Young Chinese Designers Set Up Shop in Shanghai

Chang Le Road in Shanghai is known as the place to find fashionistas and young hipsters in China. And driving the new fashion trends are young, entrepreneurial Chinese designers who have set up boutiques or joined together into design collectives along the tree-lined street in the former French Concession.

In an interview with the International Herald Tribune, Lorraine Justice, head of the school of design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic, describes this new wave of Chinese fashion:

“They’re not totally Italian with high drama and not Japanese with understatement over strong basic structure…The Chinese deconstructionists are unique. There is a pragmatism and experimentalism and a visual impact. This is why I see Chinese fashion becoming another great icon for the fashion world. There is an energy.”

The clientèle at Shanghai’s boutiques is a mix of Shanghai locals, expatriates and travelers from Taiwan, Hong Kong or China’s inner provinces. While some bargains can be found, prices for items like fashionable trench coats can easily be double the average monthly salary of a recent Chinese college graduate. However, the market is still small and the store fronts of the boutiques seem to change every few months. As one Chinese designer, Alex Ying Jianxia, explains:

“Ah, yes, in China there are not so many who would be comfortable wearing this look,” Ying said. “It is hard to wear, but when it works, it looks great.”

[via IHT]