Are you planning to visit China? Well, except for the food, living, and transportation, clothing is also a very important aspect you should consider when you’re visiting China. As we all know, with a thousand years of history, there is a unique clothing culture in China.
Just FYI, if you’re looking for a way to buy things from China, you can sign up for Superbuy, which is one of the most reliable Taobao agents in China, and then, you can buy whatever you want from Taobao at a nice bargain. Here’s a beginner guide for using Superbuy.
With the Chinese style apparel culture, lots of Chinese fashion brands have been built and some of them are quite successful. Curious about what are those brands looked like? Let me present you 13 Chinese clothing brands you must know!
(If you’re also curious about shoe brands in China, you certainly can go check this list of top Chinese shoe brands. )
1. Anta
| Website | http://ir.anta.com |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarter | Xiamen, China |
| Female / Male | Both |
When talking about sport apparel brands, Americans will proudly say they have Nike and the Chinese will confidently say we have Anta. Anta probably is the best sport and fashion apparel company in China nowadays.
Established in 1994, Anta Sports was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Anta obtained the opportunity to expand its business by being the major sportswear sponsor of the Chinese Olympics team. In 2009, Anta acquired Italian sportswear Fila’s China operations, gaining 600 Fila retail stores in China. In 2015, Golden State Warriors point guard Klay Thompson was signed with Anta, which is probably the most successful NBA player sponsorship in Chinese sports history.
Although lots Chinese are still relatively more fond of foreign sportswear brands, such as Nike, Adidas, and UA, they also have started to give credit to Chinese sportswear brands, like Anta and Lining, because of the quality improvement and design. After all, Klay Thompson has won three NBA championships with sneakers designed by Anta.
2. Li Ning
| Website | http://en.lining.com |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarter | Beijing, China |
| Female / Male | Both |
Another famous sportswear brand in China was founded by one of the greatest Chinese athletes Li Ning. In fact, Lining was more successful than Anta in the past but because of its improper management, its business was stagnant for years and still trying to recover nowadays.
Established in 1990 by the famous gymnast Li Ning, the sportswear brand Lining quickly created its own fame in China, consistently sponsoring various sports competitions. In 2004, Li Ning was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Unfortunately, because Lining was expanding too fast by obtaining too many franchisees, its quality control was seriously damaged by the broken supply chain management, causing heavy losses and gradually falling behind to other sportswear brands like Anta.
However, in the past few years, I can tell the sign that Li Ning shall rise again. Transforming from a pure sportswear brand, Li Ning started to get involved in the fashion industry by designing apparels with more fashion sense. In 2018, Li Ning was invited to join the New York fashion week and was displaying an original attitude and stylish influence of China Lining to the world with theme “悟道”, which gains lots of credits from western media.
3. JNBY
| Website | https://www.jnby.us |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarter | Hangzhou, China |
| Female / Male | Both |
JNBY is a Chinese leading designer brand fashion house. They design, promote, and sell contemporary apparel, footwear, and accessories as well as household products. I think JNBY is one of the most stylish fashion brands in China. Linen is the main fabric that JNBY used for its products and if you have the chance to visit the retail stores of JNBY, you will feel the whole product display is clean, simple, and comfortable.
Founded in 1994, JNBY quickly gained its reputation for its unique design and style. JNBY opened its first overseas retail store in Mosco in 2006 and then consecutively opened stores in other countries, including Japan, Singapore, Canada, Thailand, the USA, French, and so on. In 2016, JNBY was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Apparel designed by JNBY possessed a strong China sense but, at a certain point, you also can see the cleanness like Japanese style. I think it’s definitely one of the signatures of Chinese fashion brands and you should go have a check.
4. EP (Elegant Prosper)
| Website | http://www.elegant-prosper.com |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarter | Shenzhen, China |
| Female / Male | Female |
Has been developing for 30 years in China, EP is one of the oldest Chinese fashion brands. As we all know, the fashion business is very hard to keep competitive for a long period of time because fashion trend change so quickly and unpredictably. Sometimes one simple trend can build a powerful brand while also can destroy the brand. Therefore, there must be a reason for brands like EP can develop for this long time.
Established in 1988, EP was building its brand image and gradually exploring its unique business model. Including importing foreign capital and talent to enhance its product design, participating in China fashion week to target the high-end apparel market, opening stores in European countries, establishing more sub-brands to cover more customer segments, etc.
EP now is a more urban style brand, being popular among those office ladies. Perhaps nowadays younger generations are not very familiar with this brand, but it still got a very special place in many customers’ thoughts.
5. Ochirly
| Website | http://ochirly.trendy-global.com |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarter | Hong Kong, China |
| Female / Male | Both |
Its name in Chinese means “the charm of European fashion”. Obviously, Ochirly is a Chinese clothing brand that mainly focuses on offering Chinese consumers European-style fashion. After years of development, Ochirly has successfully established a reputation for its elegant and feminine dresses and everyday wear.
