Snowy Mountain, Desert, Salt Lake… A Map of Chinese Brands’ Fashion Shows

The choice of location for a show demonstrates a brand’s DNA, image and energy, interprets its design style and provides visual resources. More and more Chinese brands have started exploring further into the land, seeking the ideal place that resonates with the brand’s DNA and their works.

In this article, Luxe.Co will dig into 7 fashion shows whose locations were selected by 6 Chinese brands, including Li-Ning, ERDOS, Semir, ICICLE, Edition and Xtep.

Li-Ning——Linzhi, Tibet

On 24 September, Chinese sports brand Li-Ning held the “2021 WUXING” show. The location was the Gongcuo Lake Scenic Area of Lulang Town in Linzhi, Tibet, which is next to the Himalayas.

“Lulang” means “the valley of dragon king,” “the place where gods live.” With an average height of 3,100 meters and the lowest spot being 155 meters, Lulang is the land with the biggest vertical height difference in the world. Linzhi has the world’s deepest canyon——Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon and the world’s third deepest canyon Parlung Zangbo Grand Canyon. The surrounding mountains have determined the humid and sub-humid climates, bringing abundant rainfall and suitable temperature, which creates favorable conditions for plants to grow. Linzhi is therefore called Tibet’s “Jiangnan” (the southern land of the country).

The earliest written record of Linzhi dates back to over 1,200 years ago. Human remains and burial sites of the Neolithic Age were once found by the riverside of Linzhi’s Nyang River. Archaeological research shows that as early as 4,000 ~5,000 years ago, there were people living a slash-and-burn agricultural life in the Linzhi area. In addition, Linzhi is also one of the places of significance in the development of Tibetan Buddhism.

There are three themes of this show:

• Heaven’s Vision: using snow mountain as inspiration, highlighting the mountain range and using elements such as barograph;
• Earth’s Origin: printing roads on clothes, showcasing the authenticity of the plateau with detailed texture;
• Human’s Path: splendid and colorful human civilizations symbolized by bright and bold color patches stacked together.

Li-Ning——Dunhuang

In 2020, “Li-Ning Independent Thirty·Silk Road Expedition” was held in Yardang, the City of Demons, in Dunhuang. It is located 90 kilometers to the west of Yumen Pass in Gansu and is a typical area of Yardang landform. It has a length of around 25 kilometers from east to west and it sounds like demons are roaring whenever wind blows, hence the name the City of Demons.

Dunhuang is of great significance in Chinese history in terms of culture. It is at the beginning of the Silk Road. It is where the world heritage Mogao Caves, Yumen Pass and Yang Pass (border areas of the Han dynasty’s great wall) are located. It is also the place where Chinese culture, Indian culture, Greek culture and Islamic culture converge.

The natural ups and downs of the Yardang landform provide the show with a natural desert runway.

The following three series were introduced in the show, telling the story of a man’s expedition of the Silk Road on horseback. Although the man has reached his independent thirty, he still has the heart of a young man:

• Expedition on the Silk Road: inspired by the trade caravans on the ancient Silk Road, using elements of Dunhuang murals as patterns;
• Renewal in harmony: adopting vintage contrast colors and traditional Dunhuang patterns, implying the encounter of eastern and western cultures;
• A young man’s heart: mainly comes from the brand’s street basketball series BADFIVE, combining street silhouette with traditional fabrics and embroidery.

ERDOS——Kubuqi Desert

On 29 September, ERDOS went back to Erdos, the birthplace of the brand, in Inner Mongolia and held its fashion show at Kubuqi Desert, which is China’s seventh largest desert. Records of Kubuqi in The Classic of Poetry could date back to the Western Zhou period 3,000 years ago.

A red spherical art installation was set up to correspond with the theme--- “Sounds for Celebration” and to present the scenery of what a famous Chinese poem described in the line “Over the endless river the sun sinks round”.

