Songmont, Bosideng and other Chinese fashion brands taking Eastern aesthetics global

From Paris flagships to viral social media debuts, Chinese creators are leveraging quiet luxury design, direct-to-consumer strategies, and rich cultural resonance to build international footprints

The Chinese have always been major consumers of international luxury brands, but it wasn’t until the Covid-19 pandemic that the demand for domestic brands began to flourish. While fashion labels were among the first to benefit from this new wave, shoppers began to broaden their horizons, driving growth in unexpected categories including outerwear, jewellery, leather goods, footwear, and fragrance.

“I believe this evolution is fundamentally driven by a cultural awakening and a growing sense of cultural confidence. My generation grew up in a time when our aesthetic sensibilities were largely shaped by the West, but over the past decade, I’ve witnessed a significant shift,” says Shen Li, co-founder of the Chinese luxury fragrance and lifestyle brand To Summer. “People are no longer satisfied with being passive consumers of Western aesthetics; they are actively seeking out and embracing expressions that resonate with their own heritage.”

As a result, today’s Chinese brands have come a long way from predecessors like Shang Xia, Chow Tai Fook or Shanghai Tang. According to a recent report by Bain & Company, their success has been driven not only by innovative, desirable products but also by original branding and storytelling, strong cultural resonance, digital-first direct-to-consumer strategies and exceptional quality at lower price points than international brands.

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Interestingly, these factors have also made these brands more appealing to a global audience, who have started to view their products as desirable and on par with their Western counterparts.

“Chinese brands today are no longer competing only on speed or value, but increasingly on relevance, design and cultural fluency,” says Judy Liu, co-founder of agency Trinity Asia. “Chinese founders are also bringing a much more sophisticated sense of taste and brand-building, thinking not just about product or price, but about design language, customer emotion, retail experience and long-term positioning in a much more integrated way.”

Take the Chinese jewellery brand Laopu Gold, which is known as the “HermEs of gold” across social media. Its products blend Chinese history and traditional craftsmanship, including motifs such as gourds and Buddhist symbols transformed into pieces with modern details like precious stone embellishments and matte finishes.

Elsewhere, niche fragrance brands Documents and To Summer are making waves with their Eastern-inspired scents crafted using local botanicals and ingredients. These can be experienced in a series of retail spaces that mirror each brand’s philosophy while showcasing cool architectural and heritage design details.

Aesthetics aside, many of these brands are also winning when it comes to quality. Ready-to-wear label Icicle – which also has a presence in Paris – has amassed a cult following with its stealth wealth essentials such as hand-finished double-face cashmere coats and lightweight knits that are not just sustainable and luxe but also reasonably priced.

Minimalist leather goods brand Songmont has also gone viral thanks to its high-quality yet accessible designs, placing it alongside other international favourites like PolEne.

With their originality, superior craftsmanship and growing global profile, the rise of Chinese brands has only just begun.

5 Chinese brands with global appeal

Bosideng

Outerwear brand Bosideng isn’t exactly new – it was founded in 1976 – but it has been trending since the brand hired hip British designer Kim Jones. Jones, who previously held high-profile roles at brands like Dior and Louis Vuitton, is now the permanent creative director for their luxury label Areal, which blends high fashion couture tailoring with technical, high-performance outerwear. Its signature down jackets, including a must-have trench style, remain bestsellers and have been worn by celebrities like ambassador Eileen Gu, Kendall Jenner and Nicole Kidman.

Icicle

Founded in 1997 by husband-and-wife duo Ye Shouzeng and Shawna Tao, this eco-conscious label championed sustainability – and quiet luxury – long before they became fashion buzzwords. Known for its refined, minimalist aesthetic, its collections feature high-quality natural fabrics such as Mongolian cashmere, linen, wool, silk and cotton crafted into versatile, everyday essentials. Earlier this year, luxury conglomerate Kering acquired a minority stake in the brand to help expand its international footprint, proving that it’s one to watch.

Pane

At any given time, the lines outside Pane’s mainland stores could easily rival those at international luxury brand boutiques. In just four years, the Shanghai-based sneaker brand has become a cult favourite with locals and foreigners alike thanks to bestselling styles including the Aria ballet-sneaker hybrid and the viral GAT (German Army Trainer) light training shoes. The brainchild of designer Chen Ning, it is known for its minimalist, retro-inspired designs, cool details and superior comfort.

To Summer

To Summer became a fragrance pioneer by rejecting Western perfume norms to create scents that embrace Chinese collective memory and lifestyle. Each composition tells a poetic story about Chinese culture while showcasing authentic Chinese ingredients that are rarely used in global fragrances such as osmanthus, white magnolia, camellia, bamboo and Pu’er tea. Other initiatives, such as its independent editorial platform and collaborations with local master glassmakers and ceramicists, also promote Chinese craft.

Songmont

Songmont was born out of necessity. Unable to find a stylish bag to carry her laptop, founder Fu Song asked her seamstress mother and traditional artisans in her native Shanxi province to make her one. Since then, the brand has become known for its high-quality, understated designs that celebrate versatility and adaptability, including the bestselling Luna, which can be worn as a shoulder bag, crossbody or clutch. Each design pays tribute to elements of Chinese culture – be it traditional architecture, lunar phases or natural landscapes – through subtle design details.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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