“Made in China” is having its moment now – and it’s a fashionable one. 

The story of Chinese fashion began in 2011 when Feiyue and Huili, both Chinese sneaker brands, suddenly gained international attention. Their products were seen on models all over the world. Last year, Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning was at the New York Fashion Week in September with new designs – hoodies and jackets decorated with Chinese characters. 

Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group said that the latest Chinese brands are no longer promoting themselves on the basis of their cheapness. He told CNN, “They are impressive and ambitious and can go head to head with foreign brands.” And this ambition may be due to the fact that China’s young people are now more confident about their own culture. Western culture doesn’t have the instant appeal to the young that it once had. 

“Today’s young people in China are passionate about Chinese cultural elements,” Jin Qu, vice president of YOHO, an urban clothing shopping website in China, said at a cultural festival in November. “They like these elements printed on their clothes, even the brand image of laoganma – the famous chili sauce in China – which was once seen as outside of fashion. But now young people are proud of these Chinese symbols.” 

 In fact, many celebrities in the West now have an interest in Chinese cultural elements in fashion. US singer Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty, for example, wore a shiny and heavily embroidered yellow gown to the 2015 Met Gala to match the gala’s theme “China: Through the Looking Glass”. The gown was designed and made by Chinese designer Guo Pei. 

“We have to move from manufacturing to service and creativity,” Chinese-American architect and designer Aric Chen once told The Financial Times. “We want to replace the words ‘Made in China’ with ‘Designed in China’.” 

If you are interested in fashion design and want to involve Chinese elements in your designs, come to study in China. 

For more details, contact Sophia at study@cuecc.com.