How Chinese fashion brand 8on8 is trending with young people thanks to its colourful, playful, vintage-looking products that have unisex appeal
- 8on8 founder Li Gong’s ‘retro futuristic’ contemporary sportswear has seen the brand achieve annual sales of over US$4 million in just six years
- Part of the brand’s success has been its collaborations with other fashion powerhouses, including Kappa, Puma and, most notably, Japanese sportswear giant Asics
Li Gong is a busy man.
The designer, who heads the Shanghai-based brand 8on8, has just returned from Japan, where he had a meeting with long-time collaborator Asics, followed by a hectic few days during Shanghai Fashion Week.
Although his brand was absent from the show schedule, it presented its wares in the metaverse through a joint project with Vogue China. He also recently had a second daughter.
“We didn’t have time to do a show. She was born a month ago,” he laughs. No wonder he’s so stretched.
8on8 was launched in 2017 after Li completed his master of arts in fashion at Central Saint Martin’s in London.
His debut show in Shanghai that October was a kaleidoscopic riot of references in a style he calls “retro futurism” as we talk in Shanghai’s Vesh Coffee, a stone’s throw from the studio in which he dreams up his quirky blend of sporty tailoring.
