Milan looks East: Chinese fashion takes centre stage for traditional craftwork
Brocade carries centuries of Chinese history, woven with patterns that have long held meanings beyond decoration. Now, the traditional craft is finding a new expression on the Milan catwalk, as designers reinterpret the fabric for a contemporary audience.
There's been a lingering sense of a tide turning since Chinese brand ZHONGFANG.LIJIN unveiled its Brocade Reborn collection for spring/summer 2027 at Milan Fashion Week.
Its starting point was “Jin Mai” (锦脉), the living veins of brocade. The term refers to the warp and weft of the fabric, but also to the continuity of a tradition that evolves with each new generation.
A fashon industry veteran for more than 20-years, He Rong, founder and creative director of ZHONGFANG.LIJIN, is the beating heart of the collection. As a textile engineer, his practice centres on silk and intricately woven brocades, exploring how these traditional textiles can find a place in contemporary design.
In Brocade Reborn, nature takes centre stage. Mulberry leaves, silkworms curled inside their cocoons and butterflies emerge as flowing lines, tactile textures and sculptural silhouettes. Brocade is transformed through pleats, intricate motifs and layered details, bringing a centuries-old craft into a distinctly contemporary wardrobe.
The colour story is equally rooted in Chinese culture. Tianshui Bi evokes the tones of water and sky, Taoyao the delicate pink of peach blossom, Mihe a warm honey hue, Yuebai the soft white of moonlight, and Dailan a deep indigo. Together, the palette draws on Eastern aesthetics and the philosophy of the five elements, Wu Xing.
The Milan presentation was He Rong’s first in the city, organised with the support of Haining China Home Textile City, one of China’s major textile industry hubs. More than a showcase of craftsmanship, it placed traditional Chinese textile techniques within the international fashion conversation, showing how heritage can be reworked for a contemporary runway.
From brocade to the everyday wardrobe
That dialogue between heritage and contemporary fashion continued with the second Chinese label at this year’s Milan Fashion Week. CHEN.1988 presented its “Insieme con Amore” spring/summer 2027 collection last month at Castello Sforzesco, marking a decade of the brand’s creative journey and its evolving approach to everyday dressing.
While ZHONGFANG.LIJIN starts with the story woven into the fabric itself, CHEN.1988 looks to the way clothes are worn today. The collection experiments with asymmetrical cuts, fluid draping, pleats, suede, corduroy and checks. Fitted silhouettes are balanced by looser, more relaxed shapes, while a restrained palette of black, grey, beige and burgundy is enlivened with flashes of green and navy.
Menswear and unisex pieces also take centre stage. The boundaries between womenswear and menswear are increasingly fluid, with the collection focusing less on fixed categories and more on creating clothes that adapt to the person wearing them.
This idea is at the heart of “Daily Attitude”, the phrase CHEN.1988 uses to define its approach to fashion. Rather than saving clothes for special occasions, the collection brings fashion into the rhythm of everyday life, turning versatile pieces into a canvas for personal style and self-expression.
CHEN.1988 was founded in 2016 by designers Chen Long and Fu Zhichen, both affiliated with the Jiangxi Institute of Fashion Technology. In 2025, Chen Long received the 29th China Fashion Designer“Golden Top Award”, one of the country’s most prestigious honours for fashion designers. The Milan show marked another step in the brand’s efforts to establish itself on the Italian fashion scene.
Chinese fashion seeks its own language
The two collections approach Chinese fashion from very different directions. One draws on the richness of traditional brocade and silk, while the other starts with the rhythms of the modern wardrobe. Yet both share the same ambition: to move Chinese fashion forward without turning away from its roots, while refusing to let heritage define its entire identity.
Milan has become a stage for Chinese designers to show more than traditional craftsmanship.Their collections demonstrate how heritage techniques can be reworked, reshaped and woven into contemporary fashion while remaining connected to their origins.
