A company a cut above the rest for high-end dressmaking
Behind a nondescript door on Anhua Road in Shanghai’s Changning district lies a sprawling 600square-meter fashion studio that has been around for more than 20 years.
Here, at Hanart’s studio for highend, tailor-made cheongsams, also known as qipao, master artisans can be found hand-stitching exquisite dresses alongside creations that have been around for dozens of years.
Founded by Chu Hongsheng in 2000, this studio is the heart of Hanart’s operations in China and one of the reasons why this classic dress has been making waves around the world.
Born in 1918, Chu had devoted himself to crafting cheongsams for more than 80 years until he died in 2017. A recipient of the Shanghai International Fashion Federation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of advanced customization, Chu was renowned in the fashion world for his skills in creating highly customized cheongsams and traditional men’s clothing.
Chu made at least 5,000 cheongsams in his lifetime, many of which were worn by celebrities and artists, including the popular Shanghai actress Hu Die and Soong Mei-ling, the second wife of Chiang Kai-shek.
Even though Chu no longer ran the Chinese fashion brand, his exacting standards for material selection, body measurements, cutting, sewing and ironing are still strictly adhered to.
“In the past, the cheongsam did not need to be well-fitted because many women wore it at home and during casual occasions,” says Zhou Zhuguang, one of Chu’s apprentices and the current art director of Hanart.
“As time went by, people started viewing the cheongsam as a piece of classic clothing meant for special occasions, and this was why we revamped the entire crafting process,” he adds.
Such is the company’s dedication to the smallest detail — more than 30 craftsmen are responsible for each of the steps in the crafting process. Unsurprisingly, cheongsams made at the studio often come with long waiting times.
“Manual embroidery takes time. It takes at least two to three months to finish a piece. Sometimes it could even take half a year,” says Zhou.
Despite Chu’s departure, the brand has continued to uphold his desire of bringing Chinese fashion to the global stage. For example, Zhou has led his creative team on tours to cities including Paris, Lyon, Brussels and Budapest to showcase the Shanghai-style cheongsam. They even got to speak about the history of cheongsam at the United Nations Office at Vienna in 2018.
“When we held a news conference at the Chinese Cultural Center in Paris in 2018, people crowded the venue,” Zhou says.
“Many foreigners only know about such clothes from textbooks. All they know is that the cheongsam is a Chinese dress, but many have never seen it in real life. They also believe that our cheongsam represents the height of Eastern fashion and it has a global appeal,” he adds.
Today, the studio is striving to achieve Chu’s vision of turning the cheongsam from a formal dress into a fashionable item suitable for everyday use.
“Many people like wearing cheongsams today. You can now easily buy this dress online, but the problem is that most cheongsams aren’t designed for daily, casual use. We want to change this,” says Zhou.
To achieve its goal, the brand has unveiled a cheongsam that has a looser fit compared with the traditional version, allowing wearers to feel more comfortable. The modern design also makes the dress more versatile as it can be worn for different occasions.
Designers in the studio have also been taking steps to innovate its fashion offerings for men. After all, about 40 percent of its sales come from men’s clothing.
Looking ahead, Zhou says that one of the studio’s main goals is to be the trendsetter in the industry.
“We will participate in the Shanghai Fashion Week every year. Only when different clothes are released every year can we create a new trend. We cannot influence the public’s sense of aesthetics, but we can create our own interpretation of high-end fashion,” he says.
As time went by, people started viewing the cheongsam as a piece of classic clothing meant for special occasions, and this was why we revamped the entire crafting process.”
Zhou Zhuguang, art director of Hanart