Are Chinese fashion labels stealing the show?

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Europe

Despite women being the public face of fashion, a new study released this week found that men still overwhelmingly run the industry.

According to the study from Glamour magazine, the Council of Fashion Designers of America and the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, only 14 percent of the leading womenswear brands are run by a female CEO.

The study surveyed 535 people in the industry about their “ambitions, opportunities, and setbacks,” and also included longer interviews with more than two dozen women and men for deeper insights.

Fashion is fueled by women all around the world. According to The NPD Group, a global market research firm, women spent more than 159 billion US dollars on fashion last year. Yet the gender inequality at the top of the fashion industry is the focal point of the “The Glass Runway” study.

/ CGTN Digital

The fashion industry has recognized its size and diversity problems, but gender has often been placed in the back of the closet until now.

“We don’t talk about it as much, because there’s a feeling everyone knows,” CFDA chairperson Diane von Furstenberg said about the study. “But sometimes you have to say something so people can’t pretend it’s not true.”

Fashion flaws

Among the findings was a big perception gap. One hundred percent of the women interviewed in the report said there is an inequality problem in the fashion industry, but less than half of the men agreed.

The survey didn’t focus on just the US fashion industry specifically.

What this study revealed is not just an American problem. Recently, British companies were forced to reveal their salary details, which highlighted that women were paid less than men at fashion companies such as Burberry. The French brands Dior and Givenchy appointed their first ever female designer in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Of the 92 shows on the Paris Fashion Week womenswear schedule in 2017, fewer than 30 had female creative directors, and Milan scored even lower with 31 percent of brands represented by women.

Globally, while fashion remains an industry dominated by women at every level but the very top, some Chinese fashion labels are bucking the trend.

/ CGTN Digital

Made in China

This new generation of innovative designers is gradually gaining attention not only at home but also on the international stage. Half of the top ten leading Chinese fashion labels are run by women.

Here are the women behind some of the biggest Chinese brands.

Christine Lau

The designer behind one of China’s most popular homegrown fashion labels, the Beijing-born Lau founded Chictopia in 2009. Fans of her brand include celebrities Fan Bingbing and Joe Chen.

Yiqing Yin

Yiqing Yin launched her label in 2011. She was born in China and raised in Paris. Her label is carried in stores throughout the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong as well as in Milan. Yin was named the Creative Director of French brand Leonard in 2014.

/ CGTN Digital

Uma Wang

Before launching her brand in 2005, Uma Wang worked as an in-house designer for a number of Chinese labels. Her designs are stocked in boutiques in Shanghai and across Europe.

Masha Ma

Masha Ma is another Beijing-born designer gaining acclaim. Her collections are a fixture at Paris Fashion Week, and some of her biggest known fans are singer Lady Gaga and supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Ms Min

While many Chinese fashion designers are based in Europe, Liu Min, typically known as Ms Min, works out of the city of Xiamen, a sub-provincial city in southeast China’s Fujian Province. Her brand is carried by Chinese department store Lane Crawford and often shows up at London Fashion Week.

Women designers can’t be ignored

With women as the key demographic to the fashion industry’s success, fashion labels face the option of unraveling at the seams if they do not adjust their image to reflect their bottom dollar.

(With input from news agencies)

(Cover Photo: / CGTN Digital)