Shanguan Zhe / Sankuanz
In 2015, Shanguan Zhe (上官 喆) made a real breakthrough by presenting his collection at Men's Fashion Week in Paris and London. Then he was nominated for the prestigious LVMH [1]. Shanguan Zhe was born in 1984 in a small town of Fujian province - Zhangping (漳平 市). After graduating from Xiamen University with a degree in visual communication and advertising, he decided not to waste time and took up what attracted him the most - clothing design. In 2006, with two friends and 3,000 yuan, Shanguan Zhe founded Sankuanz. Now that his collections are sold all over the world, he continues to work as enthusiastically as he did 11 years ago. As the designer notes in an interview, he does not need any entertainment other than work.
Liu Ming / Ms Min
Feminine and at the same time minimalistic images in the collections of Liu Ming (刘 旻, born in 1981) possess a light fleur of “Chineseness”, although as the designer herself claims, the influence of Chinese visual culture is absolutely natural, as it is part of her DNA. The idea of becoming a fashion designer was visited by 15-year-old Liu Ming when she first saw Western fashion magazines and was shocked by the work of, first of all, Vivienne Westwood.
Mom supported her daughter's passion and sent her to study at London College of Fashion. He graduated from Liu Min in 2007, and then worked for the Dutch company Viktor & Rolf. In 2009, she decided to return to her homeland - in Fuzhou (also in Fujian) to establish her own brand. In 2014, Ian Hylton, a leading designer of the Canadian brand PORTS and part-time husband, joined Ms Min.
Wang Zaishi / Vega Zaishi Wang
Another rising star in Chinese haute couture is Wang Zaishi (王 在 实, born in 1985). At the age of 16, she left to study fashion design in England, at the London College of Fashion. The graduation show is the most important stage in the career of a designer: Wang Zaishi came up with a crazy idea to make a collection with luminous clothes. But to bring it to life, it took about 160,000 yuan, which she did not have. She was lucky to meet the owner of a traditional clothing company who was in London on a visit. She liked Wang Zaishi’s idea so much that she offered help, however, on one condition - after graduation, she would return home to China.
In 2008, Wang Zaishi returned to Beijing and first worked in an atelier sponsoring her graduation collection, but quit a month later, as her ideas were useless in a company whose clothes were aimed at women aged 45-65. A year later, Wang Zaishi opened her own studio, and now her collection is sold in 27 boutiques throughout China, three of which are her own.
Li Xiao / Xiao Li
Another graduate of the London College of Fashion, Li Xiao (李筱, born in 1987), decided to continue her education at the Royal College of Arts, where she specialized in knitwear. Li Xiao attracted the attention of the fashion industry by winning several prestigious design awards: Pitti Filati in 2012, Loro Piana in 2013, Diesel International Talent Support (2013), Fashion Scout (2015). With such a rapid development of a career outside of China, she is in no hurry to return to her native Qingdao.
Li Xiao spends most of the day in his studio, working on new collections. He draws inspiration from modern architecture, and spends his free time in London museums.
Wang Haizhen / Wang
Wang Haizhen (王海 震, born in 1979) also lives and works in London. Unlike many young designers, his path to his own studio was longer. After graduating from the London College of Fashion, he entered the graduate school of St. Martin's College (second attempt). Having received a master's degree in 2005, Wang Haizhen worked for several years as a designer at Max Mara, Boudicca and All Saint, and only in 2010 opened his own studio.
Although his career outside China has been successful, Wang Haizhen is considering returning to his homeland, as he sees more opportunities for development here. According to him, now all his friends are returning to China to develop their brands at home, while maintaining contact with London.
