Shiatzy Chen
Encyclopedia
Shiatzy Chen is a Taiwanese fashion house, whose founder and brand innovator Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia (王陳彩霞) is often referred to as the Chanel
of Taiwan,and is the eponym of her luxury goods brand. She was born in 1951 in Changhua, Taiwan
and founded the company in 1978. The brand spirit for Shiatzy Chen is "neo-Chinese chic," which transfers historical Chinese aesthetics into modern fashion design. Shiatzy adopts Chinese aesthetics
in combination with western cuttings and Chinese handcrafting techniques.The brand is known for its distinctive design features drawn from Chinese culture such as qipao collars, knot buckles, or patterns in a Chinese ink painting.
A line of men's wear was added to the company's product list in 1987. The label men's wear line has a strong following among politicians, technology millionaires, banking and telecoms tycoons, artistic types, costume collectors and clotheshorses. Although Shiatzy Chen does not have a bespoke men's line, a part of her men's wear business is devoted to the sale of off-the-peg expensive chang paos intended for weddings and traditional engagement parties. Quilted (or padded) jackets have consistently been among Chen's most popular items in her winter collections. They usually come with a wide range of options as to fabric, pattern, color combination, and style. They are often reversible, with silk inside and cotton outside, or vice versa. The winter quilted jackets are usually the first to sell out during sales.
Designer Wang entered the Chinese market in 2003 in Shanghai
and opened up further stores in Hong Kong
and Beijing
. Shiatzy Chen’s Shanghai flagship store, which opened in October 2005, exhibit a distinctively Chinese heritage amidst the parade of Western fashion marques that now dominate The Bund
. The building’s Chinese pedigree made it an obvious location for Ms. Wang ambition to create a strong Chinese presence on the Bund. Work on restoring the original, red brick exterior look and on converting offices into a modern and artistic showplace for Shiatzy Chen’s exquisite creations began in late 2001.
The interior was fashioned by the renowned Indonesian designer Jaya Ibrahim.
This is in addition to the 48 outlets she already has in Taiwan, 23 directly managed stores and 25 department store counters. The company presently has over 1,000 employees and manufactures more than 100,000 items of clothing each year. After years of running a factory in suburban Taipei, the company opened its second one in Shanghai in 2007. The building of 6600 square meters has been designed by German architect Johannes Hartfuss,more than 1,000 employees including dressmakers and embroiderers are employed to produce tens of thousands of clothing items annually based on over 400 styles created by its designers. A large proportion of profits is going into research and design, there will also be further recruitment of talent in design, marketing and manufacturing.
In 2001, Shiatzy Chen branched into the international market with a store in Paris
. The company has enough funds to expand quickly over the next 10 years and achieve significant market penetration, not just in China—the short-term goal—but in the mature high-end markets of New York
, Milan
, London
and Tokyo
, which made the Taiwanese fashion brand the first to enter the European market and attracted the attention of fashionistas around the world. Shiatzy Chen is one of the few homegrown designer labels in Taiwan with an international clientele. Mainland China
remains the primary focus, with a factory and an office in Shanghai and a target of 50 mainland stores by 2010. The label has also been trying to diversify its product line. About three years ago, it began expanding its catalogue with accessories sold in all Shiatzy stores and furniture, available at the three flagship stores in Taipei, Shanghai and Paris. The label has been listed on the London-based Financial Times
pick of what is hot in 2004. It was also deemed the most popular fashion brand in Taiwan by The Wall Street Journal Asia
.
Shiatzy Chen designs attract many famous clients such as Elizabeth Hurley
, Shaw-Lan Wang
, Lin Chi-ling
, Patty Hou
, Brigitte Lin
, Pansy Ho
, Rainie Yang
, Ting-Ting Hu
, Dee Hsu
, international style icon Victoria Beckham
, Aska Yang
, Leehom Wang, Jason Hu
, Ming Dow, Tsai Ming-liang
and the current President of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou
.
In June 2010, Shiatzy Chen and the tea culture brand CHA CHA THÉ opened an exclusive sales area in the super upscale Galeries Lafayette
department store in Paris.
