Westward ho! | South China Morning Post

After a fruitless search to find a quality, padded mian ao (hip-length, loose-fitting Chinese jacket) in Hong Kong, Kin Yeung ended up designing one himself. He says he never imagined it would lead to the creation of a brand. Since its launch in 1993, Blanc de Chine has built a strong following with its clean, almost minimalist lines, and designs that remain firmly rooted in Chinese culture.

Taiwanese designer Wang Chen Tsai-shia saw a niche in the local market for Chinese-inspired clothing for career women. She launched her label, Shiatzy Chen, 27 years ago and now has six boutiques, including one in Paris.

Although the brands have different aesthetics - Blanc de Chine is subtle in its silhouettes and colours, whereas Shiatzy Chen is known for intricate and elaborate treatments such as embroidery and beading - both gain inspiration from Chinese arts and culture and share an ambition to become international brands.

Whereas Shanghai Tang's ready-to-wear line appeals to a wider market, Blanc de Chine and Shiatzy Chen's clienteles tend to be at the higher end - the average price of a Blanc de Chine qi paos or an embroidered silk skirt from Shiatzy Chen is $6,000.

Yeung says it never occurred to him that Blanc de Chine would expand to three stores - in Hong Kong, Beijing and, later this year, New York.

The only time Chen thought of turning her business into a brand was when she went to Japan in 1990 and saw Hanae Mori's distinctive retail space. '[I thought] if I was simply going to copy, I would never catch up,' she says. 'I feel that China has so much history - but how come we don't use it ourselves?' Apart from her boutique in Paris, Chen has stores in Taiwan, Beijing and Shanghai and two in Hong Kong.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle that the brands face internationally is a belief that Asia can produce only quality apparel, and not high fashion. Chen is determined to prove this wrong. 'Our fashion business is still slow to grow,' she says. 'But you have to insist on your brand and develop it yourself. Your own ideas can create fashion. If you keep copying, like manufacturers, you'll always be left behind.'

Dev Suj agrees. The brand director of Brandista Brand Agency, which helps launch brands globally, says local designers 'need to understand the global market in terms of product selection, finding points of sales and being able to afford the marketing to get famous'.

'They need to understand who they're targeting and tweak their collections accordingly,' Sujanani says. 'Building a global brand is about many things: the right concept, the right product, the right packaging, pricing and positioning, the right promotion and the right PR, which gets you the buzz and the distribution.' Chen says she's a firm believer in original ideas and spending time on design. 'You can't run a brand like a factory, making a quick buck with every delivery.'

What makes an international brand? According to Yo Min-ching, general manager of Sunrise Department Store in Taiwan, it entails specialised merchandise; clear vision; high quality; management with an international attitude; and, most importantly for a label that comes out of Asia, it has to evoke the country's culture.

Blanc de Chine and Shiatzy Chen look to different Chinese dynasties for inspiration. 'A lot of today's western dress can be traced to the Ching dynasty,' says Blanc de Chine director Lydia Reeve.

Western designers may have been inspired by the Ching dynasty because of its grandeur, but Chen says she's focused on the Song dynasty for the past three years because of its refinement of lines and restraint in colour. 'You can't really change Chinese dress much,' she says. 'Five thousand years of history is strong. Furniture, fashion, art - there's so much to draw influence from.'

Despite her praise of Chinese culture, Chen says its dress form is 'two-dimensional without any major historical changes'. She prefers European cutting and patterns, and says it's impossible for a brand to adhere to the Chinese silhouette without looking too literal.

Both Blanc de Chine and Shiatzy Chen are proud of their high quality and don't want to lose sight of their motivating philosophies when they expand into the west. ['Our products] must enhance the wearer and our heritage rather than to ridicule or demean the culture,' says Blanc de Chine general manager Vivianne Lau, although she says commercial reality may force some pragmatic decisions.

Would either brand consider selling to a foreign fashion conglomerate? Neither Reeve nor Lau says they're averse to considering offers, but says it would be crucial that their brand's culture, values and philosophy were guaranteed. 'A large corporation offers a lot of advantages,' says Lau. 'But this has to be balanced with brand integrity.'

For now, Chen says she has no intention of selling. Despite its history, China hasn't yet produced a fashion brand to rival the great houses of Europe. 'We have to start now,' Chen says. 'I'm doing it and won't stop till the day I die.'

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