Fashion: Grab unique pieces at affordable prices
Ziggy Chen and Uma Wang.
At the same time, Dong Liang, a boutique dedicated to Chinese indigenous designers, has grown to be a trendsetter in the independent designer scene. The store has been presenting new designers not only in its boutiques, but also at Shanghai Fashion Week. Dong Liang hosts the One Day event that is part of Shanghai Fashion Week, introducing designers such as He Yan and Sankuanz.
Apart from putting on fashion shows, the event also helps promote the designers with innovative multimedia presentations.
The department store Galeries Lafayette Beijing has joined the initiative, and Chinese designer brands as Chictopia and Vega Zaishi Wang all have independent boutiques in the French store.
Beijing SKP, the luxury shopping destination, has developed its own multibrand boutique, SKP Select, offering products from emerging brands.
The emergence of multibrand boutiques is changing retailing in smaller cities, Ding Meimei, chief executive of DFO Showroom, said recently in the trade magazine Business of Fashion.
As the market in one-tier cities becomes oversaturated, these stores are now expanding to smaller cities such as Chengdu, Shenzhen and Guiyang. There are not enough customers there for a brand to open independent stores, but the potential does exist, Ding says. With ample space, these stores become a display window for the new designers, she says.
Even as retailing in China faces tough times, there are still new companies keen to take advantage of the spending power of the middle class. Shenzhen Hemei Group, which makes smart electric meters, switched its focus from manufacturing to the fashion industry by setting up a new multibrand jewelry boutique, Artoriz.
The company has joined forces with Bluebell, a Hong Kong branding company that has represented brands such as LV, Fendi and Loewe in China. The brand has signed with 34 designers from both home and abroad, offering jewelry to the young middle class in China.
“There are established brands and boutiques for clothing brands in China, but for jewelry there are few,” says Shirley Zhang, creative director of Artoriz and a renowned jewelry designer. “We want to build a platform for the young brands. We believe that these designers, each catering to a small crowd, will eventually win over a huge market.”
The store has played a role in the success of designers such as Xu Ke and Zhang Baohua. It opened its first two stores in Shenzhen and Shanghai, followed by pop-up stores in New York and Hainan.
These days stores are not just stores; they go beyond fashion to offer a wider experience.
The phenomenal fashion and art concept store from Milan 10 Corso Como opened a store in Beijing in 2014, after opening one in Shanghai. The store partners with Trendy International Group, a Chinese fashion retailer that owns fashion brands including Ochirly and Five Plus, in its development in China.
Taking after its Milanese progenitor, the store offers a shopping experience that combines fashion, design, art and dining.
“The idea of ‘slow shopping’ and creating an entire sensory experience seems to translate well in China,” the founder, Carla Sozzani, told China Daily after the Beijing store opened. “It is meant to offer an experience for the five senses and the mind together. What we always hope to bring to any city is an interest in lifestyle and values beyond the trendy and fashionable.”
The idea of integrative retail space is also being adopted by more business owners.
Brand New China, a pioneer in China’s multibrand retail market, is now undergoing a revamp. Founded in 2010 by the publisher Hong Huang, the store has been a springboard for young emerging designers.
The store is now transforming from a fashion boutique to a lifestyle experience center that offers everything from ceramics to bicycles and kitchenware. The store also plans to expand its space for art exhibitions and other kinds of events.