China’s textile industry is slowly moving towards recovery. Instead of long-distance exports, the domestic market and neighboring countries such as Russia and South Korea seem to set a precedent for many clothing suppliers. Western markets in North America and Europe are proving to be more of a challenge after the pandemic ends, in part due to emerging prices. This was also reflected in the existing spring edition of the China International Fashion Fair (CHIC) in Shanghai, where new Chinese fashion and the prices of hard work were hot topics.
The fair, which is of vital importance to the Asian market, was held from March 6 to 8 in conjunction with the PH Value knitwear fair and in parallel with the Intertextile fabric fair and the Yarn Expo yarn fair at the Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center. It highlighted its external orientation. After all, it is also the call for the fair, which gives Chinese brands the opportunity to “present themselves abroad,” explained CHIC President Cheng Dapeng, who is also president of the China National Garment Association.
There was little foreign charm at the second post-pandemic spring edition, as was the case before 2019 with the European pavilions in France and Germany. Little English was also spoken in the corridors of the showrooms. The most important visiting countries were Russia, South Korea and Japan. The United States occupies the 5th position and the United Kingdom occupies the last place in the “Top 10” of visitors. According to official figures from the fair, a total of around 158,000 visitors were received during the three days, about 10,000 more than in the first spring edition after the pandemic in March 2023. This was also evident among exhibitors, who were very happy to see an increased attendance at the show. all segments compared to pre-Covid. This was also demonstrated by Mr. Wang, director of the sales branch of Yerad logo jeans, who has been walking at CHIC for 10 years and also received foreign visitors from Russia, Pakistan and European markets for 3 days.
Among the almost 1,300 exhibitors (about two hundred more than in the last edition in March) there was also a German logo. At the Order Days in Düsseldorf, Studio Ayasse in Stuttgart regularly presents its fur and lambskin collections to buyers in its own showroom in Munich as part of the Supreme trade fair and in a showroom in Paris. Founder Tina Ayasse, who currently lives in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is also participating in CHIC for the first time and has a positive rating. It highlights the “good organization” compared to the national formats. However, he was also surprised to see how little English was spoken. He had at least one member of his staff at the booth for Chinese visitors. But otherwise, hand gestures and mobile phone gestures also worked, as demonstrated in a conversation with Ayasse after the verbal exchange with FashionUnited, when she was alone at the booth.
Although the numerous conversations he had on the first day of the exhibition did not allow him to know whether potential consumers were interested in his products, the exclusive promotional slogan “Made in Germany”, which applies to some of his leather panties, is particularly important. Even wholesale costs of between €280 and €360 for portions produced in Germany, which are higher than those of Chinese suppliers, do not deserve to be an impediment. Therefore, I would be happy to see a German pavilion or at least an area for Europeans. brands in a long-running edition.
However, the return of foreign brands is only in the hands of the exhibition organizer, Cheng explained. Many brands have replaced their marketing strategy and understand CHIC as an exhibition of the foreign industry. The fair is open to national and foreign exhibitors and expects the latter in particular to return in long-term editions.
At the same time, at the request of its exposed brands, CHIC seeks to forge foreign collaborations to revive its exports or succeed in Western markets.
China’s textile and apparel exports amounted to $293. 6 billion in 2023, according to official data released through China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in early February. Compared to last year, exports fell by 8. 1 percent. , there was a slight recovery towards the end of the year. In December, China’s textile and apparel exports rose 2. 6% from 2022 to $25. 3 billion.
At the latest edition of the Who’s Next industrial fair in Paris, CHIC organized the “Fashion China” pavilion with 20 clothing suppliers, which will be delivered at the next edition in September. In addition, a standalone domain titled “Chinese Fashion in Italy” is planned for the next edition of The One Milano in Milan. It is not yet known how many brands will be presented in the Italian fashion metropolis.
