not understand the rules of foreign trade when facing orders from overseas buyers.

Some designers have pushed away the opportunity to enter overseas platforms.

These days, Sara Maino, who is responsible for mining global design talents for Vogue, is also shuttling around every corner of Shanghai.

From Uma Wang, Vega Zaishi Wang to Xiao Li, Vogue has brought together a group of Chinese fashion designers.

According to Sara Maino, the Chinese fashion industry is like Japan in 1980s, just before the outbreak of fashion industry.

All kinds of creative talents are constantly emerging, but they are not yet ready to go abroad.

She gave an example: "the simplest truth is that you can't sell the things you sell in Milan to the market, but most people do not realize this."

In addition to the lack of sales knowledge, foreign buyers also think that Chinese designer's products are priced too high.

Whether it's watching shows or visiting showroom, Sara Maino, the fashion star from Italy, is always used to take photos with mobile phones, and then jot down the brand names in the process of chatting with designers, such as Xu Zhi and SHUSHU/TONG.

In Shanghai official showroom - Mode

She met in Paris before.

Tommy Zhong, and ready to introduce and promote in the Vogue website "new designer" section.

Tommy Zhong just graduated from the British Glasgow Art College in September last year, and now has orders for Hostem, Water Stone and other buyer shops.

According to Tommy Zhong, the wholesale price of a coat with a price of second is the highest in the display series.

(about 3180 yuan), "Sara Maino thinks the price is slightly higher, but these special fabrics are all made by hand, and the factory is in London, the fixed cost is relatively high".

Most designers are multiplied by profit coefficients on the basis of product cost, but market factors are often overlooked.

"If a skirt costs 800 pounds, why not choose it?

"Gemma Williams said," it is already a big problem for foreigners to list the names of ten Chinese designers, let alone spend money on them.

Besides, some young designers in China did 3 or 4 seasons.

"Opening a sub line, or cross-border cooperation with the brand can be a way out."

Gemma Williams added: "take the MA by Masha Ma under the sub line of Masha Ma as an example, and the price of the closer people can make more customers experience the designer style."

But in the eyes of buyers, the biggest problem for Chinese designers is still design and work.

There is an unwritten code of conduct in the European and American fashion world. Buyers will observe the performance of designers for three consecutive seasons, and make sure that the order is made after ensuring stability.

This golden rule is particularly applicable in China. Lorenzo has found that some Chinese designers will change their style of design because of market feedback.

"Mature designers, such as Uma Wang, you know her personal imprint very well.

But some designers are not very sure about their style. They sometimes turn 180 degrees, from east to west.

What he needs to find is a brand with strong identification and strong style. Chinese elements are not necessarily options. "

During the four days' Mode exhibition, Lorenzo's direct orders included Yun Feng Si Ru and Liu Lu; Opening Ceremony showed an order intention for Peng Chen, Heydey, Atelier Rouge Pekin and Moto Guo.

The two buyer shops did not talk much about selection criteria, and perhaps they could see a clue from their customers.

Jesse said that customers of Opening Ceremony "always want to buy something unique, whether it's color, fabric, tailoring, or profile", including Susie Bubble's fashion bloggers.

Compared with them, the Armand Hadida from France is more severe.

"How can you expect a student who has been designing for 3 years in the school to create miracles? This is like asking a child who has just learned ABC to write poetry."

"This time I saw in Shanghai that most of the shows in Paris were like graduation works, and perhaps they were very lively, but they are still in the basic stage of youth," said the founder of L claireur, a veteran buyer shop.

"You compare the designer brand of China and Japan, the design and sales are almost the same, but there is still a gap between fabric and workmanship."

Lorenzo said.

In addition to the designer's choice and technology, there are also the technological level of the foundries.

Saint Martin returned from London in 2014

Chen Anqi discovered that the production process after the completion of the design was a headache.

She had never thought that when the needle and thread were strictly controlled, the delay of the Chinese factory would be taken into account when the delivery date was set.

Moreover, if you don't pay attention, the details and materials may be out of shape.

The passivity of the delivery date is also related to the late schedule of Shanghai fashion week.

Every February,

The autumn and winter series began in New York.

By the end of the four fashion week, next to Tokyo and Seoul, it will be the middle of April when it comes to Shanghai.

For Chinese designers who issue new series in Shanghai fashion week and order orders with buyers, the time pressure to complete orders will be even greater.

"Chatting with most designers will tell me that design is their dream.

But this is childish. They don't know what we want to know about the production area, business strategy and so on.

There are many young people who want to be designers, but it really takes several trials to really get there.

Gemma Williams said.