CHINA AND ITALY: FASHION DOES NOT STOP, BUT MOTIVATES AND INSPIRES PEOPLE TO LOOK PAST ALL FEARS AND PREJUDICES
In the middle of the tour of the fashion weeks in the Big Four, New York, London, Milan and Paris, it was clear that fashion too, had to deal with the consequences of the spreading of the coronavirus. First to get involved, was Milano, that saw in course of events, the impact of both sensationalism among the news, and the cautious precautions necessary to protect people from getting exposed to unnecessary risks of contagion.
For this reason, Zhao Hizhou, Chinese designer with a master degree from the Politecnico di Milano, Milan’s Polytechnic, where she learned the charm of Italian fashion and founder of the luxury brand Hui, decided not to walk the runway as she usually does in the Italian capital of fashion.
Her decision came after the hardships created by the incertitudes over the Coronavirus syndrome. An act of respect for both countries and affection for the city, this decision does not mean giving up. On the contrary it is a way to show commitment and support to her brand, her employees and her buyers.
Milan is not a red zone in Italy, life continues as usual, and thanks to the very high standards of life, people can easily follow all the precautions, elderly people are granted food and medicines to be delivered at home for free for as long as there are suspicious in the region, even when not exactly in the city. Better safe than sorry. Whoever lives in Milan fears no emergency today, and live under the certitude that we have among the most dedicated, well prepared experts and a system that is among the best in the world.
Although, while well protected and educated to respect the rules of hygiene at all time, the fear of the coronavirus and some cases of contagion cannot be ignored.
So as a form of respect for the concerns and the difficulties to part fake news from real news, Zhao Hizhou decided to not cause more alarmism, and to expand the sense of positivity for her workers, decided to use this time focusing on a new marketing and giving Milan its time to slow down the potential process of contagion. It is thanks to the honest wisdom of people like her, that Milano has stayed well protected just this long.
In the age of everything digital, the founder of Hui has empowered her digital network. Wisely, in a moment of incertitude, positivity comes from the fact that the digitalisation can help, allowing the people to simply connect online. So what she hopes right now, is to teach that digital and physical fashion worlds can coexist, and passed the state of emergency, the new reality for fashion will stay on both sides.
This would of course be in advantage of her own country too, which is since many years, a dear partner of Milan, especially in the fashion market.
“This is a time for China when it is necessary to give each other strength and motivation, and looking at the matter with positivity, we may find out that once the epidemic ends, the work groups, companies and their strategies and techniques will even be improved “, says Hui Zhou Zhao.
An injection of solidarity and help to the community that is perfectly reflected in the brand’s philosophy, that since 2016 has also become a Foundation, aimed at the protection and promotion of the artisan techniques of the Chinese culture and which has as its objective, through art and design, to support public welfare projects that help reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of women and children.
Hui is a known brand in Milan, considered a crossover between cultures, the leitmotif of the latest collection shown in the city had been the meeting of ancient Chinese culture with European knowledge and tradition, skilfully mixed thanks to the designer’s studiesand her master’s degree from the Polytechnic of Milan.
It is there that she developed a taste that mixes the elegance of Italian tailoring with the decorative aspect of the oriental tradition, a distinctive sign of the Hui style, which hopefully will soon return to the catwalk of the Milan fashion week.
For the whole period, Milan has shown a strong support to its Chinese partners, but Hui is something more, it’s a symbol of that connection, of the realities that grow together, of artistry that augments when two arts as old as the Chinese and the Italian ones melt into a real fusion of art and fashion. A symbol of positivity and specialisation through internationalisation.
Together we are better, together we do better.
The brand identity of Hui is inspired by the extraordinary Asian attitudes to unique cuts together with the rigor of clean and minimal design, a mood that comes from Miss Zaho’s passion for art and the contamination with fashion, capable of combining multiple languages. A belief that led to the creation of the CENTENNIAL FASHION MUSEUM.
Miss Zhao Huizhou has been highly interested in collecting all kinds of works of art from her own country and abroad. Her constant search for fashion, traditional culture and artistic value gave her a unique idea to present to the public the process of evolution of intangible culture and fashion and to create a museum of culture and history of fashion.
Thanks to the HUI FOUNDATION, the museum successfully showcases period costumes designs ranging from the Qing dynasty, to the embroidery of the intangible cultural heritage of ethnic minorities, to the stage of the Republic of China, to the institution of the People’s Republic of China, at the time of reform and opening, and finally to the modern era.
The museum is committed to spreading Chinese art and culture around the world, guiding people’s aesthetic values and design concepts in China and to raise public awareness of cultural heritage.
The Hui Foundation encourages donations and organizes cultural tours for students, accompanying them in the Guizhou interland, going to the villages outside the tourist destinations, to get in touch with the locals and live a real cultural experience. The goal is to create relationships: between students who spiritually enrich themselves with the culture of the places visited and the inhabitants of these villages. Thanks to these aids, local women have the opportunity to continue working so as not to disperse the extraordinary heritage of craftsmanship and craftsmanship that makes them unique.
In harmony with the spirit of collaboration, support and positivity that permeate the values, passion and credo of the Milanese fashion community, it is with pleasure that I contribute from my hometown, promoting the incredible contribution of Zhao Huizou and support the collaboration between two realities, the Italian one and the Chinese one, that right in this moment can be a model of inspiration for the international fashion people, and much broadly to all societies that are looking for a reference that is not out to feed fear, separation, and disconnection.
