Modern technology and equipment today allow real miracles. China has now acquired a sufficient number of Western equipment and can produce products that are not inferior in quality to Italy or France, and they are the trendsetters in the world of luxury. Not so long ago, "Made in Italy" or "Made in France" were automatically perceived as the standard of quality and design brands.
CONTENT:
Luxury Home Décor - A Rising Symbol of Luxury
Luxury World. One-stop solution for designers
Luxury Goods of China
China has stepped forward. They easily acquire the latest equipment. As for raw materials, China has been famous since ancient times for its art of porcelain, silk, woodworking and stone works. Over the centuries, China was able to create a whole industry and virtually divide the whole country into the provinces where different types of crafts flourished. Suzhou was famous for the production of silk fabrics. In addition, there concentrated and all the handicrafts associated with silk: for example, handmade embroidery, the industry employs more than 140,000 skilled embroiderers for that.
However, if we look at the decoration industry and interior design, we see that China is still behind Europe, but not in quality. They lag behind in the level of design to be understandable to the European consumers. And even if the quality is flawless, there is still a hint of Chinese culture in the design, whatever they produce.
Therefore, realizing this very well, the Chinese, for the most part, follow the well-trodden path of copying European design. Here they have succeeded enough and are on an equal footing with Europe. Fendi and Bentley brands, now polar in China for interior design, were copied by them with imperceptible difference from the original.
Mentally, the Chinese are still closer to their national culture. That is why the market offers a lot of furniture and decor with distinctly Chinese motifs and Chinese chic. They are still very beautiful things. Copying European models is more of a tribute to fashion and self-affirmation in society. However, China is leading in Asian design without a doubt and the future of China is to create luxury national brands for sure.
Sooner or later, this will happen and it will take over the dominant position. Their national Silk Road program aims at doing just that: promoting ancient Chinese handicrafts, popularizing their products in the world, creating an image of China as an alternative supplier of luxury goods.
Luxury Home Décor - A Rising Symbol of Luxury
However, if you combine European aesthetics with the capabilities of the Chinese market, the result can be unusual. When I started working in China, I did not understand how the Chinese work. With their production capacity, their craftsmen of the highest level and their centuries-old handicrafts, why was the quality always a little lower than in Europe? I want to say straight away that we are not talking about mass-production, but about luxury goods.
This principle sounded something like this: almost good, almost ready, almost on time. These three "almost" became the cornerstone in changing the mentality and overall culture of production. It took many years to change this mentality.
In order to really get luxury products, and it is undeniably possible to get them, you need a combination of several conditions at once.
The first is the positioning of the factories themselves. It is necessary to understand what target audience they work for.
The second and the most important thing for Europeans is the question of how many owners there are. For Europe it is not so important, but in China it is a fundamental success story. The ideal is only one owner who speaks English. Otherwise, you have to communicate with an export director or just a manager.
With long-term cooperation, this is completely impossible. Personnel in factories change very often, and having established work with one person, when he leaves the company you have to start all over again.
Thirdly, in the luxury business it is required to have aesthetics of the owner. Otherwise, the principle of "almost" is unbearable.
Fourthly, in a factory it is desirable to have a European art director. He is also the main designer, who sets the direction for develop