Fashion Opportunities In China

Look at China as a long term opportunity for fashion production and innovation you’ll join the band wagon for the future.

It’s not all trash that comes of the production lines. Remember in the 60’s it was Japan in the same focus, now we rush out to buy the new cars because the quality and value are unrivalled by any western country.

Japan's engineering prowess is now well recognised and highly respected. In fact the west has had to adopt many of their innovative production systems and management strategies.

We see people looking at clothing labels, and mumbling, “Made in China”, then they say, “Is anything still made in Australia”, well, Australia has never been renowned for its sartorial prowess. China have been making highly quality clothing for centuries and in modern times are considered amongst the best tailors in the world. So where is the argument centred? There is no substance in people’s perception, just conditioning.

In England the rag trade has a bespoke focus not mass. So they can afford to maintain traditions, this industry closes it doors at 1pm every Friday, this is scoffed at.

And the mind set developed without any knowledge about designer brands going to China to cash in, manufacture at a fraction of the cost and profit out of customers. It’s just not true in all cases. Setting up production in China requires considerable financial investment establishing and much more to maintain.

Don’t forget the fashion industry is consistently seasonal and a large portion of the previous season turn over is reinvested into next season. New patterns, new styles, print, fabric, proto types, catwalks, manufacture, refinement, distribution; all of this is based on assumption that research is correct and customers will buy. It’s a high risk industry.

Fashion to China is more positive than negative, especially for the customer, no matter what you think, the truth is, you are getting clothing at a much better price than if it were completely made in Italy, England or Australia. Its common sense, higher wages, unionism etc. Even in the earlier days there were big ethical questions surrounding sweat shops, where whole families worked late night in their homes producing clothing for big brand names, they were paid a pittance for their efforts. The unions and community groups soon put an end to this.

Every silk tie, not matter the weaving location is made from silk that comes from China, the fact that it has made in Italy or England is of little consequence, when the same quality can be produced by hand in China. We’ve seen some replica cufflinks around and it’s virtually impossible to distinguish from the real McCoy. We are not condoning counterfeiting; just making a point, Chinese craftsmanship is no less than the Best in The West.

The bottom line is doing business and not at your customers expense. At the end of the day luxury brands would not jeopardise their name for the sake of making a few quick bucks. And, so, they write the specifications for the Chinese factories to follow and each piece is scrutinised. When it hits the store fronts the average customer could not tell its origins if unlabelled. So a little change in perception will encourage spending. And you will be more concerned about the way you look than where the garment is made.

Made in China is not always a reflection of poor quality, if you ignore this and seek out home grown clothing you may end up naked.