Find yourself and touch fashion.
2021March 3 1, the bleak winter is slowly fading away, and the weather in Beijing is beginning to pick up. After the outbreak and alleviation of the epidemic throughout the year, the clothing industry, which has been pressed the pause button, urgently needs a grand event to wake up. This eagerness ushered in the export of AW2 1 China International Fashion Week: designers, stars, buyers, fashion media and KOL gathered here to attend the biennial fashion feast in Beijing 75 1D Park, the main venue of Fashion Week.
Wearing a neatly designed black suit, red high heels, tall and straight figure and capable short hair, Lola is still eye-catching even among fashion people. As the chief creative director of the brand, a few hours later, she took the brand Lola password theme show "High Desire" onto the runway of China International Fashion Week.
High desire appeared in the first spring after the epidemic, with different vitality and changes. Lola boldly takes the theme of "desire" to explore women's identity and real desire: dark brown represents the determination to calm down in the epidemic, and brands use a lot of flashing yarns to compare jumping and connected individuals. Lola said that this theme is similar to the queen's feast, soul craftsman and awakening, and contains women's independent and free choices.
Like Lola, there's Zhu Qianxue, who is on the run in major fashion weeks. 10 years ago, Zhu Qianxue danced every once in a while. 20 1 1 While studying design, she went to Paris, Milan, new york, London and other places to select raw material suppliers for her brand TRACY CHU.
The decision to start a new life took place when Zhu Qianxue was 30. A conversation with her heart made her plunge into the brand-new and completely unfamiliar industry of design.
Before becoming a fashion designer, Zhu Qianxue was an independent filmmaker. She laughed and said that she was a "TV migrant worker" at that time, and 12 hours a day was a normal working time. Sometimes the project is endless, and it is common to reverse it sooner or later. Recording programs during the day and cutting films at night, sometimes, after standing for more than ten hours, Zhu Qianxue didn't get home until 3 am, and didn't even know whether to say good night or good morning to his online friends.
"I am working so hard, but it is for the life I don't want." High-intensity work makes Zhu Qianxue feel suspicious, leaving her with no time and energy to pursue "beauty". One program after another, one file after another, chasing the timeline with equipment. The first thing colleagues wear is to facilitate work: jeans and jackets in autumn and winter, T-shirts and vests in summer. In such an environment, dressing up is extravagant and out of place. For Zhu Qianxue, who loved and valued beauty since childhood, dressing himself up is a serious life. She needs new space to let her imagination of beauty fall to the ground.
Similar to Zhu Qianxue. In 20 15, Zhao ruohong, who entered different industries in high heels, decided to change careers again at the age of 36, and founded her own design brand of light luxury women's shoes "73 hours"-a pair of real leather shoes, which took about 73.3 hours before and after completion, so she named it 73 hours.
"When I was thinking about what I could do, I was 36 years old." Referring to these years of running around, Zhao Ruohong said. Previously, she was better known as the host of SMG in Shanghai and the "three sisters" in the sitcom Happy Apartment. In the rising stage of her acting career, she left the TV station and chose to go abroad for further study. After receiving double master's degrees from new york University and Yale University, she returned to China and became a publisher.
The process of bidding farewell to the "three sisters" and the process of finding yourself overlap. The decision to sell shoes is closely linked to many precious moments related to high heels. For Zhao Ruohong, high heels mean her relationship with the world. In the 1990s, people mentioned high-heeled shoes, and the imaginative words were "vanity", "superficiality" and "dressing up beautifully is a sign of not studying hard". In such a big environment, Zhao Ruohong lived as an introverted teenager. She never had her own clothes and shoes.
When she was a sophomore, she worked as an intern in a TV station. When doing the program, the assistant needs to wear high heels with the host. Before recording, she learned that she didn't have high heels. The teacher of the TV station took her to the Pacific Department Store in a panic and bought a pair of shoes.
This is a pair of white thick heels, which are very hard. Zhao Ruohong's instep is slightly wider, so it is very crowded. Standing in these shoes for 8 hours, she took them off after recording. She found that her toes were red and swollen and a piece of skin was worn off her heel. But the pain at the foot can't hide the more complicated emotions of that day: the studio lights were as bright as day, and Zhao Ruohong, 20, stood in the spotlight for the first time, and the audience's smiling faces and applause were close at hand, so clear. Wrapped in this beam of light and wearing high heels, Zhao Ruohong felt that she had suddenly stepped into a wider world.
"Because of these shoes, I, a college student who hasn't graduated, seem to stand a little higher. This is both physical and spiritual. " Zhao Ruohong said.
Entrepreneurship is like escaping and resisting the existing rules. Zhao Ruohong has been familiar with the "injustice" brought by the gender of "female" and has endured it for many years. Before deciding to study abroad, her mother asked her anxiously, "How can you get married when you are almost 30 years old after finishing your studies?" After getting married, I was repeatedly asked, "When will I have children?" .
