An interview with Didier Grumbach, president of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in France

The host (L) and Didier Grumbach (R)

Related story: China's influence on style is becoming global, says French fashion maven

Host: Honorable president, how many times have you been to China? You've probably had quite a lot of contact with Chinese culture, yes?

Didier Grumbach: It's a hard to say how many times I've been here. I've come to China almost every year since 1991 -- sometimes even three or four times a year. My first time to China was a visit to Xi'an.

Host: What kind of impressions did those early visits give you?

Didier Grumbach: At that time, China resembled today's North African countries, with neon lights illuminating shop windows. Take Beijing, a metropolis and China's capital city, for example. It didn't have a unified identity but instead consisted of many different styles. There were lots of ancient buildings in older parts of the city and very few modern ones.

Host: How has Chinese fashion changed in the last few years? What have you found most interesting?

Didier Grumbach

Didier Grumbach: In a nutshell: China's fashion has gone from nothing to something. Fifteen years ago, style here was monotonous. Everybody looked the same. Today is different. It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman, old or young, everybody wants to reveal their personality in the way they dress. There's a sharp contrast with how things were before.

This reminds me of an unforgettable experience I had in Xi'an. It was my first time there and Xi'an's college students wanted to put on a fashion show. But nobody knew what a fashion show really was, let alone how to organize one. So, I asked them to view shows that I had recorded on video tape. Everyone was shocked – especially the boys.

Host: Every culture has its own source of inspiration when it comes to design, what's your perspective on China's extensive culture?

Didier Grumbach: Today, fashion is a global entity, no longer constrained by the boundaries between countries. I think it's safe to say that China is part of the worldwide fashion community, just as Japan is. And just as Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto have become global brands, I think China's influence is also becoming global. Let me emphasize this point: we can no longer talk about "French fashion," or "Chinese fashion," or "Indian fashion." We can really only talk about global fashion.

Host: More and more Chinese and overseas-Chinese designers are making a name for themselves worldwide. What do you think is special about this group?

Didier Grumbach: Many Chinese designers are working in France. At the institute of fashion in France where I am president, there are a lot of talented Chinese students. What's more, many Chinese labels, such as JEFEN and Exception, presented collections at Paris Fashion Week. Both of those labels were hits last year. I believe more and more Chinese designers will stand out in international fashion circles in the future.

Host: Chinese designers and their works are receiving increased acceptance worldwide. Are we able to say, then, that Chinese fashion has been assimilated into international fashion?

Didier Grumbach: I think it's better to talk about Chinese culture rather than Chinese fashion, since Chinese fashion has only a ten year history, more or less. But I think Chinese culture has had a far reaching impact. On art, but also on fashion, of course. As I mentioned just now, every time the international fashion community welcomes a new member, the community itself changes. Perhaps 20 years ago, we'd never think we'd be wearing clothes designed in Japan. Today we see this type of cultural amalgamation.

Host: The success of a design relies on its market. Chinese labels are now facing the challenge of distributing and marketing overseas. Do you think there's a market for Chinese labels? Take JEFEN, for example.

Didier Grumbach: Regardless of whether the labels are from China, Japan or the United States, if it's new then it all begins with marketing. For countries like China and the U.S., marketing starts locally. Both countries have had local success with their labels. In France, it's different because the local market is too small. French labels have to look internationally right away. When a Chinese label gets displayed in Paris, it has to be ready to compete globally and adapt to the global market. This takes time, but eventually success will come. Japanese labels went from being unknown in the 1950s to being known worldwide. I think Chinese labels can do the same.

Host: Although China has arrived a bit late to the fashion world, it's the world's largest exporter of raw material and labor. In this sense, China has participated in the world's fashion industry for a while now. What do you think of this change from "Made in China" to "Designed in China?"

Didier Grumbach :The clothing industry in China is well-facilitated and competitive. That is very good. But there's a lack of flexibility. The new Chinese labels mentioned just now are limited in what they can do. This is partly because of how China's economy is structured.