Thanks to its precise positioning of the target group and clearly design style of the brand, Ochirly quickly obtained a big group of loyal customers in the very beginning and gradually expanded its business bit by bit every year. Also, Ochirly is one of the brands that are willing to embrace modern technology. In a nowadays highly digitalized world, Ochirly has been starting to pay more attention to online channels, opening its own online store and cooperating with different market places.
From Ochirly, you not only can find the European style fashion that perfectly fits with Chinese customers but also can have a clear vision of how nowadays fashion business is being operated in a digital way.
6. UR (Urban Revivo)
| Website | https://urbanrevivo.com |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarter | Guangzhou, China |
| Female / Male | Both |
I’m sure you all know the success story of fast-fashion brands like ZARA, H&M, GAP, etc. which were extremely blossoming in China in the past few years. Many Chinese want to copy this successful business model and create Chinese own fast-fashion brands. URBAN REVIVO (UR) is one of them. In fact, it’s the leading one them. Some people might even call UR the “Chinese ZARA alternative”.
Established in 2006, UR opened its first retail store in Guangzhou. At the time, there were few customers in China heard about the “fast fashion” concept. UR seized this opportunity to correctly position itself and start the competition with foreign fast fashion brands like ZARA. Until 2011, UR had opened a total of 10 retail stores with 180 million RMB annual revenue. In 2016, UR had 150 stores in China and its annual revenue was up to 2 billion RMB.
UR is producing the very stylish apparels, unlike GAP or Uniqlo, positioning closer to fast fashion brands like ZARA and Mango. I can’t say the quality is high but, at least, it’s too bad. If you’re love visiting ZARA, I’m sure the apparels from UR will fit your preference.
7. MJ style
| Website | http://www.mjstyle.cn |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarter | Shanghai, China |
| Female / Male | Both |
Another Chinese fast fashion brand and different from UR. You can consider it the “Chinese H&M alternative” because the apparels there are so cheap! And you know what, pricing strategy is still working on the mass market of China. Because of that, the MJ style now becomes another rising power in the apparel industry of China.
Established in 2012, MJ style now has opened up to 500 stores in cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong. In 2018, MJ style owned its first oversea store in Japan. The furniture, decoration, and some other articles for daily use are also sold there, so I think MJ style can pretty much cover the main aspects of your daily life.
The quality is not its strength, but if you can accept the products of H&M, I think MJ style should be fit to your expectation. I have to say that the product design of MJ style actually is not bad. With the minimum budget, I’m sure you will be surprised.
8. HLA (Heilanhome)
| Website | http://www.hla.com.cn |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarter | Jiangyin, China |
| Female / Male | Both |
When we’re talking about fast-fashion brands, Uniqlo is always mentioned. In fact, Uniqlo can’t be considered a fashion brand because it’s mainly selling quality basic clothing without very few design elements. If you want to find a Chinese Uniqlo alternative, HLA definitely should be the one.
At the very beginning, HLA was only selling men-wears and become very successful in China because of its quality and affordable price. In 2002, HLA was listed on China Stock Exchange. During 2014 and 2015, HLA consecutively becomes the No.1 clothing brand in China, valuing ten billion RMB. Now HLA is also selling women’s products and still remained strong in competitiveness.
The clothing products of HLA are pretty quality although most of them are very basic. In the past, it’s hard to find an HLA store in Tier 1 cities in China because HLA was mainly targeting Tier 2 and Tier 3 market but now you can easily find it in the cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen.
9. Warrior
| Website | http://www.warriorshoes.com |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Headquarter | Shanghai, China |
| Female / Male | Both |
Warrior absolutely should be mentioned if you’re asking about Chinese brands. Let me put it this way, the Warrior’s shoes are pretty much the Chinese All-star shoe alternative, the Chinese Air-force shoe alternative. At least I’m so proud of this Chinese brand because it is one of the very few original Chinese brands and it can be treated as one of the most iconic products in China.
Founded in Shanghai in the 1930s, Warrior became a nationwide shoemaker in China from 60s to the early 80s. in the mid 80s foreign brands, like Nike, Adidas, became more popular but Warrior shoes still are seen as a classic product. Nowadays, Warrior gradually starts to export their shoe products to the west, selling along with Feiyue shoes in fashionable areas of Chinese cities.
Wearing a pair of Warrior shoes is basically becoming a way to experience Chinese culture, telling you a 90 years long story about China, about Chinese footwear history, about Chinese people.