One hundred models showed off 100 dresses with the theme of flowers at Taipei's Lin An-tai Ancestral Home,located in the park for the Taipei International Flora Expo.The ideas for the dresses came from the many kinds of flowers in Taiwan to reflect the theme of the expo. The show has broken three records in Taiwan's fashion business - the longest catwalk, the most models in one show, and the longest finishing pose. A total of 100 EeLin models took to the catwalk with Shiatzy Chen's flora-inspired spring-summer collection, approximately 200 people, including politicians and ambassadors, attended the show.
debut, Shiatzy Chen becomes just the second Taiwanese design house to show a collection at the official Paris Fashion Week (the first was Yufengshawn, 馭風騷, in 2005). Shiatzy Chen, presented the show on October 5, 2008 at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts
on the Left Bank in central Paris. The debut of Shiatzy Chen’s spring/summer 2009 collection in October is also a highlight as the label celebrates its 30th anniversary. The show was of great significance for the fashion label because it was one of the official events of the Paris Fashion Week. They quickly drew the attention of more than 200 international buyers, media members and fashion aficionados, impressing them with outfits that have distinctive Chinese design features. The fashion house now plans to take part in the event regularly in order to build a global reputation. For the Taiwan market, which remains the major source of revenue, the company stages fashion shows twice a year. Unlike most big international fashion shows abroad that present clothing half a year ahead of time, however, Shiatzy's shows in Taiwan launch collections only for the current season. This is because the Taiwan shows are mostly for Shiatzy's VIP clients, who purchase the clothes for their own use, rather than commercial buyers. Anna Wintour
was the inspiration for the Shiatzy Chen collection A/W 2010/ 11, shown at the Beaux Arts at Paris Fashion Week. All the girls wore her famous bob and tinted glasses, along with some feminine but strict dresses, very working girl, the woman CEO type. On November 9, 2009 Shiatzy Chen became a member of the Chambre syndicale du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode.
of different styles and eras were displayed at the Hong Kong Museum of History
entitled The Evergreen Classic – Transformation of the Qipao. With some 400 pictures and nine multi-media programmes, the exhibition gave the public an opportunity to view the full development of the qipao and to appreciate its classic beauty. Besides featuring qipao from different times, the exhibition also displayed several signature showpieces of Shiatzy Chen presented at Paris Fashion Week to give new perspectives on how a contemporary fashion designer injected fashion and modern elements into the qipao and reinterpreted the qipao tradition.
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
of Taiwan,and is the eponym of her luxury goods brand. She was born in 1951 in Changhua, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and founded the company in 1978. The brand spirit for Shiatzy Chen is "neo-Chinese chic," which transfers historical Chinese aesthetics into modern fashion design. Shiatzy adopts Chinese aesthetics
Chinese clothing
Chinese clothing is the clothing, ancient and modern, worn by the Chinese people. It has varied by region and time, and is recorded by the artifacts and arts of Chinese culture.-Dynastic China:...
in combination with western cuttings and Chinese handcrafting techniques.The brand is known for its distinctive design features drawn from Chinese culture such as qipao collars, knot buckles, or patterns in a Chinese ink painting.
Founding
Changhua-born Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia was not formally educated in the industry but learned her trade by working at her uncle's factory. She met her husband Wang Yuan-hong (王元宏), a smart businessman in the textile trade, and together they founded Shiatzy International Company Limited in 1978, over which they maintain total control. For over 30 years Wang worked on making her name in the local market and had built a client list of nearly 25,000 people, in 2011 sales reached about US$60 million, according to the company. Wives of politicians, diplomats and business executives, in particular, would purchase Shiatzy's dresses before taking trips abroad. In fact, these women, with their significant purchasing power, constitute the majority of the company's customers in Taiwan many of whom are high society types. In 1990, Shiatzy Chen set up a studio in Paris to stay on top of fashion trends and to learn more about Western dressmaking techniques. The studio also serves as a training center for Taiwanese dressmakers and designers.A line of men's wear was added to the company's product list in 1987. The label men's wear line has a strong following among politicians, technology millionaires, banking and telecoms tycoons, artistic types, costume collectors and clotheshorses. Although Shiatzy Chen does not have a bespoke men's line, a part of her men's wear business is devoted to the sale of off-the-peg expensive chang paos intended for weddings and traditional engagement parties. Quilted (or padded) jackets have consistently been among Chen's most popular items in her winter collections. They usually come with a wide range of options as to fabric, pattern, color combination, and style. They are often reversible, with silk inside and cotton outside, or vice versa. The winter quilted jackets are usually the first to sell out during sales.
