Chinese-owned fashion brands are looking to expand abroad, sparking a trend of new labels being established in the country with the goal of international growth, says Yishu Wang, Co-founder, Half a World, a firm that offers marketing advice to brands seeking to expand overseas. Fashion labels, including Shang Xia, Icicle and Fosun Fashion Group, are opening flagship stores in Paris and hiring French designers. Founded a decade ago by Jiang Qiong Er and French luxury group Hermes International, Shang Xia started out as a lifestyle brand focused on showcasing Chinese craftsmanship and then expanded into ready-to-wear fashion.

While the label is well-known in China, it has yet to achieve broader commercial success. Shang Xia showed its commitment to Paris when it held its first fashion show on the official Paris Fashion Week, sending a lineup of models in polished suits in bright colours along a circular runway. The label recently set up a design studio in Paris to complement production in Shanghai.

Shang Xia executives said they are seeking to broaden their customer base among younger consumers, add new stores in Asia this year and push into the digital realm beyond China next year.

Fosun Fashion Group has been working to revive the historic French label Lanvin with younger, international consumers in mind, and hired Bruno Sialelli French designer from LVMH-owned Loewe label for the job. For spring ’22 ready-to-wear runway show in Paris, the designer showed slim party dresses, worn by models in towering platform shoes with flared heels, along with an array of handbags and a new pair of futuristic sneakers – accessories are key to the label’s growth strategy.