Shanghai Tang

If you want luxury with a distinctly Chinese point of view rather than quiet European minimalism, Shanghai Tang is exactly that. Founded in 1994 as a label set out to rejuvenate Chinese fashion of the 1920s and 1930s, it trades on character, colour and heritage. Think of it as buying into a story as much as a garment.

It began life as a fashion house for custom high-end tailoring, originally employing tailors from Shanghai who had left during the Communist Revolution, so craftsmanship is in its DNA. The house is also known today for its luxury homeware collection and fine bone china. That tailoring heritage is the quality signal to look for.

Its signature is the modern cheongsam, or qipao. The fundamental design concept is inspired by the 1920s cheongsam combined with the modernity of the 21st century, and the house is noted for weaving Chinese culture and heritage through its product styling, branding and marketing. Maggie Cheung's qipao in Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love was a Shanghai Tang signature piece.

The Chinese name Shànghǎi Tān (上海灘) literally means Shanghai beach, a reference to the Shanghai Bund and, by extension, Shanghai itself. The name captures founder David Tang's ambition to bottle the glamour of old Shanghai for a modern audience.

It was founded in 1994 by Hong Kong businessman David Tang. He wanted to create a global brand that represented China, famously saying that as Coca-Cola is American, as Mercedes is German, I think there should be something that is quintessentially Chinese. The first flagship opened on the ground floor of the Pedder Building in Central, Hong Kong.

Ownership has changed hands several times. Richemont bought a controlling stake in 1998, then sold the house in July 2017 to Italian entrepreneur Alessandro Bastagli and the Hong Kong fund Cassia Investments, before Chinese private equity firm Lunar Capital acquired it in December 2018. From 2020 it became a core brand of the UTAN Group.

It is a Hong Kong luxury fashion house, now dual-headquartered in Shanghai and Hong Kong. As of 2023 there are three stores across Hong Kong plus locations in Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and other Asian cities, alongside a string of Shanghai Tang cafes and restaurants in China.

It deliberately evolved. When Raphael le Masne de Chermont became CEO in 2001 and Joanne Ooi joined as creative director, they shifted the brand from a literal 1930s-Shanghai look into a more contemporary style, while keeping the vibrant colours that had always defined it. The aim was to make it something mainland Chinese customers wanted to buy, not just tourists visiting Hong Kong.

It is one of Shanghai Tang's more charming heritage projects. Created in 2007 as part of the brand's focus on the Chinese market, it is an invitation-only club that promotes the mandarin-collar shirt as standard work attire in Asia, a neat example of how the house champions Chinese dress codes rather than just selling clothes.

Yes, art collaboration is part of its modern identity. For its silver jubilee in 2019 it worked with Chinese artist Xu Bing on calligraphic artwork inspired by the house's vision, and from 2023 its homeware and lifestyle lines have grown through new collections made with leading Chinese contemporary artists.

Start with what the house does best: a contemporary cheongsam, the silhouette built on its 1920s-and-1930s heritage and the piece that put it on screen via In the Mood for Love. If clothing feels like a big first step, its celebrated homeware and fine bone china offer the same Chinese-chic character in a more giftable form.