Designer Wang entered the Chinese market in 2003 in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and opened up further stores in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. Shiatzy Chen’s Shanghai flagship store, which opened in October 2005, exhibit a distinctively Chinese heritage amidst the parade of Western fashion marques that now dominate The Bund
The Bund
The Bund is a waterfront area in central Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The area centres on a section of Zhongshan Road within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, facing Pudong, in the eastern part of Huangpu District...
. The building’s Chinese pedigree made it an obvious location for Ms. Wang ambition to create a strong Chinese presence on the Bund. Work on restoring the original, red brick exterior look and on converting offices into a modern and artistic showplace for Shiatzy Chen’s exquisite creations began in late 2001.
The interior was fashioned by the renowned Indonesian designer Jaya Ibrahim.
This is in addition to the 48 outlets she already has in Taiwan, 23 directly managed stores and 25 department store counters. The company presently has over 1,000 employees and manufactures more than 100,000 items of clothing each year. After years of running a factory in suburban Taipei, the company opened its second one in Shanghai in 2007. The building of 6600 square meters has been designed by German architect Johannes Hartfuss,more than 1,000 employees including dressmakers and embroiderers are employed to produce tens of thousands of clothing items annually based on over 400 styles created by its designers. A large proportion of profits is going into research and design, there will also be further recruitment of talent in design, marketing and manufacturing.
In 2001, Shiatzy Chen branched into the international market with a store in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The company has enough funds to expand quickly over the next 10 years and achieve significant market penetration, not just in China—the short-term goal—but in the mature high-end markets of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, which made the Taiwanese fashion brand the first to enter the European market and attracted the attention of fashionistas around the world. Shiatzy Chen is one of the few homegrown designer labels in Taiwan with an international clientele. Mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
remains the primary focus, with a factory and an office in Shanghai and a target of 50 mainland stores by 2010. The label has also been trying to diversify its product line. About three years ago, it began expanding its catalogue with accessories sold in all Shiatzy stores and furniture, available at the three flagship stores in Taipei, Shanghai and Paris. The label has been listed on the London-based Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
pick of what is hot in 2004. It was also deemed the most popular fashion brand in Taiwan by The Wall Street Journal Asia
The Wall Street Journal Asia
The Wall Street Journal Asia, a version of The Wall Street Journal provides news and analysis of global business developments for an Asian audience. It was founded in 1976 and is printed in nine Asian cities: Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo....
.
Shiatzy Chen designs attract many famous clients such as Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los...
, Shaw-Lan Wang
Shaw-Lan Wang
Shaw-Lan Wang is a Taiwanese businesswoman who serves as the publisher of the United Daily News and the publishing-ceased Min Sheng Bao.In 2001, Wang bought Lanvin, the oldest fashion house still in operation, from L'Oréal.- Sources :...
, Lin Chi-ling
Lin Chi-ling
Lin Chi-ling , is a Taiwanese model and actress. Famed for her gentle demeanor and physical beauty, Lin has been referred to as "The First Face of Taiwan" by members of the Taiwanese media, and has been an official spokesperson for both China Airlines and Longines since 2006...
, Patty Hou
Patty Hou
Patty Hou is a former news anchor in Taiwan who is best known for her beauty and her relationship with Taiwanese R&B singer Jay Chou. She subsequently hosted an entertainment program on Azio TV and has just published a book, Patty's About Love...