But it’s clear that the menswear logo Solosali, which belongs to the Baoxiniao group, needs to show its cuts among its Italian competition at the fair. The logo is also reflecting on its return to the Florentine menswear fair, Pitti Uomo. According to Zhangxi Qin, CEO of Solosali, there are no specific plans yet. The logo corresponds to China’s only two outdoor outlets on the Italian market. In the domestic market, there are about two hundred points of sale, of which 10 percent are independent and 90 percent are franchised. In addition to Europe, Northern Europe and Russia have also been in an expansion phase lately. A number of foreign clients were also offered at CHIC, as well as one interested party from Canada. .
Among the exhibitors at CHIC in Paris is May D logo. Wang, who once again had two stands in Shanghai, one for cashmere and the other for silk, since each curtain caters to other teams of visitors and the Hong Kong logo can thus offer either more effectively. collections of about two hundred pieces each,” explained the logo’s director, Desmond Chen.
May D. Wang is part of clothing manufacturer HS Fashion, which also produces logos such as the sustainability-focused logo Ecoalf, premium logos such as MaxMara and Stella McCartney, as well as for Massimo Dutti, a subsidiary of Inditex. This translates to a turnover of around $300. Million. Exporting to markets such as France and the United Kingdom, the company has a turnover of around $200,000, of which only 5% comes from its own logo. It’s no surprise that visitors are basically store operators with their own logo. Chen has only had a few foreign customers, adding “important components” from the Netherlands, Portugal and Russia.
In addition to May D. Wang, Christopher Raxxy was also one of the Chinese exhibitors at “Who’s Next”. The logo, known for its use of Chinese craftsmanship such as braiding techniques and classical art, combined with three-dimensional generation for outerwear, gained foreign attention thanks to its joint capsule with Italian luxury logo Moncler last October. At CHIC, the logo showcased a pastel-colored pattern-oriented booth, which was part of an area curated through the Worth Global Style Network (WGSN). In this section, the New York-founded trend firm showed logos based on American lifestyle trends.
Overall, the mix of Chinese culture and a modern, more Western taste seemed to be a vital theme among CHIC women’s fashion. He toured the other segments of the exhibition: young brands, designer brands and womenswear, located in other pavilions. In addition, there is also an area dedicated exclusively to classic clothing.
The Saint Joy (Sungchin) logo also has a long culture dating back to 1889 and has its roots in the Chinese brocade production of the Song Dynasty, which still plays an important role today. She also offers classic dresses, often straight and narrow-cut, and embroiders checks of Chinese landscapes on jackets and skirts.
While the transition between the two worlds is still quite seamless at Saint Joy, other brands play more with contrast, as we saw at William Zhang’s SS24 show. While light, flowing fabrics are paired with velvet, sequins and sequins are paired with classic embroidery such as floral embellishments. Elements such as the asymmetrical dress, which closes from the center of the neck to the right side of the chest with the classic fabric button knots, are worn in a short, sheer dress with ruffle detailing. Layers and style also played a vital role in Zhang’s style. Fashion approach, with garments such as a sheer, chunky dress underneath a long, straight pink vest. Overall, the color palette was broad: more powerful shades such as blue, red, and a velvety green were juxtaposed with beige, bronze, and silver and a deep black. The result is a collection that is sure to make its mark on the catwalks of European fashion shows.
Less classical styles were demonstrated in Youxu and Genzhadri’s lopasses focused on Gen Z, where the color black played a vital role. Genzhadri presented a combination of sporty elegance and grunge this season, where spaghetti blouses with mesh overlays reach the knees. pencil skirts, asymmetrical and cropped blouses and tops with flared shoulders, as well as casual suit pants with wide flared skirts. The matching black mini bag and beret are designed to be worn along, creating looks for the younger generation, from life and workplace to casual evenings. However, at the moment, the lopass is only focused on the domestic market.
Things are also quieter in menswear, with some exhibitors showcasing more casual styles along with vintage cuts, such as BXS Menswear, which essentially offers suits between 2,000 and 3,000 Chinese yuan ($278 to $417), depending on the quality. The men’s logo comes from the suit segment, but it should also offer its older consumers between 20 and 50 more casual garments. These will be offered at two independent outlets and five franchised outlets. In wholesale, the logo works with 80% of stores. in the menswear segment in the domestic market, explained logo director Panliaoruo. However, it is also present in markets such as the Netherlands, Poland and Russia. Overall, BXS Homme needs to expand further in Europe, Australia, and North America.
