“I’ve dedicated my life to the textile and apparel industry; everything I have today is thanks to it. From a personal standpoint, I want to give back to this industry,” said Yin Guoxin, founder of Chengfeng Group Co., Ltd., in an exclusive interview with Luxe.co.
From October 8-15, the First Huqiao Fashion Innovation Conference took place at the Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park, located in the Huqiao Economic Development Zone in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. Organized by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles and guided by the Shanghai Fashion Week Committee, the event was hosted by the Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park.
Why did Chengfeng Group, a long-time apparel manufacturing powerhouse, invest RMB 600 million to build the 200-mu Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park? What fresh insights and innovative perspectives did the first Huqiao Fashion Innovation Conference bring to the fashion industry?
With these questions in mind, Luxe.co visited the Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park during this season’s Shanghai Fashion Week to conduct an exclusive interview with Yin Guoxin.
Pictured Above: Yin Guoxin, Founder of Chengfeng Group Co., Ltd.
The Huqiao Fashion Innovation Conference: “Connecting the Entire Industry”
Dressed in a crisp white shirt and black trousers, Yin Guoxin exuded the understated pragmatism and decisiveness typical of the first generation of entrepreneurs following China’s Reform and Opening Up era. Reflecting on the conference, he shared with a smile, “It’s an honor. In just two days, from October 9-10, we hosted over 700 textile and apparel brand owners, retailers, manufacturers, and industry experts across the supply chain.”
Yin noted, “We’ve been thinking about how to improve the supply chain to better serve the entire industry. It’s not just about independent designers; this conference brought together all facets of the industry, fostering exchange and collaboration within the sector while providing a platform for trade and business. Whether it’s a brand or a retailer, without a robust supply chain and quality products, it’s impossible to meet consumer demands. With our platform—the Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park—we can lead the way in providing services to everyone.”
The Huqiao Fashion Innovation Conference included industry seminars, ordering events, exhibitions, fashion shows, roundtable forums, and other activities. Highlights included the 2024 Global Textile and Apparel Strategy Summit and the China Textile Chamber of Commerce International Supply Chain Committee Inauguration, the 2024 International Textile and Apparel Supply Chain Innovation Product Showcase, the Zhuse Fashion Exchange and the notSHOWROOM 2025 Spring/Summer Ordering Event.
For the first time, notSHOWROOM—an investment of Chengfeng Group—relocated its ordering event from Shanghai to the Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park.
Zhang Ying, founder of notSHOWROOM, shared, “It was a big decision to move here, but in the end, there were no doubts; we were just too busy to keep up.”
notSHOWROOM introduced nearly 40 fashion, accessory, and lifestyle brands showcasing their latest collections, including Swaying/Knit, renowned for knitwear, and SAMUEL GUÌ YANG, which merges Eastern aesthetics. During the ordering event, the “Zhuse Exchange XCOMMONS TALK” relaunched and upgraded, with guests engaging in lively discussions on themes like “New Creations,” “New Brands,” and “New Retail.”
In addition to Chinese brands, the event also attracted international names. Christine Lek, founder of the sustainable Vietnamese fashion brand KHAAR, told Kunshan TV News: “We hope to establish stronger connections with Chinese brands and gain deeper insights into the Chinese market. Additionally, we’re interested in learning from Chinese designers and fostering mutual exchanges. Through this opportunity, we also hope to open the Chinese market to Vietnamese brands.”
12 Years of Dedication: Building the Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park
Located in Huqiao, Kunshan, near Shanghai, the Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park spans 200 mu, with a total investment of RMB 600 million.
The park currently hosts nearly 150 fashion-related companies and institutions, including top domestic universities like Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and the College of Fashion and Art Design at Donghua University. Additionally, it has attracted 85 independent design teams, nearly 300 designers, 38 brand e-commerce livestream studios, and has incubated over 30 emerging fashion brands, such as Fei Mo Yi Mo and TOMMY ZHONG.
