While most of us have carefully posed photographs to show for our travels, Shuting Qiu translates her experiences into spectacular clothing, rich with colours and textures. Hailing from Hangzhou, a city located on China’s southeastern coast, the Chinese fashion designer has travelled far and wide, taking in the bustling streets of Mumbai, the glittering coasts of Tenerife and Cyprus, and the scenic beauty of North Africa.
Those journeys are often the starting point of Qiu’s collections for her eponymous fashion brand, which has been shortlisted for the BOF China Prize and the LVMH Prize. The 30-year-old, who graduated with a master’s degree from Royal Academy in Antwerp, is curious about the cultures and crafts of the world, and she is particularly interested in what people wear. This is all reflected, in unexpected and exciting ways, in her collections.
Following a trip to Vietnam, Qiu found inspiration in the áo dài, the country’s national dress, for her Fall/Winter 2024 collection. The geometric patterns and florals that typically adorn the áo dài were placed upon statement jackets and sheer, second-skin bodysuits and tights, while its signature side slits appeared on tulle dresses and skirts. The boat neckline used on the collection’s cropped jackets nodded to the wardrobe of Madame Nhu, the former First Lady of South Vietnam, who favoured áo dài styles that were more fitted and featured a more forgiving neckline.
When Qiu finishes a collection, she usually goes a great distance from Shanghai, where she is based, to present her designs in Milan. She has been on the city’s Fashion Week calendar since Spring/Summer 2020; before that, her label made its runway debut at New York Fashion Week in 2018.
When Qiu took the call for her GRAZIA Singapore interview, dressed in a cheery tulle yellow blouse from her aforementioned collection, it was two weeks after her debut fashion show at Paris—a milestone for her brand. She remained in France, in a town near Paris, for a friend’s wedding.
Despite the many sojourns that she goes on, Qiu is never really far from home. In her collections, she incorporates the intricate and elaborate crafts of Hangzhou, which is one of the traditional silk centres in China. Qiu uses traditional Chinese embroidery techniques—especially Su embroidery, which is over 2,000 years old—in her lively designs. Those textile traditions aren’t the only old things that Qiu breathes new life into; a good portion of each Shuting Qiu collection is made with recycled materials and deadstock fabrics, including those sourced from Hangzhou.
Being well-travelled has worked out for Qiu. It has added to the unique aesthetic of her fashion brand, which has earned her collaborations with Estee Lauder and Uggs. It has also allowed her to highlight her hometown’s rich craft heritage to the rest of the world: in October this year, she was one of ten designers specially selected to showcase her runway looks in La Samaritaine, a historic department store in Paris, as part of an exhibition celebrating traditional Chinese arts and crafts.
While her personal travel plans for the rest of the year are still undecided, Qiu knows two things: she hopes to find a new home for her fashion label in Paris, the most esteemed fashion capital of all, and she intends to spend Chinese New Year in 2025 with her family in Hangzhou.
Ahead, we catch up with Shuting Qiu to learn more about her inspirations, her design process, and the evolution of her fashion brand.
What are you inspired by at the moment?
Shuting Qiu (SQ): Right now, I draw a lot from my personal experiences. I’m also inspired by the artists I like, the places I want to travel to, and the ethnic costumes [of different cultures]. For instance, I’ve been to Africa and India, and those travels have inspired my collections. I’m very interested in ethnic cultures. I want to travel around China and to places beyond to see how people live and dress.
Your designs often feature a mix of colours and patterns. Do these striking combinations come instinctively to you?
SQ: I think colours and patterns have been a signature of my brand, from the very beginning. For my collections, I always start with research. I get inspiration from artworks, or the patterns from ethnic costumes. I incorporate elements of these when I start to create garments. I didn’t think it was a style, but people or the press always say, “Your style is about mixing and matching, or happy colours.” It comes naturally.
Your hometown, Hangzhou, has a rich craft heritage that you often draw upon for your collections. What was it like to showcase that in cities like New York, Milan and Paris?
SQ: I feel very proud to do this. It’s always been my dream to do so, and as part of the new generation of Chinese designers, I have a sense of responsibility about it. In China, we have so many different cultures and handicraft traditions. Fashion designers of the new generation, like me, who have studied abroad to pursue our fashion education, have the opportunity to take our hometown cultures, translate them in a modern and contemporary way, and bring that to the global stage.
You collaborate with artisans in Hangzhou for your collections. How would you describe that special collaboration? How has it informed your creative process or approach to sustainability?
SQ: The average age of the artisans in Hangzhou that I work with is 50. When they were young, they learned to do embroidery. Now, fewer people have that skill. And they don’t get a lot of jobs because a lot of the craft is done with machines. So I try to collaborate with these artisans to offer them more opportunities and jobs. And we use leftover materials—yarns, sequins, fabrics, for example. I think this collaboration is important and meaningful.
How do you think your fashion brand has evolved since you launched it in 2018?
SQ: I started [my career as a fashion designer] very early, because my graduate collection was bought by Joyce [a fashion retailer from Hong Kong] and Browns from London. In the beginning, my designs were quite statement-making dramatic, I must say. They were show pieces. I studied in Antwerp, so my aesthetic was more European, and because we worked with European models, we followed their sizing. When I moved back to Shanghai to try to open a Chinese market for my brand, I tailored everything to an Asian aesthetic and tastes. It’s quite different, Europe and China—how they live is very different. And when they live differently, they dress differently.
What’s next for your fashion brand?
SQ: For Spring/Summer 2025, we moved our fashion show from Milan to Paris. I hope to continue to do shows in Paris; I’m trying to build a community here, meeting creative people and teams here. We will start with shows, presentations and events, and eventually open a studio in Paris.
This story originally appeared in the November 2024 issue of GRAZIA Singapore.
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