Eve breaks new ground

A luxury fashion label is collaborating with Miao craftswomen to create clothing that is uniquely Chinese, but looks right at home on the catwalks of Europe. Sun Yuanqing reports.

Xia Hua and her fashion company, Eve Group, are best known for dressing successful Chinese entrepreneurs such as Jack Ma and Liu Chuanzhi. But her ambition goes further than that.

Her company recently debut its first womanswear collection, mainly in black, white and red, in Beijing.

Fabrics sourced from Europe are adorned with Miao ethnic embroidery. The silhouettes are modern, loosely hugging the body like traditional Chinese wear. Models strutted down the catwalk while the Miao women sang live backstage.

At a time when Chinese fashion brands are striving for a niche in the international luxury houses, Xia decided to go back to her roots.

"I want to make clothes for China's elite women who want to travel the world with clothes that speak about their cultural identity," she says. "Everyone is talking about economic slowdown and business models. But we decided to listen to our heart."

She was speaking on the Her Village International Forum in Beijing in April, a two-day

event that focuses on women's social roles and their power to change the world. More than 400 international women leaders from politics, business, culture and media participated.

A pioneer in China's luxury menswear market, Xia has received numerous requests from her girlfriends to make clothes.

Six years ago, Xia made a trip to the mountains in Southwest China's Guizhou province and found the Miao craftswomen, who amazed her with their beautiful embroidery.

"They don't speak Mandarin, they can't even write their own names, but their creativity shocked me. The modern designers have to sketch on the computer, but these people have it all in their brain," Xia says. "I decided to bring them to the outside world. But it was like a running race with modernization."

Many of these craftswomen had to abandon their skills as their hometowns are overtaken by tourism. Xia purchased their work at high prices and built a museum in the area to exhibit their art. She brought Eve's designers into the mountains to work with them. Now Eve collaborates with more than 1,000 Miao embroiderers.

Xia took their work to exhibitions and runway shows in Milan, London and Paris, where they received overwhelming acclaim.

Eve Group has a number of brands. Prices range from more than 10,000 yuan ($1,600) to several hundred. It offers a made-to-measure service to about 1 million VIP customers, many of them business leaders like Xia herself. It has more than 500 stores nationwide.

The well-connected Xia brings thousands of her fellow businessmen and women into the mountains to retreat and see exhibitions. Many of them later joined Xia on her mission to rescue and revive the traditional craftsmanship.

Xia grew up in a rural family in Liaoning province in northeastern China. She recalls that she always worried about having no new clothes to wear on Spring Festival. But her mother never disappointed her by making her new clothes from old sheets.

She studied law at China University of Political Science and Law before founding Eve in 1994.

"My mother was like a magician to me. I didn't know what luxury was before my 30s. But I want to be a magician like my mother," she says.

Now Xia calls on women entrepreneurs, as well as Chinese graduates from Central Saint Martins and Parsons School of Design in London, to join her in the mountains.

She is eyeing the younger generation, dressing stars in popular TV dramas, setting up online shopping sites and offering products at more affordable prices.

Eve opened a designer space in Beijing's Parkview Green shopping mall that shows its collaboration with 38 international and local designers.

"This is the best time for Chinese fashion brands. Chinese customers are no longer after the big logos. They are looking for unique designs that express their individuality. And we are the people who know them the best and who can offer the best value for money," she says.

Contact the writer at sunyuanqing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/08/2015 page21)