Shiatzy Chen facts for kids
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| Privately held | |
| Industry | Fashion |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder | Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia (王陳彩霞); Wang Yuan-hong (王元宏) |
| Headquarters | , |
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Number of locations
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Worldwide boutiques |
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Key people
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Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia (王陳彩霞), head designer; Harry Wang (王子玮), CEO |
| Products | Luxury goods |
| Subsidiaries | Cha Cha Thé/采采食茶文化 |
Shiatzy Chen (Chinese: 夏姿．陳; pinyin: Xiàzī Chén) is a well-known fashion company from Taiwan. It was started in 1978 by Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia and her husband, Wang Yuan-Hong. The company's style is often called "neo-Chinese chic." This means it combines beautiful Chinese clothing designs and traditional crafts with modern Western fashion.
Contents
The Story of Shiatzy Chen
How Shiatzy Chen Started
In 1978, Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia and her husband, Wang Yuan-Hong, who worked with textiles, created the Shiatzy International Company Limited. They started by making clothes that blended Eastern and Western styles. By 1987, they added a line of menswear. This included ready-to-wear changpaos, which are traditional Chinese robes often worn for weddings and engagement parties. A very popular item they make is their quilted winter jackets. These jackets come in many styles, fabrics, patterns, and colors.
Growing Beyond Taiwan
In 1990, Shiatzy Chen opened a special studio in Paris, France. The goal was to learn more about Western dressmaking techniques. This studio also helped train new Taiwanese dressmakers and designers. The company opened its first main store in Paris in 2001.
In 2003, Harry Wang, the son of the founders, became the CEO. He helped the company expand into the Chinese market. They opened a third main store in Shanghai in October 2005. More stores followed in Hong Kong and Beijing. The company aimed to have many stores across mainland China.
Becoming a Global Fashion Brand
Shiatzy Chen gained international attention. In 2004, the Financial Times newspaper in London listed it as a popular brand. The Wall Street Journal Asia also called it the most popular fashion brand in Taiwan.
In 2007, Shiatzy Chen opened a second large factory in Shanghai. This factory was designed to hold over 1,000 employees, including skilled dressmakers and embroiderers. The company also started selling accessories and even furniture in its main stores in Taipei, Shanghai, and Paris.
On October 5, 2008, Shiatzy Chen showed its designs at Paris Fashion Week for the first time. This was a big step, making them only the second Taiwanese design house to officially present there. They continued to show their collections in Paris in the years that followed. In 2009, the company became a member of a special French fashion group called the Chambre syndicale du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode.
In 2010, Shiatzy Chen held a huge exhibition of 100 flower-themed dresses at the Taipei International Flora Exposition. This show featured the longest catwalk ever seen in Taiwan's fashion history. Also in 2010, Shiatzy Chen partnered with Cha Cha Thé, a tea culture brand. They opened a special sales area in the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris. By 2011, the company's sales were around US$60 million.
In 2017, the company opened another boutique on Avenue Montaigne in Paris. This was important because it was the first Asian brand to have a store on that famous street. In August 2018, Shiatzy Chen worked with Disney to create a special collection of clothes.
In October 2020, the brand launched a sporty spring collection. This collection was inspired by the story of the female warrior Hua Mulan. For this collection, Madame Wang tried new things like embroidering on cotton and using fresh fabrics such as gingham.
Who Wears Shiatzy Chen?
Shiatzy Chen is one of the few fashion labels from Taiwan that has customers all over the world. These customers include important people like the former President of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou. Many Taiwanese celebrities also wear their designs, such as Dee Shu, Patty Hou, Wang Leehom, and Aska Yang. Famous businesswomen like Pansy Ho and Shaw-Lan Wang also choose Shiatzy Chen. Even British celebrities like Elizabeth Hurley and Victoria Beckham have worn their clothes. Taiwan remains the company's main source of income.
Special Exhibitions
- The Evergreen Classic – Transformation of the Qipao - Hong Kong Museum of History (June 23 to September 13, 2010). Some of Shiatzy Chen's designs, which were inspired by the traditional Chinese qipao dress, were shown in this exhibition.
See also
- List of companies of Taiwan
- Yupeng Shih
