SHANG XIA BY HERMES

 

Holding on to heritage in an era flooded by Western luxury is a challenge for China. SHANG XIA by Hermes CEO and Artistic Director, Jiang Qiong Er, shows AERIS Magazine how everyday life can incorporate China’s rich past, and why culture will surpass luxury.

 

SHANG XIA by Hermes is the world’s first separate Chinese fashion brand from a luxury European name.How is SHANG XIA distinguished from its French parent?

I think the most important difference is we have very different cultural roots. SHANG XIA is rooted in Chinese craftsmanship and traditional Chinese ‘art of life’, while Hermes is rooted in French culture and lifestyle. For example, SHANG XIA is more concentrated on tea culture, whereas Hermes produces coffee wares.

However, both brands share their culture with domestic and international audiences and both are committed to the highest possible quality and true artisanship.

 

What market factors influenced this historic first — are young Chinese more patriotic consumers than their parents?

I think timing is everything. The centre of SHANG XIA is time and emotion. The most precious object is not a price, but an emotion. This comes from the quality and cultural symbolism.

The young generation is important, but our clients range from 20 to 80 years old — emotion is not limited to age. Our eggshell porcelain for example is so thin — 0.5 cm — that it makes a sound so delicate, like a faint temple gong… Such products are an emotional ‘wake-up,’ evoking ancient Chinese craftsmanship and art of life. Even during war, revolution, or the modern era, that emotion never dies.

 

Is the separate SHANG XIA brand intended to counter any perceived loss of heritage to consumers who still want a ‘French’ offering, too?

Yes — SHANG XIA and Hermes each have their own identity, embedded in our respective Chinese and French cultures. Both Chinese and international buyers still want the option of buying a purely French product, as well as a Chinese one.

This is especially crucial for China, as our own cultural identity is at risk of disappearing. ‘Shang’ and ‘Xia’ means ‘up’ and ‘down,’ related to time and life in stages of history… The saying of ‘chen xia qi xia’ (bringing the past to the future) is relevant to us, as we do not want to be just decorative, but functional in daily life. For example, we met a bamboo weaver who makes beautiful bamboo strings to hang up paintings, just 0.2 mm thick. While such craft might be for an adornment, we use it to prevent hands from getting burnt whilst drinking tea.

SHANG XIA is not a commercial project — it is a cultural one. However, we truly believe commercial success will reward us if we focus on culture, not money. We make an independent offering, rather than responding to what the market wants. If we listened to what the mass market (in China) wanted, we would simply print a brand name on our shirts… we offer a cultural education and believe the demand for that will grow.

 

What challenges do Chinese brands emerging from European names face?

Time and imagination. Chinese and international people will all need time to get into this traditional art of living. It is also a challenge to continuously surprise, while maintaining tradition.

 

What kind of Chinese consumer do you see buying SHANG XIA?

We get international and Chinese customers. While they are all different nationalities, one thing they have in common is that they come not for the logo or name, but for true quality and ‘art of life.’ They already have plenty of experience in luxury… they are not trend followers, but opinion leaders on what they want and why. So in terms of the Chinese clients, we only get well-educated Chinese who appreciate culture — the nouveau-riche…

 

We notice home and teaware are a big part of your offering. Do you see a trend of young Chinese enjoying luxury more privately (at home)?

Yes — they want peace, surrounded by traditional Chinese culture in their everyday life, not to show off. We serve great teas at the store, so you can calm down immediately. Some clients even bring their own teas in to share with us! We are about calming down from crazy, modern life and experiencing the traditional art of life. Time is the ultimate luxury, not a name.

 

In a way, that ‘slow down and savour life’ mentality is very French…

It is similar, yes. We built a SHANG XIA house, transforming a historical building in the French concession into a place where customers can experience this traditional art of living. Most people we invite are so busy. They say “I only have 20 minutes,” but they spend an hour or more… We compressed pu-er tea into bricks, so you can not only taste but also smell tea everywhere… SHANG XIA is not about objects, but about an experience.

We do not let too many people into the house at once. We want them to find a quiet space, accompanied by one of our ambassadors. We prefer to take less people, but go deeper with the culture.

We do not have big parties, but rather take our time to share culture with our friends. We held a month-long ‘Human and Nature’ exhibition and kept the building materials afterwards — while we cannot use the same exhibition twice, we also refuse to waste anything, so we built a new bamboo house for a school of immigrants’ children in Shanghai (30 m long with a reading room and playroom). Some of our friends and customers also donate books and toys for the school. In this sense, we continue a culture of giving an education.

 

In 2011, we saw some exceptional Chinese design talents — Uma Wang and Manchit Au, for instance. As an artistic director of a highly imaginative brand yourself, do you believe that China is about to enter a new, creative renaissance? 

Yes, I think so. When I graduated from university in 2000, it was just the very beginning for Chinese creative industries. When I returned from France in 2003, it was far more developed and the government began to encourage creative learning in schools, as did society. It was a tremendous, collective push… China conquered economically in the last 20 years. Now, China will enter a second stage of development: culture. Chinese creativity will be shared through art, music, cinema and design… This is the beginning of China’s creative boom.

 

Jiang Qiong Er is the CEO and Artistic Director of Shang Xia by Hermes. She spoke at the Business of Design Week (BODW) Hong Kong, 2011 and gave this interview afterwards exclusively to AERIS’ Grace Brown.

 

AERIS is the first and only English-Mandarin publication directly targeting Asia’s well-educated, affluent youth.  Recognising the high calibre of our readership, AERIS’ mission is to deliver uncompromising style and substance in the Asian era. Beyond editorials, AERIS provides a lifestyle education in everything from suit styling to wine appreciation, art investment and undiscovered getaways.