Vivienne Tam doubles down on China as western labels struggle

Dragon patterns, oblique placket buckles and cheongsam-style tops and dresses: Hong Kong-based designer Vivienne Tam is featuring these Chinese elements heavily in her latest collections to court consumers in the world’s second largest economy. 

“It’s very different from how it started,” said Tam in an interview with Haslinda Amin on Bloomberg TV’s Latitude, recounting the change in the Chinese consumer from when she founded her brand 30 years ago. “Before they didn’t want anything Chinese. Now they are embracing the Chinese-ness, from the government to the people.”

Born in China’s mainland and raised in Hong Kong, the 66-year-old designer gained fame for her early collections featuring bold imagery such as Mao Zedong reimagined with pigtails and Buddha on a skirt. Her designs now lean even more on traditional styles as consumers in the country shift from splashing out on luxury items from major Western brands to seeking cultural identity at home.

Rising nationalism means global fashion houses are facing increasing scrutiny in China as well as competition from local rivals whose popularity is soaring. Although there has yet to be a domestic leader in the space, Chinese luxury brands are grabbing ever increasing market share collectively. Local skincare product makers, for example, captured 42% of the country’s market in 2021, compared with only 7% a decade ago, according to a report by China Galaxy Securities.

That lends Tam a unique position in the difficult environment—a balance between the East and West. Having shut several stores including a flagship in New York during Covid, she’s staking her comeback on it.

Her first-ever showing at Paris Fashion Week in March was a modern celebration of historic Chinese style, with billowing long sleeves, draping long skirts and mandarin collars. The show ended with her designs of Chinese bridal gowns mostly in bright red colors. Tam’s collections were also featured in an exhibition themed around “new Chinese style” during Shanghai Fashion Week in the same month. 

Chinese consumers are estimated to contribute about a quarter of global luxury spending, but they have become more selective amid the country’s economic slowdown, especially over big-ticket items such as jewelry and luxury fashion pieces. That’s dragged down the performances of powerhouses from LVMH to Kering SA. Instead of big brand-name items, consumers are more willing to spend on experiences such as food and travel; personal and cultural identification is also playing a bigger part in purchasing decisions. 

Intensifying US-China tensions have spilled out broadly, created a public relations minefield for global brands operating in China. LVMH’s Christian Dior in 2022 was accused by Chinese social media users of cultural appropriation after introducing a pleated skirt that some drew comparison to a piece of traditional Chinese clothing known as “mamianqun,” or literally horse-face skirt. 

Hennes & Mauritz AB was cancelled in China for more than a year after commenting on alleged forced labor in Xinjiang. The boycott also ensnared Nike Inc. which said it won’t source products from the region due to labor concerns. 

Cha Ling, a cosmetics brand created by LVMH that drew inspiration from Chinese tea, closed all its brick-and-mortar stores in China during Covid amid stiff competition from local Chinese beauty brands including Perfect Diary and Florasis. 

Tam has taken the increasingly challenging Chinese market as an opportunity given her Chinese background and success in the West. After graduating from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the 1970s, Tam moved to New York, where she made her name in the fashion world. She created her eponymous brand in the 1990s and has had designs worn by Julia Roberts, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, Lady Gaga and Jill Biden. 

“Hong Kong is the gateway to the west and also the gateway to China,” said Tam. “I want to bring the two worlds together. I’m the ambassador of the two worlds.”