Li Hongyan On Fashion Designer Era

Fashion designer Li Hongyan's 2012 Shanghai fashion week's autumn and winter show attracts much attention.

"The clothes you designed are beautiful, but when I wear them out, how do I introduce them to others?" sitting in the slightly crowded studio of Taikang Road Lane, Li Hongyan talked about the awkwardness of the designer's brand when he first started. "I can understand the mood that customers can't show off to others. This is the general mentality of the public in the face of Chinese designer brands."

He is one of the leading figures in Shanghai's emerging fashion field. He graduated from the prestige High School of LaSalle International Design School of Donghua University and won several international and domestic awards.

In 2003, she founded "Insh" (In Shanghai), using modern techniques to express the bustle and bustle of metropolis, and created a brand new impression of Shanghai, which pcended people's understanding of Shanghai's 20s and 30s school.

Up to now, the "Insh" brand of women's clothing has been loved by the public for its high quality fabrics, reasonable prices and unique design styles.

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Design is often regarded as an art, but Li Hongyan pays special attention to the market.

Customers suggested to her that "we can't wear Insh jeans and T-shirts at our activities, dinner parties or shareholders' meetings."

In 2007, she founded the high-end brand LiHongYan, which can be used for advanced customization and clothing sales.

In 2009, LiHongYan was renamed "Helen Lee".

"It is difficult for foreign guests to call out my Chinese name, so I decided to rename it for the sake of brand consideration."

She said.

Li Hongyan's fame in Shanghai is quite high, and the "Helen Lee" on the rich people's road often has visitors who are guided by the guide.

A few days ago, she just completed the autumn and winter show of the fashion week in Shanghai in 2012. She is busy making costumes for Zhang Jun's new version of the Peony Pavilion.

"Over the years, I have slowly accumulated customers, including foreign buyers.

I will invite buyers to attend the Fashion Week conference, which has been particularly benign since 2010.

Sometimes they set thousands of ready-made clothes at one time. "

Like many local designers in Shanghai, most of Li Hongyan's guests were foreigners.

"At first, I couldn't win the local mass consumer."

She said bluntly, "at the same price, they prefer to buy luxury brands abroad."

Price is the biggest problem that has plagued Chinese designer brands all along.

Because the scale is too small to be mass produced, the price of designer brand has remained high.

"In fact, we have been trying to control costs. A winter coat sells for only 2000~3000 yuan, but I know that some people are willing to spend 2000 yuan on a counterfeit luxury product.

Because they can't understand what we are doing. "

Like Li Hongyan, La Vie designer Jiesheng believes that the difficult situation of designer's brand is related to the mentality of public consumption and aesthetic cultivation.

Similarly, in the first few years of brand development, Ji Cheng's foreign customers account for the overwhelming majority.

"Foreigners know more about my clothes. I know a Italy girl who has read Vogue magazine since she was 15 years old."

If consumers do not want to spend money, where is the future of the brand? For independent designers, it is better to retire from the net than to be in danger.

"So when designing, we must take into account the business, such as the effect of wearing the upper body, rather than just doing things for the sake of one's own interests."

Li Hongyan said.

On the other hand, designers in Shanghai have gradually increased exposure through fashion week and many pboundary platforms.

Li Hongyan's 2012 spring and summer series, with the ceramic artist Zheng Ye, was creative and bold to design a variety of wearable ways of porcelain butterflies.

Ji Cheng also has close cooperation with a series of big business cards -- Johnny Walker, Estee Lauder and Herborist.

"Some customers notice my design style because of Herborist perfume, and then pay attention to my clothes."

She said frankly.

The accumulation of designers is also gradually exploring.

The direction of the wind.

"Now, Chinese consumers no longer blindly pursue big brands, but begin to learn how to appreciate the design, and know how to find the right design style according to their needs."

"In the past few years, 70% of our customers were foreign customers," he said.

The same is true of Li Hongyan's case. Her Chinese customers sometimes even offer questions and suggestions to designers, "consumers want to interpret their understanding of fashion through clothing.

Because of this change in the concept of dress, designers have brought a huge market.