Yin Guoxin emphasized, “We are committed to supporting all talents in the supply chain who need assistance. This is our core mission. Every talent is welcome to leverage this platform.”
Today, the Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park offers a comprehensive, full-supply-chain service platform, encompassing everything from prototyping, production, and design to product promotion and sales. The park includes a Fabric and Accessories Center, a Technology Center, a Sampling Center, and a Production Center, all of which provide essential support.
In 2022, the park achieved revenues of RMB 1 billion, and in 2023, this figure exceeded RMB 1.6 billion.
Garment Workshop in Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park
Yin Guoxin shared with Luxe.co that the vision for building this platform dates back to 2012.
– Integration of Industry and Education: Training Future Fashion Industry Talent
“By 2012, Chengfeng Group had essentially completed its learning phase and felt ready to embark on independent innovation and creation. Talent is critical to innovation, yet at that time, graduates were often equated with talent, and many university graduates lacked practical skills. So, we decided to establish a hands-on training base to nurture students’ practical skills while still in school,” Yin explained.
In this context, Chengfeng Group collaborated with Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and Donghua University to establish the “Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology Chengfeng Fashion Industry College” and the “Donghua University Fashion and Art Design College Chengfeng Fashion Industry Practice College” within the industrial park. These institutions primarily focus on cultivating practical skills in design, research and development, and retail for students.
Furthermore, Chengfeng Group’s production bases in Changshu and Jintan offer numerous internship opportunities for students, allowing them to learn about the fabric and accessory development and production processes, gaining rapid growth through hands-on practice.
– Supporting the Growth of Chinese Designers
China’s fashion industry requires outstanding designers to drive its development.
Reflecting on 2012, Yin said, “By that time, China’s textile and apparel industry had already established a strong global presence. It was time to shift from developing the textile industry to advancing the fashion industry. Entering the fashion sector, I realized designers are indispensable; without talented and influential Chinese designers, it would be challenging for China to establish its own fashion industry on the world stage.”
With this vision, Yin began to focus on supporting the growth of local designers by providing them with platforms, resources, and supply chain connections. Renowned designers like Feng Chen Wang and Chen Peng have received supply chain support within the Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park.
Pictured Above: Feng Chen Wang Spring/Summer 2025
In 2013, Chengfeng Group co-founded the fashion brand “COMME MOI” with supermodel Lv Yan. In an interview with Luxe.co, Lv Yan mentioned, “We are responsible for product design and marketing, hand-selecting imported fabrics, while Chengfeng handles production. With their solid backing, I feel at ease.”
Today, COMME MOI has achieved significant commercial success. Since opening its first physical store in 2015, it has expanded to around 30 locations, including Beijing’s Taikoo Li Sanlitun, Shanghai’s Grand Gateway 66, Shenzhen’s MixC, and Chengdu’s IFS. At the Spring/Summer 2025 Shanghai Fashion Week, COMME MOI had the honor of opening the event.
In July this year, the Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park became the first partner company of China Li Ning’s “Chuang” Designer Platform, showcasing designs by Ding Jie, Senior Ready-to-Wear Shuhui, and designer brand KEH FORME. They presented the inaugural collection for “Chuang,” which debuted at Chengfeng Group’s Shanghai avant-garde concept store, XC273.
However, Yin also acknowledged the challenges faced by Chinese designers today.
On one hand, the uncertainty of the global economic environment adds pressure to the survival of Chinese designer brands. On the other, rising consumer fashion awareness demands even greater design proficiency from designers.
“At the 2016 Luxe.CO Fashion Innovation and Investment Forum, I mentioned that independent designers first need to have a clear vision of their positioning. Don’t waste your strengths or core competitiveness lightly; think carefully about your goals—whether to build a brand, become a master designer, or aim to be a celebrity. If your goal is to create a brand or become a design master, I can honestly say we have always been supportive of such designers. But if you want to be a star, I can’t help, as that’s not my area. Designers need to reflect on this foundation. Once they’re clear, I believe they have a future, as life always has its upward path.”
