New Clothing line!

I'm originally from Shanghai and last time I went back, I also traveled to the nearby city of Suzhou as part of a day trip. Historically, Suzhou was China's "artisan city", it was known for many artisanal and luxury goods, chief among them was their reputation for producing silk, textiles and dresses. When I visited Suzhou I saw that this tradition still continued with many boutiques carrying hand tailored blouses and dresses in oriental style cuts but minimalistic enough for everyday wear. Fabrics were carefully chosen for their beautiful texture and and weave and complemented each other, I had never seen such elegant simplicity in Asian clothing.

However they were incredibly expensive, so I bought a few and took them back to Shanghai with me, knowing that I could have similar designs remade at one of the fabric markets at a cheaper price. I brought my blouses with me and combed through all the stalls at the market looking for the exact fabric that I could recreate the pieces in because I didn't even know what kind of material it was made from. After a lot of misdirection and near defeat, I stumbled across a stall that specialized in sand washed silks of every color. I explained my situation to the stall owner and she agreed to get her tailor to replicate my pieces if I bundled the price, I agreed, however I didn't want copies of the same shirt, so I requested a few adjustments- shorter sleeves, high collar, different buttons, etc. and voila...the idea became the seed of a thought? How could I bring these styles to the US? There isn't really anything like it here. So I decided...if it's to be, it's up to me! Hence the idea to start my own clothing line.

The clothes would blend together traditional Chinese cuts and methodologies to western office appropriate casual wear. I believe in equal focus on the cut-which is what first draws the eye in any garment, and the materials- the softness, the texture and the details are what makes a garment a favorite. Traditional Chinese fabrics are updated like modern sand washed silk and in muted organic colors, which in combination with clean lines and Asian inspired details lend a minimalist elegance to the modern woman's standard wardrobe. Easily transitionable from office wear to after hours mingling, the soft silhouettes are comfortable and forgiving. A few key pieces from the line such as a blouse and a dress, will lend the much needed twist and allure to the closet of any busy urban woman.

I think most people's idea of Chinese clothes stem from what they saw at the Beijing Olympics- red, bright and slightly tacky...or kitschy tight satin Chinese dresses (they're called qipaos). I think I'm going to attempt to reverse that negative connotation, and I don't think it'll be difficult, because we already love the Asian inspired motifs that Zara and HM put out on a seasonal basis, which is nowhere near authentic or well made. So why not do it right? 

So what do you think? Do you like the idea of Asian inspired clothing that can be versatile enough for both in and out of work?