For his part, Zou ditched the cuts and opted for casual looks with overshirts, hoodies, jeans and fun cat-like prints to appeal to a clientele in their 25s and 30s. The brand, which has 85 outlets in Chinese shopping malls and works with fewer than 10 franchise partners, is one of the exceptions.
However, this is expected to replace in the next edition, as comfortable and functional casual wear is popular, says Hans Han. But business casual wear, stylish sportswear, and the abandonment of logomania in favor of personalized products are also among the trends in men’s fashion. fashion, according to the head of CHIC’s men’s fashion sector.
Younger consumers, in particular, are increasingly interested in the design itself than in the big Western brands, which continue to play a vital role, Han says. For China’s Gen Z, who buy directly from brands through apps like social media platform Tiktok and thriving retail platform Dewu, the label call is rarely as vital anymore. It also gives local brands and designers like Ji Wanbo and Wang Yutao a chance to assert themselves against foreign competitors.
In line with customer trends, in March 2025 there will be more young and designer brands, as well as casual and sportswear. This season, sportswear and outerwear will also take up a separate space, where a handful of brands will be represented along with textile manufacturers and suppliers.
One of the outerwear logos is Tittallon, which specializes in outdoor and ski clothing, although it also has a smaller line for everyday streetwear. The logo, founded in Hangzhou in 2008, is presented for the first time at CHIC to reach a more fashion-oriented audience. If the logo was aimed at specialty retailers, it would have been included among the Chinese delegation at the ISPO sports fair in Munich, explained advertising director Li Yuan. Tittallon generates up to 80% of its revenue, which averages 50 million Chinese renminbi (about $6. 4 million) over the past two years, from ski clothing, but needs to expand the casual outerwear segment. The focus is on the national market, where the brand operates 4 points of sale and works with 40 franchisees. But it is also distributed through some forty-five wholesale partners in markets such as Russia and the Netherlands. Li would also like to see more combined logos in the outerwear sector in the coming season, as many visitors to the booth were not looking for a logo, but for producers, he says.
The Merrycheng outerwear logo, which has already managed to win over local players such as Jin Chen and Song Weilong as faces in the domestic market, does not yet have concrete plans for expansion. There is also already a link to Germany: the young logo of the German Peninsula is a symbol of the resources woven by its high-tech outdoor jackets from that country, which cost 3,000 Chinese renminbi yuan (about $383). However, outerwear has only been around since last year. It was created as a separate logo from the Miiow underwear logo, which has more than 20 years of experience in textile generation and now employs it in Merrycheng.
In addition to fashion-related topics, emerging costs at the show were also discussed, although not all exhibitors like to communicate or deny this. For manufacturers exporting their products, inflation and the emerging costs of hard work have an impact on costs. , as Han, CHIC’s director of menswear, demonstrated in conversations with his exhibitors.
At HS Fashion, production prices for the export market increased by up to 20%, while the related May D. Wang logo saw a four% increase. Menswear supplier Solosali’s prices have also been adjusted this year by 10% due to inflation.
At Enjoysun, a Chinese manufacturer of puffer jackets, new prices for raw curtains by padding have impacted prices, which have increased by 20 to 50 percent depending on the length of the jacket, according to manager MinLi Li. Lately, Enjoysun’s puffer jackets cost between 355 and 655 Chinese renminbi yuan ($45 to $84), which are offered primarily to brands in China, but also in Japan and Canada (10 percent each) and South Korea (about 20 percent). According to Yerad, prices in the pants segment have increased. higher by about 30% since 2021 due to inflation. The denim segment has been hit hard by this situation, where the emerging costs of raw curtains and hard work impacted prices last year. However, Wang could not provide more exact figures.
FashionUnited invited to Shanghai via CHIC.
This article was originally published on FashionUnited. DE.