, Brigitte Lin
Brigitte Lin
Brigitte Lin or Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia is a Taiwanese actress. She was a popular actress, regarded as an icon of Chinese cinema, who acted in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong movies...
, Pansy Ho
Pansy Ho
Pansy Catalina Ho Chiu-king is the daughter of Hong Kong and Macau-based businessman Stanley Ho, and the managing director of various companies he founded, including Shun Tak Holdings and the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau....
, Rainie Yang
Rainie Yang
Rainie Yang , born June 4th, 1984, is a Taiwanese singer, Golden Bell Awards actress and talk show host.-Career:Yang began her career in 2000, as a member of Taiwanese quartet girl group 4 in Love, where she was given the stage name of Rainie, matching the weather theme of each member. The group's...
, Ting-Ting Hu
Ting-Ting Hu
Ting-Ting "Judy" Hu is an English-born Taiwanese actress.-Biography:She was born in Oxford and moved to Taiwan at the age of 6, and later with her parents moved to the United States for high school and college. She went to Duke University gaining a B.A...
, Dee Hsu
Dee Hsu
Dee Hsu , more commonly known as Xiǎo S , was born on 14 June 1978. She is a Taiwanese actress, singer and host. She is well known for being co-host of TV program KangXi Lai Le which airs on Chung T'ien Television with fellow host Kevin Tsai, for which they were awarded Best Host in a Variety...
, international style icon Victoria Beckham
Victoria Beckham
Victoria Caroline Beckham is an English singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, fashion designer and businesswoman. In the late 1990s, Beckham rose to fame with the all-female pop group Spice Girls and was dubbed Posh Spice by the July 1996 issue of the British pop music magazine Top of the Pops...
, Aska Yang
Aska Yang
Aska Yang was born on 4 April 1978 in Taoyuan, Taiwan. He is a Taiwanese Mandopop singer. He is commended for his touching and intense vocal performance. He graduated from the National Changhua University of Education , with a major in Guidance & Counseling. During his study at NCUE, he attended...
, Leehom Wang, Jason Hu
Jason Hu
Jason Hu Chih-chiang is a former official in the national government of Republic of China. He is currently serving his second term as mayor of the central Taiwan city of Taichung. His current term ends in early 2010 and he is currently running for re-election as mayor of the new Taichung...
, Ming Dow, Tsai Ming-liang
Tsai Ming-liang
Tsai Ming-liang is one of the most celebrated "Second New Wave" film directors of Taiwanese Cinema, along with earlier contemporaries such as Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang...
and the current President of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou is the 12th term and current President of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, and the Chairman of the Kuomintang Party, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party. He formerly served as Justice Minister from 1993 to 1996, Mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006, and Chairman...
.
In June 2010, Shiatzy Chen and the tea culture brand CHA CHA THÉ opened an exclusive sales area in the super upscale Galeries Lafayette
Galeries Lafayette
- History :In 1893 Théophile Bader and his cousin Alphonse Kahn opened a fashion store in a small haberdasher's shop at the corner of rue La Fayette and the Chaussée d'Antin, Paris. In 1896, the company purchased the entire building at n°1 rue La Fayette and in 1905 the buildings at n°38, 40 et...
department store in Paris.
One hundred models showed off 100 dresses with the theme of flowers at Taipei's Lin An-tai Ancestral Home,located in the park for the Taipei International Flora Expo.The ideas for the dresses came from the many kinds of flowers in Taiwan to reflect the theme of the expo. The show has broken three records in Taiwan's fashion business - the longest catwalk, the most models in one show, and the longest finishing pose. A total of 100 EeLin models took to the catwalk with Shiatzy Chen's flora-inspired spring-summer collection, approximately 200 people, including politicians and ambassadors, attended the show.
