Chinese fashion and cultural identity: ‘Made in China’ is no longer a bad thing to those in the know
- Fashion fans are warming to designed-in-China products, as the owner of a lifestyle boutique in New York can attest
- Chop Suey Club doesn’t just sell jewellery and clothes – it promotes Chinese culture through experiential events
Tucked away in Manhattan’s Two Bridges neighbourhood, at the southern tip of Chinatown, is Chop Suey Club – a spirited medley of Chinese artistry and imagination.
The edgy fashion and lifestyle boutique is benefiting from the rise in popularity of Chinese fashion; the “Made in China” label is losing its negative connotations as Chinese designers secure spots at global fashion weeks and embark on crossovers with big-name Western retailers.
Chop Suey Club’s founder and creative director, Ruoyi Jiang, says that, just in the three years she's been in business, she has seen a notable evolution in sentiment towards designed-in-China products.
“In general, the appreciation and respect [for Chinese design] has grown,” Jiang says. “It comes with knowledge and understanding of the heritage. I think in the past, Chinese cultural appreciation was only built on the surface level, and there was a lack of cultural understanding which really interfered with the depth of design.”
Jiang moved to the United States from Beijing in 2009 to study photography at New York University. After working for several years in creative industries, she opened her shop with the goal of exploring and representing contemporary Chinese identity. Jiang works with young designers who are able to look past the common motifs of Chinese culture.