Before entering the workplace, before each meeting, colleagues will kindly remind Zhao Ruohong to wear simple clothes, preferably black, white and gray, and not to wear dark nail polish according to the style of the participants. Zhao Ruohong's favorite V-neck shirt and brightly colored high-heeled shoes stand out from others. Failure to observe the dress code is only a small part of prejudice. A woman who loves to dress up is not easy to gain the trust of others when starting a business. Zhao Ruohong always faces such doubts and ridicule. "The pattern of female entrepreneurs is already very small. Can an actress who plays a sitcom still do business? "
At moments like this, Zhao Ruohong always habitually looks down at his shoes. Shoes will take her to her goal, and she said to herself, "Since society has stipulated what I should wear from head to toe. Then I must choose a tool that carries the full weight of my body and mind. "
Shoes did take her to her destination. The first store of "73 hours" was born in a three-story house on Julu Road in Shanghai. Red high heels are put in the old-fashioned green refrigerator, and there is eye shadow in front of the dresser for makeup. There are soft sofas and comfortable cushions on the first floor. Girls can have afternoon tea and dessert with their girlfriends. The third floor is the fitting room, facing the exquisite high heels. Outside the window, it is full of green. The third floor of a camphor tree in Shanghai is covered with white clouds, and a bright yellow bicycle is about to rush into the clouds.
Now, although 12 offline stores and counters have been opened in Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Nanjing and other cities in 73 hours, Zhao Ruohong can still clearly remember the moment when he got the shoes made by the first pair of brand production lines.
Ran a lot of factories to choose supply chain, found excellent designers, set up shop location, shop decoration, brand operation ... Zhao Ruohong followed up every link of shoes from production to sales. In June of 20 14, Zhao ruohong received her first batch of shoes in February of 20 15. From 6: 00 a.m. to dark, she sat in the office of Dongguan factory, and inspected 1600 pairs of shoes in front of her in Shuang Yi. At that time, she could not speak the technical term "uneven thread, unstable shoes at the end of the week, and insufficient coat color". She can only tell the master who makes shoes, "this pair won't work."
"What if they are all sold out?" After the quality inspection, she anxiously asked the people in the factory. "Miss Zhao, in the current retail market, it is good that these shoes can be sold out in half a year." Everyone at the scene laughed.
Results After the launch of 14 in February, even Zhao Ruohong didn't expect that 1600 pairs of red high heels sold in winter were all sold out within one month.
Zhu Qianxue's awakening to "beauty" happened earlier. Looking through old photos, she found that even when she was in primary school, her eyes were painted with sparkling eye shadow. When I was a child, my parents often traveled. Every time they come back from a business trip, they will bring back all kinds of clothes for Amy's daughter. When she grew up, she began to decide what to wear. "From small to large, there is not a piece of clothing that I have never changed." Zhu Qianxue said.
What is "beauty"? While pursuing beauty according to the rules of "white, thin and young" shaped by society, I met the singer Zhang Rose at a music festival. On that day, Rose Zhang did not dress up, but wore a red dress and danced with the beat on the stage. Her figure is no longer a girl's figure, but her dancing is so confident. This freedom affected the audience, and Zhu Qianxue sang and danced with the surging crowd unconsciously. "Beauty" came at that moment. Looking at Rose Zhang on the stage, I suddenly realized that "real beauty does not exist in the eyes of others, and real stretching is from the heart."
In the process of making TV programs, she came into contact with all kinds of people and posed and matched the guests personally. Although every time the guests dress up, they are always embarrassed to tell Zhu Qianxue, "Xiyue, I am really beautiful like this. But in daily life, this is too exaggerated. "
People will distinguish clothes according to life and stage. In Zhu Qianxue's view, this concept of dressing is not enough. With such a sense of mission and love for clothing, TRACY CHU began to study fashion design, and founded her own eponymous brand "Zhu Qianxue" on 20 1 1.
When TRACY CHU first entered the market, Zhu Qianxue put forward the concept of "everyday clothes", aiming at breaking the boundary between everyday clothes and Chinese clothes. She focuses on the inheritance and development of handicraft skills, and adds some handicrafts such as bead embroidery and embroidery, which only appeared in high-definition clothing before, to the clothing design of the brand. The first dress produced by this brand only took 100 hours.
Zhu Qianxue still remembers that the first work launched by the brand was a white coat, which was made of expensive fabrics such as silk and tweed discarded from modern clothes, and colorful seawater pearls were sewn on the coat. Similar to Zhao Ruohong, she followed up all the steps of clothing production, including design, plate making and production, and strictly controlled the number of needles used. "Our needle is the smallest size, and the wearer can feel the manual temperature behind the pattern." She said.
Zhu Qianxue's first customers told her that until now, she still kept this dress. "This can be treasured as a work of art." The customer said.
