The Chinese luxury market suffered a setback in 2022, ending a five-year period of growth in the region struggling with the consequences of protracted lockdowns and tightening Covid-19 measures. In 2023, however, the sector appears to be on the up again as brands and retailers recover and reinvent themselves for both domestic and global industries. That’s according to a study by management consultancy Bain & Company, which forecast positive conditions in China will return before the end of the first quarter of this year.
A series of fashion industry events in China underscores this optimism. Marketing agency Dia Creative Communications is among those betting on the rising confidence for the current year. The company has once again started the fashion season with the launch of its tube showroom concept. First unveiled in 2015, the project aims to showcase and promote emerging labels by embedding them within a larger network of brands, media and distribution channels – as opposed to the traditional function of a showroom.
For the Autumn/Winter 2023 season, the showroom, which takes place every two years, had the motto ‘Trek n Trek Inspired Hiking’, with which he wants to celebrate young designers and the stories they present for the coming order season. Launching its 16th season to coincide with Shanghai Fashion Week, the agency opened the new experimental retail concept Dia Underground on April 8, where 59 design brands – 38 of which are ready-made – will exhibit their new collections.
The opening is a response to the region’s protracted lockdowns, as Dia founder Zemria Xu told FashionUnited: “The pandemic must have had a very big impact on every industry and because of this difficult challenge we have decided to take the plunge to venture and open the Dia Underground retail space to create a broader platform for design brands to showcase their concepts and aesthetics. We also want to offer marketing support and product testing for our partner stores as we experiment with retail.”
While Dia’s brand choices respond to the demands of the current Chinese consumer climate (which places a high value on localization of production and brands – something that the pandemic has also highlighted on a global scale), there remains a desire to further strengthen international exchanges , unmistakable. Daies is reflected in the choice of brands for the retail space. They were chosen for their ability to showcase a distinctively Chinese aesthetic, according to Xu, to “create an emotional resonance between consumers and brands for artistic and inspirational creations” while showcasing the country’s design qualities to the global fashion industry.
Such a mission could be seen in the approach of some brands to their collections. Their design language focused on exploring China’s cultural heritage in a modern way. While Fabric Qorn created designs with humor, ready-to-wear brand Nonsense Official explored young Chinese attitudes and experimented with cultural meanings. Many of the brands that Tube represents took part in this season’s Shanghai Fashion Week, which was held for the first time in three years. The fashion week was held at various locations in the city, the most central of which was in the Xintiandi district. It lasted ten days and started on March 23 with a program of more than 70 labels.
Participating in the fashion week in Shanghai offers participants numerous opportunities, in particular a platform for presenting the latest products and concepts. Xu added, “As a showroom dedicated to promoting independent labels, by participating in Shanghai Fashion Week, we can better showcase and promote Chinese quality brands, attract more attention from domestic and overseas buyers and media, end-customer channels Excite consumers and give brands more sales and business collaboration opportunities.” The brands that held their respective presentations and showrooms at Tube support the local industry while strengthening international ties in the fashion industry.
Intercontinental: from collaborations to a physical presence
Many of the brands presenting at Tube already have their own international presence. However, you have chosen to show at Shanghai Fashion Week this year to support the country’s revival. An important part of the shows were therefore collaborations with global brands. For Shie Lyu, who founded her brand in New York before returning to China, this took the form of a partnership with British designer Stella McCartney. While Lyu focused on her ‘Land Mermaids’ theme with fishtail-inspired details, her idea of using suiting fabrics came from her creative collaboration with McCartney. The duo exchanged designs, which the other could modify at will. Like McCartney, Lyu adheres to the concept of sustainability and uses her own zero-waste production technology. Their values were also expressed by supporting the Japanese company Ultrasuede, an artificial substitute for suede that is particularly durable.
Another company that decided to work with the outside world was Staffonly, which partnered with American shoe brand Ugg for its show entitled ‘Orbit Voyagers’. For the show, Ugg provided models from the Foamo Slide and Tasman ranges, which further enhanced the space vibe the brand wanted to convey. The concept for the shoes was created in collaboration with the industrial designer Ah Bin. He had developed a concept that used 3D printing technology to produce gravity-defying silhouettes. Like the boots, the rest of the collection was inspired by otherworldly worlds, most notably the planet Saturn, evident in the striking use of looped detailing and ring-shaped prints.
Meanwhile, other brands returned to their home country after withdrawing from Shanghai in previous years. Shuting Qiu, who attended Milan Fashion Week, had lived in Europe for several months before returning to the city to present her Fall/Winter 2023 collection, aiming to present a new vision. Her time in Europe was reflected in her inspiration for the collection, with references to Czech abstract painter Frantisek Kupka, whose work was evident in its use of floral designs and prints. Sustainability and technology were also represented in the collection. According to a statement, 60 percent of the fabrics were made from more sustainable and environmentally friendly materials and artificial intelligence (AI) was integrated into the design process.
Shushu/Tong is another brand that had started testing the waters of the international market. Founded in 2015, the brand enjoys an international reputation and has retail locations around the world, including in London and New York, at Dover Street Market and at online retailers such as Farfetch and MatchesFashion. The label is helmed by Liushu Lei and Yutong Jiang, both of whom returned to China to found the brand after graduating from London College of Fashion, indicating their intent to stay true to their roots.
For this season, Shushu/Tong followed the theme of ‘Backrooms’, an urban legend that originated in an online forum in 2019. There, users posted images of unsettling empty rooms that could only be entered via a cheat code that yanked people out of reality. To approach this theme, the creatives examined the idea of the everyday world under an established order. They developed a narrative about the sense of uniformity with looks that feature clean and geometric structures. While seemingly clinging to classic cutting techniques, they attempted to shift perceptions using fabrics and embellishments aimed at deconstructing established formality. This look was reinforced with the use of scattered diamonds and looks designed to evoke a sense of contemplation, such as a sleeveless dress.
With its portfolio of brands already catching the attention of international retailers and consumers, Dia Communications hopes to extend this strategy across its offering. Xu added, “In recent years, Tube Showroom platform has spawned many brands that are active in the international fashion scene and opened their own retail stores. With this partnership, we also see the importance of artistic expression and communication in offline retail spaces. With Dia Underground, we want people to be able to connect more deeply with the brands.”
Currently, the showroom’s clientele consists mainly of shops that have a good understanding of design and are fully supportive of the brands. Her clientele hasn’t expanded into consumers yet, but Xu noted that the network has become younger and more international in recent years, further fueling industry-wide transformation. “It has given us more confidence in the commercial development of designer brands.”
This article was published on FashionUnited.com. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