Lady LUX

Vogue China and designer site Thecorner.com are teaming up to highlight five upcoming Chinese designers, aiming to nurture emerging talent and encourage shoppers to patronize designer fashions crafted in China, reported WWD.

“These last couple of years, we’ve really started to feel a dramatic change, a new generation,” China Vogue Editor-in-Chief Angelica Cheung said to WWD. “They’re more mature professionals; they have their own design, their own point of view.”

Five lucky designers — Christine Lau, Riko Manchit Au, Shangguan Zhe, Uma Wang and Zou You —have been chosen to participate in Vogue Talents Corner, a scouting effort that hunts down and promotes top designers. The five were selected from a pool of promising talents whose potential and creativity set them apart from the crowd.

The initiative has plans to expand to 10 Chinese designers, including five international creatives: Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Etro, Y-3 and Z Zegna.

“We feel it’s like the beginning of a new story,” said Federico Marchetti, founder and chief executive of the Yoox Group, Thecorner.com’s sponsor. “We thought wanted to give Chinese customers more sophistication than usual.”

The website also boasts a unique service only available on the site, called the “butler service.” Chinese consumers concerned over the troubles of purchasing online may buy an item, have it delivered and then try the garment on to check out the look and fit while the delivery person waits. Not their style? The item can be returned on the spot.

As Thecorner.com’s goods are made in China, shoppers can enjoy next-day service in 400 Chinese cities.

In honor of the site’s founding, a celebration will be held tonight at Beijing’s CAFA Art Museum, where the selected designers will exhibit their Fall/Winter lines, plus items created exclusively for Vogue China will be showcased on a catwalk.
The designers were selected because of their uniqueness.

Highlighted in Vogue China’s July 2011 issue as one of 20 emerging designer to watch, Lau draws inspiration for her prints from nature.
Manchit Au’s ready-to-wear brand Ricostru displays a sense of sophistication with its incredible detail, tailoring and quality.

Since his brand Sankuanz’s inception in 2006, Zhe has crafted comfortable garments of wool, cotton, linen and chiffon.

Wang, whose collection was showcased in Pure London in 2005, focuses on creatively combining knits with other fabrics.

You’s collection of womenswear, This Is You’z Clothing, is designed to permit the consumer to exhibit her own style.

“We’re building a business gradually, and hopefully we’ll contribute to a new era of Chinese fashion,” Marchetti said. “You can think, this was made by an Italian like Marco Polo. For us, China is a very long-term brand.”

The company anticipates that come 2015, the site will become one of the three key markets for the Thecorner.com, following Italy and the United States.

Tagged in: designer, china, chinese, thecorner.com, vogue china, riko manchit au, shangguan zhe, thecorner, christine lau, uma wang, zou you,