10. PEACEBIRD
| Website | http://www.peacebird.com |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarter | Ningbo, China |
| Female / Male | Both |
The company launched more than 20 years ago selling affordable fashion in lower-tier cities. Gradually, Peacebird is placing bets on other higher-tier cities like Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing, trying to level up its brand image. The process has been working fine in recent years and consumers are giving credit to the Peacebird products, successfully earning a place in the hearts of Gen Z and millennial trendsetters.
Established in 1995 by Mr. Zhang Jiangping, Peacebird is positioning itself as a retail-oriented multi-brand fashion company, upholding its mission to “let everyone enjoy the fun of fashion” and helping customers to “live shining life”.
As a brand from Ningbo city of China, Peacebird also has aligned itself with high-street hipsters. Stylists are all more than willing to include Peacebird alongside the likes of Off-White. I’m sure if you’re one of the stylists that value genres such as chill-out, folk, modern rock, pop-rock, and post-Britpop, you should go visit the Peacebird store when you are in China.
11. K-Boxing
Feel free to visit: http://www.k-boxing.com
| Website | http://www.k-boxing.com |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Headquarter | Shanghai, China |
| Female / Male | Male |
The man leather jacket sold by King-boxing probably is not the best in China, but King-boxing definitely is the most famous leather brand in China. Even people like me who never wear leather clothing have heard of this brand name. I think the main reason is because of its brainwashed TV advertisement.
Established in 1980, K-boxing is a men-wear company which is mainly focusing on leather apparel. Its sales volume became the No.1 in the men-wear market of China in 2012 and continued its domination in the following years. Nowadays, K-boxing is one of the most valuable Chinese clothing brands and is recognized by Chinese customers.
K-boxing is undeniably an old brand. Maybe it’s not quite popular among those younger generations, but K-boxing has already obtained a lager amount of loyal customers from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in China. If you want to know how the leather apparel product in mass-market in China, you should go visit K-boxing, which I think it’s a representative one.
12. Bosideng
| Website | https://www.bosideng.com |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarter | Suzhou, China |
| Female / Male | Both |
This is a Chinese brand that has been eager to prove itself by expanding its business overseas for years. Bosideng is quite famous in China market, placing a high-end brand awareness and doing good business. At the very first, parts of Bosideng’s business is to supply down jackets to international brands such as Adidas. Later on, it decided to go out on its own, so Bosideng opened stores in New York and London in 2012.
Bosideng is one of the leading clothing brands in China, which focuses on high-standard production of men’s wear in detail of tailoring and fabrics. Lots of local Chinese value this brand because Bosideng always knows the taste of Chinese consumers. Even though in London, Bosideng’s customers are mainly London-based-Chinese, overseas students, or tourists.
I’m sure by visiting the Bosideng store, you will obtain more insight into what kind of fashion the Chinese are fond of, getting really know about the style of the Chinese.
13. Ellassay
| Website | https://www.ellassay.com |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarter | Shenzhen, China |
| Female / Male | Female |
As a Shenzhen local, I’m so proud to see various powerful companies rising in Shenzhen. Ellassay is one of those companies. It is a Chinese clothing brand that mainly focuses on designing female apparel products, using the most quality fabric, and hiring the most talented designers. Ellassay is pursuing a trendy and elegant style, being low-key and inspiring in life.
In 2013, Ellassay was invited to attend the New York fashion week and had a very successful debut in the international stage, obtaining lots of credit. In 2014, Ellassay participated New York fashion week again and launched a new season of fashion show called “The Graceful Artist”, impressing people again. In 2015, Ellassay was officially listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, becoming the very first public female apparel company in Shanghai Stock Exchange.
If you like modern and trendy styles, you should go check out this brand. It is very international and possesses a strong fashion sense.
People also ask
Why are clothes made in China?
From my point of view, Labor cost in China is still really low even though it’s higher nowadays compared to years ago. Also, China is known for its manufacturing capabilities.
On the B2B platform, you will find a large number of reliable Chinese clothing manufacturers to wholesale high-quality and high-quality clothing. I think that’s why despite there are many countries offering much lower labor costs, Clothing companies are still willing to manufacture in China.
Where do the Chinese buy their clothes?
Chinese nowadays are increasingly willing to buy their clothes through eCommerce. I wouldn’t say brick-and-mortar stores are dying in China but it’s really tough for those offline businesses, especially when we’re experiencing this pandemic.
Where in China are clothes made?
5 provinces in the eastern coastal region are account for 70% of China’s overall textile production, which are Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong.
Currently, China produces 65% of the world’s clothes and is the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter of textiles.
How do Chinese people dress in China?
You can check this Chinese fashion trends blog post to see how do Chinese people dress in China. I think as the development of the internet has been blossoming in the past decades, Chinese nowadays can easily obtain information from all over the world, which is also largely affecting the fashion trends in China.
