PEOPLE | FEATURE
BABYGHOST
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Left: Qiaoran Huang Right: Joshua Hupper Courtesy of BABYGHOST
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Five years ago, Chinese-born Qiaoran Huang and American designer, Joshua Hupper founded this playful streetwear brand on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, with a mixed style influenced by downtown lifestyle and traditional Chinese culture.
After graduating from Donghua University, China, Huang went to Parsons for further education and met Hupper when she interned for Diane von Furstenberg. They have conceived the idea of forming a design brand after a year working together for another label, Nathan Jenden. “We dreamed to be fashion designers when we were young” said Huang, “ After some period of training, we think it’s time for us to establish our own brand”.
Five years ago, Chinese-born Qiaoran Huang and American designer, Joshua Hupper founded this playful streetwear brand on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, with a mixed style influenced by downtown lifestyle and traditional Chinese culture.
After graduating from Donghua University, China, Huang went to Parsons for further education and met Hupper when she interned for Diane von Furstenberg. They have conceived the idea of forming a design brand after a year working together for another label, Nathan Jenden. “We dreamed to be fashion designers when we were young” said Huang, “ After some period of training, we think it’s time for us to establish our own brand”.
BABYGHOST AD Campaign Courtesy of BABYGHOST
For Fall 2016, they drew inspiration from the artistic installation" Open Your Eyes" created by French artist Kader Attia. "We saw it when we visited the M Woods Museum in Beijing," said Hupper. "We were fascinated by the concept of repairing, reconstructing and putting things back into shape, which the artist expressed. So we looked more into it and discovered an old Chinese tradition called Jin Sha-using gold to glue the broken pieces and making it an even prettier than before".
For Fall 2016, they drew inspiration from the artistic installation" Open Your Eyes" created by French artist Kader Attia. "We saw it when we visited the M Woods Museum in Beijing," said Hupper. "We were fascinated by the concept of repairing, reconstructing and putting things back into shape, which the artist expressed. So we looked more into it and discovered an old Chinese tradition called Jin Sha-using gold to glue the broken pieces and making it an even prettier than before".
"Open your eyes" by Kader Attia
So, they deconstructed some patterns and fabrics from previous collections and reconstructed them in a new way. Each dress consists of different shaped pieces of lace and devore satin. A special machine was used to glue the pieces with a rubbery type substance intended for sportswear. They also created some oversized outerwear using the same concept and technology. The layered look paired with combat boots not only recalls the 1990’s grunge style, but also represents BABYGHOST’s cool and edgy aesthetic. |
BABYGHOST Fall 2016 RTW Collection Photo: Monica Feudi / Courtesy of Babyghost
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The models, who wore those layered outfits in dark colors, stood in between white floral crosses and sanctuary candles, giving a dark twisted romantic feeling. “There are not so many members in our team that means we have to do a lot of things ourselves,” said Huang. Hupper and Huang styled this season’s looks by themselves and decided which model wearing which garment and accessory.
Courtesy of BABYGHOST
Chinese supermodels Xiaowen Ju and famous fashion blogger Susie Lau attended the show. “ We are supported by numerous Chinese models, which helped us crack the China Market and attract the attention from the global fashion industry,” said Huang.
Chinese supermodels Xiaowen Ju and famous fashion blogger Susie Lau attended the show. “ We are supported by numerous Chinese models, which helped us crack the China Market and attract the attention from the global fashion industry,” said Huang.
Courtesy of BABYGHOST
Ju is one of the hottest Chinese models of the moment and the new face of L’Oréal Paris. As the muse and long time close friend of two designers, Ju seems like a walking endorsement for BABYGHOST. She is often seen in the brand’s clothes, especially during the fashion weeks.
Ju is one of the hottest Chinese models of the moment and the new face of L’Oréal Paris. As the muse and long time close friend of two designers, Ju seems like a walking endorsement for BABYGHOST. She is often seen in the brand’s clothes, especially during the fashion weeks.
Other famous Chinese supermodels like Liu Wen, Ming Xi and Bonnie Chen are spotted in street-style photography wearing BABYGHOST. “They are social media influencers. People have interests knowing what they are wearing. The target customers of our brand are the young generation. Social media is the most effective way to get them. In the U.S, we focus on Instagram. There are not only fashion-related contents, but also funny and inspirational pictures and videos we really want to share on our Instagram account. Instagram is blocked in China, so we use Wechat and Weibo (Two biggest mainstream social media platforms) to communicate with Chinese customers,” said Huang. Since 2010, BABYGHOST has been selling their collections on the largest China E-commerce platform, Alibaba. “ We decided to take online platform as the primary channel to sell our products when we started this brand,” said Huang. “Thinking about the young generation, online shopping is becoming the most important part of their life. Online retail is definitely the future of the industry.” |
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BABYGHOST is now based on both New York and Shanghai, which need these two designers to travel round and split time between two cities. China is the brand’s major market for sales. Their collections can be easily found in the big department stores, small boutiques as well as some online retail platforms in China. Unfortunately, they don’t cooperate with any international retail channels. For those who live outside of China, it’s much more complicated and expensive to purchase from BABYGHOST. “We want to build our brand in both markets, China and America,” said Huang. “Presenting at the MADE Fashion Week is our first step to be noticed by American fashion industry and customers. We are still working on building up sales channels with global retailers. I believe that it won't be long before people from all over the world will shop our collections as convenient as living in China.”