6 unexpected Chinese brands that ventured into fashion

Photo: @999感冒灵/Weibo

From cold medicine to chilli sauce, we look at the growing trend of fashion as branding

Collaborations between fashion brands aren’t unusual, however when a brand that has nothing to do with fashion says it’s going into the clothing business, it tends to raise a few eyebrows.

This spring, a well-known Chinese cold medicine by the name of 999 announced its first sartorial endeavour through Weibo, revealing sketches of stretchy, sleeveless 999-branded jumpsuits printed with phrases like ‘never-cold teenager’ (不凉少年) and ‘health-conscious punk’ (养生朋克). One piece from the ‘collection’ called Chuanjiu Baolin (穿久保灵) is a play on the Chinese pronunciation of Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, whose brand Comme des Garçons is popular throughout China.

Since February, there haven’t been any other follow-ups and the jumpsuits are nowhere to be found in retail, making the whole thing seem like a big PR bluff from 999. That being said, this isn’t the first time a Chinese brand with little association to fashion has tried to break into the scene.

Photo: @新华日报/Weibo

During last year's China Day at New York Fashion Week (NYFW), the clear standout at a pop-up shop event organised by T-Mall was a hoodie printed with Laoganma logos, a ubiquitous chilli sauce that produces 1.3 million bottles daily. The pop-up also sold sweatshirts printed with labels of pain-relief cream Yunnan Baiyao. Both guohuo brands received a barrage of positive feedback on social media after the stunt.

The following spring at NYFW, more unexpected Chinese brands appeared at pop-ups and on runways as part of China Day. Tsingtao worked with Chinese fashion brand NPC to create a streetwear collection called One Hundred Years of Chinese Trends (百年国潮), and Harbin Beer collaborated with athletic-wear brand PONY, showcasing a futuristic winter look.

Photo: @李宁官方微博/Weibo

Another very unexpected (but affordable) collab is between sportswear brand LI-NING, by the retired gymnast of the same name, and domestic luxury car brand Hongqi, famously favoured by Chinese leaders such as Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. The collab sees a Hongqi car emblazoned on the backs of the LI-NING hoodies with the characters for ‘Made in China’.

Fun way to stir up nostalgia or pure marketing gimmick? Wherever you stand, using fashion to reach out to younger Chinese consumers seems to be working.

For the best places to go shopping (for any brand) in Beijing, hit 'Read more' below. 

You might have missed

More from Time Out Beijing

Stay up to date in Beijing