China has been a country that has seen many changes and fueled equally many misconceptions about her true status in the fashion industry.
Those false assumptions have created gaps in the western perception and knowledge about China’s culture and actual impact on the world's economy. Several deeply flawed analogies have resulted in obscuring China’s true economic growth and potential as well as drawing flawed analogies between the country and other prominent countries such as the US. In fact, a recent New York Times article titled “Taiwan, Trade, Tech and More: A Tens e Era in U.S.-China Ties” described the volatile situation as: “the biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century.”
“Made in China” has an earlier history than high-tech products or cheap consumer goods, though. Many decades earlier China’s economy lacked a framework for effective industrialization that could compete with its western counterparts. The label “made in China” became synonymous with fashion goods of lower quality, mass-market production, and questionable production ethics.
For those who know, though, China has always been a creative hub in its own right. Yet, it would take several years and a bunch of great talent coming from prominent overseas fashion schools such as Central Saint Martin’s and Parson’s School of Design to showcase the country’s true potential in manufacturing unique, luxurious goods.Fresh brands such as FANGYÁN represented in-house label KITAYAMA Studio, a handcrafted designer leather goods brand founded October 2014 in Beijing, showcase the talent that is taking the fashion industry by storm.
Today, products that are made or designed in China have managed to win the coolness game and have their own distinctive voice inside the vast fashion landscape. The “Made in China” quote has made the ultimate transition, from initially problematic to part of the high quality, high demand luxury zeitgeist. Shanghai Fashion Week has become the official go-to event for industry insiders to discover emerging ,fearless talent or to showcase their work to a fashion savvy Asian audience, much like Louis Vuitton’s recent SS22 Shanghai show. This is where creative collectives and innovating brands such as FANGYÁN enter the game and make a difference.
FANGYÁN’s mission is to ultimately challenge the old perception that China can’t do high-quality innovating designs by delivering supreme quality in-house production.
We produce everything within in-house labels in our own factory in Nanjing, which allows us to set strict welfare rules and ensure the utmost quality and integrity. At the same time, it enables to introduce the very best of fashion trends to a local audience as part of this process- with optimum results. Collaborating with labels that are eco-friendly and consciously made has made FANGYÁN a true pioneering platform in the field of sustainable fashion proudly made in China.
The brand carries several emerging Chinese fashion brands along with its in-house luxury-feel designs with a common thread; supreme aesthetics that advocate for a unique identity, this of China. FANGYÁN is on a mission to advertise China’s true fashion potential and cement a reputation of the go-to source for wearable luxury, the best that China’s design boom has to offer.
Ilia-Sybil Sdralli
Executive Editor