Paris Fashion Week
In 2008 Wang prepares her label’s Paris Fashion WeekParis Fashion Week
Paris Fashion Week is a famous fashion week held semi-annually in Paris, France with Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the French Fashion Federation...
debut, Shiatzy Chen becomes just the second Taiwanese design house to show a collection at the official Paris Fashion Week (the first was Yufengshawn, 馭風騷, in 2005). Shiatzy Chen, presented the show on October 5, 2008 at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts
École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts
The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts is the distinguished National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France.The École des Beaux-arts is made up of a vast complex of buildings located at 14 rue Bonaparte, between the quai Malaquais and the rue Bonaparte, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près,...
on the Left Bank in central Paris. The debut of Shiatzy Chen’s spring/summer 2009 collection in October is also a highlight as the label celebrates its 30th anniversary. The show was of great significance for the fashion label because it was one of the official events of the Paris Fashion Week. They quickly drew the attention of more than 200 international buyers, media members and fashion aficionados, impressing them with outfits that have distinctive Chinese design features. The fashion house now plans to take part in the event regularly in order to build a global reputation. For the Taiwan market, which remains the major source of revenue, the company stages fashion shows twice a year. Unlike most big international fashion shows abroad that present clothing half a year ahead of time, however, Shiatzy's shows in Taiwan launch collections only for the current season. This is because the Taiwan shows are mostly for Shiatzy's VIP clients, who purchase the clothes for their own use, rather than commercial buyers. Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour, OBE is the British-born editor-in-chief of American Vogue, a position she has held since 1988. With her trademark pageboy bob haircut and sunglasses, Wintour has become an institution throughout the fashion world, widely praised for her eye for fashion trends and her support for...
was the inspiration for the Shiatzy Chen collection A/W 2010/ 11, shown at the Beaux Arts at Paris Fashion Week. All the girls wore her famous bob and tinted glasses, along with some feminine but strict dresses, very working girl, the woman CEO type. On November 9, 2009 Shiatzy Chen became a member of the Chambre syndicale du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode.
Cha Cha Thé
Shiatzy Chen recently opened Cha Cha Thé/采采食茶文化, an upscale modern space tea lounge bar in Taipei. Chic clientele show up for pricey afternoon tea meals and buy designer tea ware and other expensively packaged gifts. In order to set the brand on a new direction, Shiatzy Chen identified the opportunity for a range of tea related products, the creation of a custom-made packaging approach for a diverse array of products ranging from exquisite patisserie and rare teas, through to ceramic tea sets. The products themselves reflect the diverse heritage of tea culture and share a passion for detail and an intimate knowledge of the design of the tea experience. Cha Cha Thé/采采食茶文化 is part of a global business; the option of opening branches in some other major cities is now being explored. There are plans to open similar shops in Beverly Hills, New York City and London.Exhibitions
From June 23 to September 13, 2010, more than 270 qipaoQipao
The cheongsam is a body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for women; the male version is the changshan. It is known in Mandarin Chinese as the qípáo Wade-Giles ch'i-p'ao, and is also known in English as a mandarin gown...
of different styles and eras were displayed at the Hong Kong Museum of History
Hong Kong Museum of History
The Hong Kong Museum of History is a museum which preserves Hong Kong's historical and cultural heritage. It is located next to the Hong Kong Science Museum....
entitled The Evergreen Classic – Transformation of the Qipao. With some 400 pictures and nine multi-media programmes, the exhibition gave the public an opportunity to view the full development of the qipao and to appreciate its classic beauty. Besides featuring qipao from different times, the exhibition also displayed several signature showpieces of Shiatzy Chen presented at Paris Fashion Week to give new perspectives on how a contemporary fashion designer injected fashion and modern elements into the qipao and reinterpreted the qipao tradition.
External links
- Official Shiatzy Chen website
- Official Cha Cha Thé/采采食茶文化 website
- Taiwan Review-Here comes Shiatzy
- Taiwan Review-Sartorial Elegance, Oriental Style
- Shiatzy Chen Image Space
- Shiatzy Chen/modemonline.com
- Shiatzy Chen Paris Press Office/Relative MO
- The Brander/Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia – Between Trend and Tradition
- CEO Talk | Harry Wang, Chief Executive Officer, Shiatzy Chen/The Business of Fashion