Based on the timeline, the show was divided into three chapters:

• The “Salute” series reinterpreted the brand’s most representative and classic patterns;
• The “Now” series borrowed elements from Inner Mongolia clothes and elements of western America, and applied traditional local clothes such as fur hats and ankle boots;
• In the “Future” series, men’s wear was featured by “Zhongshan suit” to showcase the beauty of oriental masculinity, while women’s wear was featured by the typical red that has long been existed in Chinese history to correspond with the theme.

Semir——Chaka Salt Lake

On 21 September, Semir held its fashion show--- “Traveling through the land of comfort” in Chaka Salt Lake of Qinghai Province. The lake is known as “China’s Mirror of the Sky” and is commented as one of the “55 places that one must visit in his/her lifetime.” 298 kilometers to the east of the Salt Lake is the provincial capital Xining, while 200 kilometers to the west is Delingha. The Salt Lake is an important stop of the ancient Silk Road and is also credited as the eastern gate of Qaidam Basin.

Out of due respect and protection for the original natural scenery, Semir’s show place adopted minimalism, using the Salt Lake’s landmark, railway tracks that run through the place, as a natural runway. The island in the middle of the lake was built up with mirrors on which a “mirror maze” was set up to imitate the sky with specular materials.

ICICLE——Jingdezhen

On 25 August, ICICLE launched “China Village,” a short fashion show video, presenting its 2021 Autumn/Winter “Natural Way” series. The video was shot in Hanxi Village, Fuliang County, Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province.

The ancient yamen (government office) of Fuliang is one of the only four remaining ancient yamens in the country. It was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the Provincial Level in 1987. In May, the first stop of “Echigo-Tsumari Art Field China,” i.e. “Arts in Fuliang” was held in Hanxi Village.

Hanxi Village’s “history and renewal” corresponds with what “Natural Way” stands for, i.e. “originating from love for nature and care for land, inspired by grains on the land, interpreting the connections between nature and clothing from multiple perspectives.”

ICICLE partnered with “Arts in Fuliang” and initiated “Natural Way Month”, gathering representatives from all walks of life, and telling old and new stories on this land of local cultures. ICICLE also partnered with fashion magazine T Magazine China and invited artists to launch a special periodical called #My home in rural areas#.

Edition——Yangshuo, Guilin

On 28 August 2020, Edition held its 2020 Autumn/Winter fashion show in Yangshuo, Guilin.

Yangshuo County has a history of 1,400 years, with a landform featured by rocky mountains and hills, and covered with mountainous terrain. The famous Shiwai Taoyuan (The Fairyland) scenic spot and Ten-li Gallery scenic spot are located in Yangshuo. The landscape ink painting on the 20 yuan note originated from Yangdi in North Yangshuo County.

Tangshe, where the show was held, is a hotel transformed from an old sugar mill built in the 1960s. Tangshe overlooks the Lijiang River and is surrounded by the green hills of karst landform and winding rivers.

Edition expressed that, “This series is themed on #WOMEN FOR WOMEN#, focusing on recovering the relationship between clothes and humans, filled with the idea of gentleness and comfort, expressing the oriental elegance in the senses of breathing and flowing.”

XDNA 2021 Shaolin Series New Product Launch

On 15 May, Xtep’s new brand XDNA’s chose the ancient Shaolin Temple to launch its 2021 Shaolin Series new products. The settings of the show indicate the “three levels of achievement” in Kungfu.

The ancient Shaolin Temple has 1,500 years of history. It is one of the origins of China’s Zen Buddhism and Chinese Kungfu. It has also been listed as a World Heritage Site and a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level. It is known as “the world’s number one Buddhist temple.”

In 2020, Xtep became the first sports brand that Shaolin Temple had cooperated with. This time the two parties partnered with each other again on the latest series “Chaobai Shaolin” (Worship of Shaolin) which is the first series of Xtep’s high-end line XDNA.

In addition, Xtep has also opened a store for cultural and innovative goods, which can be used as a window exposed to the Shaolin culture lovers in the new generation of consumers.

| Photo Credit: Brands

| Writer: Jingjin Jiang