What was the experience of bringing the next-gen of Chinese designers to Paris Fashion Week this time, what was the motivation behind it?
Yu Prize is now in its third year and Paris Fashion Week has been our official partner from day one. Due to the pandemic, we have not been able to bring the designers out. But FHCM has been very actively involved with us. And Madame Lyu has been telling me this year that the purpose of Shanghai Fashion Week is to bring designers out. We think it’s the right time to take designers to a bigger international stage. 

For them, coming to Paris is not just about presenting their designs, it’s about getting recognition and new opportunities—be it media or retail opportunities—in front of international fashion industry leaders at this big global stage.

What are the roadblocks that Chinese designers have to break through? 
I have known many designers for many years, and what they need is more systematic support. For example, for a Chinese designer who wants to break into a European or American market, he or she has to put in two to three times more effort than local designers. The difficulties are not in design, but in how to merge design with business and finding a management team who understands their vision and can integrate creativity.

They struggle to find the right media to [spotlight] them, they struggle to find the right PR agencies [to represent them], and they struggled to connect the right department stores such as Harrods. Apart from financial support, what they also need is the support of a 360-degree platform, community and ecosystem.

What more needs to be done?
There are obstacles on different levels. For designers, it’s particularly difficult to find a commercial team that can match their creativity, and even if they did, they wouldn’t necessarily have the budget to hire such a team. From a broader perspective, there are commercially successful fashion companies in China, but consumers and corporations don’t respect original design enough, which is a great disservice to designers. Yu Prize and I feel that there is a need to promote more respect for originality and make original designers seen. It’s all blood and sweat for every designer. 

Then fashion brands need to find consumers who are willing to pay for the designs. The growth of overall education and awareness is two-fold. Designers also need to be more open-minded to the business side of fashion, [which will lead to] long-term success. It is the quality that will make us go further.

The new generation of Chinese designers have a background in fashion education abroad which equip them with a well-rounded creative vision. Is there any aspect from the Chinese market that can provide inspirations for the international audience?
Absolutely. We also have worked with a lot of international brands and have done some creative campaigns. Knowing some CEOs (of global brands) personally, they have always been interested in the Chinese market, such as the consumer groups of Xiaohongshu and Douyin. They are all in a learning mindset. 

Whether it’s fashion, art or culture, the reason I love it so much is because it’s a such an invisible, silent yet powerful language. In the past, there were a lot of barriers in education, now it [has the accessibility] to be a tool and to bridge [the gap].

Would you say Asian fashion is having a moment on the global stage?
I wouldn’t say it’s the best era, it’s a better time now. Compared to ten to 20 years ago, the mainstream media and fashion associations in Europe and the US are very welcoming to Chinese designers. Pascal Morand, executive president of FHCM who came to our event and dinner, has shown a lot of enthusiasm. I think decades ago, Chinese designers would have struggled a lot. There is also a language and cultural barrier.

Designers today also have a better understanding of international vision and culture than the older generation. Growing up and being educated abroad, they also know better how to combine our traditional cultural imprints, aesthetic understanding and artistic expression with more contemporary design.

In the post-pandemic era, how has your vision for the Yu Prize evolved?
There are many successful international competitions such as the LVMH Prize, which aims to promote designers of all countries; but there is no competition [on an international scale] targeting Chinese designers.

[With the Yu Prize] I think there will be different opportunities for brands in the future, as well as for the international community to gain new recognition of China’s emerging creative power: to know that it’s no longer “made in China” but also “create in China”. I truly believe the new generation of designers is blossoming.

NOW READ

Inside Design Shanghai 2023: A celebration of global and Chinese designers

Bottega Veneta announces Shu Qi as its new global brand ambassador

Beatrice Ho and Mouawad’s new jewellery collaboration celebrates the importance of femininity, love and legacy