The same sense of mission happened to Laura. Laura found that for women, fashion is not only the yearning for beauty, but also the examination of the upper level of the industry. In Europe, there is no place for women's fashion brands in China.
Creating a fashion brand that can show China women's elegant demeanour has been Lola's persistent direction since then. "Our life is like a safe with a password. God took the password out of the box. I want to be a hacker of God and return the password that originally belonged to you through clothes. " Lola said that this is the real meaning of calling the brand Lola Code.
In the past decade, with the popularity of the Internet and the rise of smart phones, the way people buy clothes has changed: from shopping to trying on clothes, to sliding the screen of mobile phones. The rise of digital shopping poses a new challenge to the business model of enterprises.
Laura observed that in recent years 10, women's self-awareness in China has awakened, and women's social identity is no longer a traditional gender role. Although more and more women are independent in the workplace, their weak position in the workplace has not changed, and the social reality of self-sacrifice in the family still exists. In 20 18, Lola entered Tik Tok. In the video works, Lola uses her own costume design as the carrier to create, covering topics such as female workplace bullying, intimate relationship and family life.
In a video, Lola modifies clothes for an elderly woman who is ashamed of her children, so that she can attend a children's promotion meeting with dignity. In another video, Lola designs clothes for fat girls, telling everyone that fat girls can also be beautiful. Lola hopes to convey a spirit of mutual help among women through the network platform and encourage women to pursue freedom and equality.
A fan from Henan told Lola her story on the platform of Tik Tok: Before becoming a housewife, she was also a professional woman. After giving birth to a child, she resigned and stayed away from the workplace, and her sense of value gradually peeled off with the trivial and repetitive life. By chance, she brushed the video of Lola and learned that Lola, who has performed well in the workplace, is also a mother. Encouraged by Lola, she resubmitted her resume. Now, she has returned to the workplace and found her own value in her work. Seeing that many women offered to help them regain their self-confidence, Laura felt that this was the original intention and purpose of her brand.
One of the reasons why Zhao Ruohong, who is in her early twenties, likes high heels is that they can help her stand more upright. There are flats, loafers and running shoes for 73 hours. All kinds of shoes represent all kinds of women's attitudes, and each one deserves respect.
The proportion of female employees working 73 hours is over 80%. They are responsible for important positions such as operation, marketing, personnel, finance and design. Zhao Ruohong affirmed that 73 hours did not discriminate against unmarried or married employees, nor did it discriminate against age. The company's front desk has the highest job turnover rate. Three girls who used to be front desk, now one is in the goods department, one is in the commerce department, and the other is a part-time anchor of the company.
Slowly, Zhao Ruohong found that the shoes she sold seemed to connect some women. A girl ordered a pair of shoes. Before taking the shoes, something suddenly happened at her house. The girl in debt had to cancel the order. Zhao Ruohong told her in a private letter: "Never mind, I'll give you a pair." The girl turned her down and told her that she would come back to buy it in a few years. Then the girl really came back and bought a pair of shoes.
The number of shoes sold in 73 hours is not large, so many guests need to set an alarm clock to queue up at the door of the store to buy them. In the waiting crowd, Zhao Ruohong found a guest snapping up shoes for her sister. My sister was in a car accident when she was a child. After amputation, she also lost the opportunity to wear high heels. At that time, she was getting married, and the guest wanted to buy her sister the first pair of high heels. After learning the guest's story, Zhao Ruohong asked her colleagues to drive to Ningbo and gave the wedding shoes gift box to the girl together with her pre-wedding wishes.
After entering the short video, Zhu Qianxue also got extra gifts by listening to the voices of more female customers. Zhu Xiyue from Shenzhen was just an ordinary employee of a bank at that time. "As a 35-year-old single woman, she is faced with internal and external pressures in the workplace and life and cannot get rid of it. But looking at your persistence in love, I seem to glow with it. Now that I am a branch manager of a commercial bank, I will not deny myself as easily as before. " Briefly.
Now, three female managers have a new story. In May, 2020, Lola password was launched in Tik Tok. In the live broadcast of Tik Tok's Spring Festival on June 6th, 1 1.5 hours, the total turnover exceeded 66 million yuan.
Zhu Qianxue likes to share her clothes on Tik Tok's platform, such as "various ways to wear shirts", "demonstration way to wear summer clothes" and "exhibition way to wear". Her smart and bold dressing style not only inspired more women to wear elastic clothes, but also inspired many bloggers to follow suit. Caroline, a fan, said, "When participating in brand activities, only wear TRACY CHU." TRACY CHU's live broadcast also performed well, with an average sales volume of over 2 million. On June 4, the live broadcast broke 5 million.
The 73-hour live broadcast team composed of young women started the first live broadcast in a brand-new field in just two weeks. In June, it ranked the top five in the footwear industry in 73 hours.
-End-
Writing | Liu Yang