NEW WAVE CREATORS: ANGEL CHEN

In a way, Angel is the epitome of contemporary Chinese youth. She arrived at this interview after a meeting in the city dressed in a red tiger-print top, a sporty headband pulling her hair back and contrasting a pair of dangling emerald earrings.

But this isn’t just a look: Chen is energetic, fun, feisty but elegant. She’s the kind of girl who always knows the right thing to say, and she brightens the energy in any room. While she grew up in Shenzhen, she’s lived and worked across Europe, America and China, and as a result, not only speaks multiple languages including Mandarin, Cantonese and English but also her hometown’s Teochew dialect.

“Shenzhen itself is a very international city, so the information you receive is always fresh and new. I also visited the city of Hong Kong frequently growing up, where I’d discover what the most advanced trends were, and it was also where I interacted a lot with foreign cultures.”

Angel first became aware of her love of design in 2005. Looking through the first issue of Vogue China, she discovered the work of John Galliano, another Central Saint Martins alumni, and one who continues to inspire and influence her today. “I thought immediately: this designer is amazing. Not only can he create a product, but he also conveys a vision. This is something I want to aim for.”

With that realisation, Angel prepared her portfolio, took a deep breath and dove into her journey to become a fashion designer. It wasn’t the smoothest ride for her at first with language and culture shifts, but she persevered and graduated Central Saint Martins with a Bachelor of Fashion Design Womenswear as one of the top five students of her year group. And she’s made her roots part of her journey.

“Traditional Chinese culture has always had a big influence on me. Every Chinese New Year we’d go back to my parents’ hometown in the Chaoshan region to visit the temples, but I’d also visit the city of Hong Kong to see the latest from there and beyond,” she reminisces from her office, sitting in front of a rather dreamy portrait of herself that captures her signature shaved head.

But the way Angel loves traditional Chinese culture isn’t the way Chinese grandparents like to bore the kids with. She references the nomadic Qiang ethnic minority, who reside in the southwestern part of China, in her AW19 collection. She mashes elements from their ceremonial headdresses to their shepherds’ love for the goat, and turns the inspiration into embroidered motifs and colourful wool overcoats. She has drawn inspiration from pre-Qin dynasty Chinese mythology, in particular, the classic story of Shan Hai Jing (‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’), and even commissioned traditional Teochew oiled-paper lantern makers from her hometown to create props for her runway looks in SS19.

“When I first graduated, I travelled across the country in search of different traditional embroidery techniques throughout China, from Beijing to Suzhou, and to my hometown of Chaozhou for the Mazu temple embroidery,” she recalls. “I’m always inspired by traditional craftsmanship, and I love to utilise it in a way that’s modern and fresh.”

Nowadays, Angel’s statement pieces and design philosophies are loved by fashionistas around the world. Her looks steal the show at every fashion week street-style corner and are worn by hyped-up club kids and pop stars alike. “People always ask me what kind of people wear Angel Chen. I don’t believe this person actually exists. I remember once meeting an older man who worked at a big corporate in Japan. He was super excited to see and wear my clothes! When he tried them on, he became extremely talkative and wanted to show off to everyone. He found the clothes to be so badass that they somehow gave him more confidence. This is what I want to convey through my clothes. I want people to be able to find this magic.”

This “magic” is something particular to Chen. Of course, fashion schools in the UK have nurtured some of the most creative designers in the industry, from McQueen to Galliano. Angel displays some of their characteristics, but part of her considerable talent also lies in her ability to translate her Western fashion education into her very own Eastern language. From there, she has had to turn her creativity into a business, which has often been the biggest challenge for locally educated Chinese designers compared to their American-educated counterparts. “It was challenging at the beginning when I first created my brand. I didn’t know how to run a business. After I managed to learn the basics, my concern would be how to scale it up.”

Despite this concern, Chen persisted. For AW16, her voluminous windbreaker overcoat broke the (Chinese) internet, with its bold line of embroidery in Chinese characters stating 天上天下唯我独尊 (“There is no one in the world stronger than me”). It was a defining moment for the fledgling brand, and according to Chen, set the tone of voice for the brand in the eyes of the people. “It really was a turning point. It represented my brand, represented Chinese culture.”

Fortunately, Chen caught the right wave at the right time. Chinese millennials today are incredibly international, with many studying abroad. These independent thinkers are a maturing consumer group, who are also culturally alert and know what they want. They grew up in an era when China became a global power. They have a nose for the new and an eye for the coolest subcultures from around the world, and while their concept and understanding of the luxury industry is still developing, it’s doing so with a strong instinct and at an incredible pace. What’s critical is that they’re not only proud of their culture, but are also proud to buy Chinese design and products.

“It’s always cliché for me to say, but right now is definitely the golden age for Chinese designers. I can’t think of a better way to describe it. This started when I first came back in 2014, and it’s only getting better and better.”

On this wave, Chen has succeeded at her first stage as a designer, setting an example for those to come after her. Her nationally recognised vision has received international praise, and her point of view is shaping up to be a voice of this generation. These days, Chen manages a big team in her studio, and her mother has moved to Shanghai to help her take care of administrative matters. It’s a close-knit company and a well-oiled machine.

Angel tells both herself and other young entrepreneurs starting out today: “I wish I’d known that having your own business is not something you can accomplish in a short time. It’s a long journey, and your progress is what truly occupies you daily. I wish I could tell the me of five years ago to just enjoy life a little!” But, as she says, “Some lessons just have to be learned with time — you can’t rush them.”

The hunt is on: Join us on September 6th at Lane Crawford Shanghai Times Square where we’ll unveil Creative Call Out 2019! Stay for drinks and shop our latest pop up with Labelhood.