Taipei Fashion Week 2019 A New Approach to Urban Fashion

2020-03-02

01-2019-taipei-fashion-week

Sustainability is trending internationally and it’s vital that the fashion industry follow suit. Emerging designers from Taiwan compete in every major fashion week and have already stunned fashionistas across the world. Perhaps you have heard of these Taiwanese trailblazers?

In the earlier piece “Creating new urban trends: Emerging designers gather at Taipei Fashion Week 2019,” we told you about some of the Taiwanese designers in the emerging designers fashion show at this year’s Taipei Fashion Week. Let’s continue our tour of the dynamic world of fashion in Taiwan!

Story Wear

Story Wear (, Chen Minfen)

“Recycled stuff can be made fashionable too.”

As a fashion industry public relations consultant, Kuan Chen saw how much pollution is caused by the industry. She teamed up with designer Chen Minfen and set up Story Wear. They’re delighted with the new Taipei Fashion Week, which helps brand exposure and sales and also spreads the word on the issues that will inform and excite the public. Chen’s advice for young people who want to get into fashion is, “You have to imbue your brand with meaning in order to raise awareness” if they are to continue to make headway in this difficult industry.

Designers Kuan Chen (left) and Chen Minfen (Photograph: Ariel)

Story Wear pop-up store at BELLAVITA (Photograph: Ariel)

WooLeeX by Jerry Hsieh

“You have to like your own things the most and design stuff you’d want to buy”

Jerry Hsieh stands perfectly still for the photograph: “Great presence,” our photographer says approvingly. Hsieh uses clothes to express his personal style and artistic sense, taking inspiration from various cultures and using them to reinterpret the Eastern embroidery that he loves with American styling and features from other cultures. Hsieh has just returned to Taiwan after putting on a show in Vancouver. He makes special mention of how crowds flocked to the Taipei show to see how it blends music and performance with the venue itself. The exhibition space at the show also allowed the designer to meet his audience face to face. The show’s meticulous planning drew people in droves.

Designer Jerry Hsieh, founder of WooLeeX (Photograph: Ariel)

Seivson

Seivson by Tzuchin Shen

“For a city, there’s nothing more glamorous than having your own Fashion Week!”

Tzuchin Shen, founder of Seivson, has showed her work at the major fashion weeks in Tokyo and New York and has been widely reported on by international media such as Vogue and Elle. Taiwan finally has its own fashion week, she says with great excitement. It’s a major development for all aspects of Taiwan’s fashion culture and will boost Taiwanese designers’ sense of identity. Shen said she was honored to be part of this historic moment. Shen’s new, conceptually novel, series has won high praise. Shen said she was very grateful to be able to take part in the show and that it was a great opportunity for designers to consolidate and promote their brands.

Designer Tzuchin Shen, founder of Seivson (Picture courtesy of Tzuchin Shen)

Seivson’s pop-up store at BELLAVITA (Photograph: Ariel)

C JEAN

“The Taiwanese fashion industry’s highly focused energy gives it great clout.”

C JEAN has taken her work to several international shows and is pleased to see Taiwan have its own international fashion week, which will is incredibly helpful for new designers and will also enable Taiwan to use clothes design to show the world its highly diverse and free-thinking lifestyle and rich cultural heritage. For people thinking of breaking into the fashion industry, C JEAN says that for all its perceived glamor the fashion industry requires humility, just like other professions. You have to start from the basics, talk to people in related industries, think things through carefully, and study hard. That way you get a sense of what the fashion industry is really all about.

Designer C JEAN (Picture courtesy of C JEAN)

C JEAN’s pop-up store at BELLAVITA (Photograph: Ariel)

The numerous events and follow-up promotions for Taipei Fashion Week gave designers an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions about future possible collaborations. All the designers said that the professionalism and commitment of the teams from the Taipei City Government Department of Cultural Affairs and Vogue gave their budding brands higher visibility among people who would not normally pay much attention to fashion. Although the 2019 Taipei Fashion Week is over now, the encouragement and support it has given to emerging designers and its stimulation of public awareness and interest in fashion design have only just begun.