Pictured Above: Fabric and Accessories Center in Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park
Three Slogans Over 35 Years: How Chengfeng Group Builds “Core Competitiveness”
Yin Guoxin believes that while China has many talented businesspeople, true entrepreneurs are relatively rare. He asserts that building core competitiveness is the key to distinguishing between a businessperson and an entrepreneur. “Businesspeople focus on maximizing profits through business models, while entrepreneurs succeed by developing their core strengths. In the apparel industry, for instance, a strong design team, R&D team, or operations management team exemplifies core competitiveness,” he said.
Yin emphasized, “I have always considered employees as creators, not costs. When you view employees as creators, you think about how their contributions can enhance the company’s competitiveness rather than seeing them as a cost to minimize. This is a perspective I have upheld for over 30 years.”
The development trajectory of Chengfeng Group reflects Yin’s ongoing strategic thinking about building a company’s core strengths.
In 1989, a year after Yin became the director of Jintan County Silk Garment Factory (later renamed Jiangsu Chengfeng Silk Company), he introduced the slogan: “Become the most competitive garment sewing factory.” At that time, the factory required clients to provide both blueprints and technical documents, with its only task being the sewing of garments.
As the company evolved, Yin adopted a new slogan: “Become the most competitive production supply chain.” This shift meant that clients only needed to supply a size and a photo, and Chengfeng could handle the rest.
Today, Chengfeng Group has developed a comprehensive apparel industry supply chain within China and has established a new objective: “Strive to be the most competitive textile and apparel supply chain in China.”
Yin commented, “I hope we can make each link in this supply chain highly competitive. We don’t claim to outperform everyone, but we are committed to making each link as competitive as anyone else’s.”
As the global textile and apparel supply chain continues to evolve, how to maintain China’s competitiveness in this industry remains a crucial question for many industry experts.
On October 9, at the Huqiao Fashion Innovation Conference, the International Supply Chain Committee of the China Textile Chamber of Commerce was officially established, with Yin Guoxin serving as its first rotating chairman.
Discussing his current priorities, Yin expressed his desire to unite like-minded partners at the supply chain level to enhance the industry’s global competitiveness.
About Chengfeng Group
Starting with silk garment manufacturing, Chengfeng Group Co., Ltd. has adhered to a development strategy centered on “corporate group structure, large-scale production, internationalized operations, and integration of industry, academia, and research.” With decades of dedication to the apparel industry, the company now operates five garment production bases in Jintan, Kunshan, Suqian, Sihong, and Siyang; two linen and cotton textile production bases in Changshu and Suqian; and two accessory factories in Shetou and Xuwen. The company’s products cover all apparel categories except formal suits and are mainly exported to Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy. Chengfeng Group is a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and a core supplier to UNIQLO, a partnership spanning over 30 years.
About Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park
Adjacent to Shanghai, the Chengfeng Fashion Creative Industrial Park was established by Huqiao Economic Development Zone and Chengfeng Group in collaboration with the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, Donghua University, and other prominent industry associations and leading universities. With a focus on the cutting edge of fashion, the park leverages abundant resources in the Yangtze River Delta and leading international supply chain enterprises to create an innovation-driven economic model. The park integrates talent development, independent designer studios, design and R&D centers, and brand trade platforms.
About the International Supply Chain Committee
Under the guidance of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles, the International Supply Chain Committee is a non-profit, non-entity platform for exchange and collaboration. It was voluntarily initiated and joined by Chinese and overseas textile and apparel supply chain enterprises, industry clusters, foreign trade bases, professional institutions, related organizations, and experts.
About notSHOWROOM
Established in 2016, notSHOWROOM is a brand sales management consultancy under XCOMMONS. With years of experience in the Chinese market and localized marketing strategies, notSHOWROOM customizes business strategies for both domestic and international designer brands. It helps brands expand and deeply connect with retail channels across different cities, enhancing their influence in the Chinese market.
｜ Image Credit: Chengfeng Group, notSHOWROOM, official brand channels
｜ Editor: LeZhi
