At the recently concluded Paris Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 2025, Chinese designers‘ fashion shows became an unmissable highlight.
On this globally significant fashion stage, Chinese designers adhered to their brands’ unique styles while showcasing bold innovation.
Some designers deconstructed traditional garment structures, creating pieces filled with a sense of dimensionality and dynamic beauty. Others used modern design techniques to reinterpret traditional Chinese cultural elements, giving new life to classic aesthetics. Some continued to advocate for sustainability, with their collections crafted from eco-friendly materials and existing stock fabrics.
In addition, the latest cross-industry collaborations from Chinese designers and brands were also unveiled during this fashion week.
Luxeplace.com has compiled a detailed review of the works from eight Chinese/Chinese-descent designer brands presented at Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2025. The article covers the inspiration behind their designs, new collections, fabrics, craftsmanship, and more.
These eight brands are: Caroline Hu, Dawei, Didu, RUIbuilt, Ruohan, Shiatzy Chen, Shuting Qiu, and Uma Wang (listed alphabetically).
Caroline Hu
Since her debut at Paris Fashion Week in September 2023, Caroline Hu has continuously showcased her works at the event. She excels at creating romantic and imaginative pieces through bespoke craftsmanship.
For the Spring/Summer 2025 collection, Caroline Hu presented voluminous, dramatic dresses. Some had oversized, flower-bud-shaped hems, while others featured skirts stiffened as if blown by the wind. Dresses with pillow-like silhouettes from her Spring/Summer 2024 collection reappeared this season in shades of red and dark blue.
The dresses were made from taffeta, printed silk organza, and stretch knits, adorned with floral and rose motifs, all of which were original designs by Caroline Hu. Additionally, she collaborated with French lace producer Sophie Hallette.
Caroline Hu also introduced two collaboration series: one with adidas Originals, marking their second partnership, featuring reimagined versions of adidas Originals’ SL72 and Superstar models, and another with Chinese phone case brand CASETiFY for a co-branded phone case collection.
The runway show featured live dance performances by Emma Portner and Léo Handtschoewercker.
Dawei
Designer Sun Dawei, a frequent participant at Paris Fashion Week, has long been based in the city.
For the Dawei Spring/Summer 2025 collection, Sun Dawei paid tribute to two iconic women: Madame Grès and Charlotte Perriand, both bearing the imprint of their times.
The show opened with trench coats in various colors and hooded jumpsuits in both long and short versions, all crafted from lightweight fabrics.
White functional fabrics were embossed with textures that created a three-dimensional effect.
Some dresses featured vertical or slanted pleats along one side, while the final pieces showcased long metallic dresses, including a romantic and elegant cross-tied gown.
Didu
Didu was founded by designer Du Di, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, known for its innovative and avant-garde designs.
For Spring/Summer 2025, Didu presented a collection titled “Sexy Sad I.” The concept was inspired by the captivating video art of Swedish artist Pipilotti Rist, whose exploration of sensuality and self-love deeply resonated with Du Di.
The collection continued the brand’s signature bold style, featuring cross-tied strap tops, leopard-print skirts paired with androgynous boots and hats, delivering a cool, edgy vibe.
The runway also showcased glamorous, sensual pieces like lace flare pants and sequined mermaid gowns.
The footwear collection included a collaboration with DAPHNE.LAB, the new avant-garde line from Daphne. The shoes were made from washed denim and distressed leather, combined with fresh shoe designs, aiming to evoke a nostalgic atmosphere.
With this collection, Du Di expressed, “This season, I want to invite people into a dreamy, nostalgic world where we can all momentarily escape from reality.”
RUIbuilt
RUIbuilt was founded by designer Zhou Rui in 2019, with her signature style of designs that feel like a second skin—lightweight and soft. Delicate, hollow-knit patterns are a hallmark of her work.
In the RUIbuilt Spring/Summer 2025 collection, Zhou Rui continued to explore the boundaries of the human body using soft fabrics and her signature cutout designs. The irregular cutout patterns appeared on the chest, back, or legs of models, offering a subtle and tantalizing sense of sensuality.
This collection also introduced more everyday wear items, including jeans, dresses with minimal cutouts, and a standout white wedding dress fastened together with buttons. The patterns on the jeans echoed the cutout shapes, serving as a way for Zhou Rui to maintain the brand’s DNA.
Ruohan
Ruohan’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection was unveiled at the Fondation Lafayette Anticipations in France.
Ruohan is a womenswear brand designed for everyday occasions, founded by Nie Ruohan in 2021. The brand entered the official Paris Fashion Week calendar starting with the Spring/Summer 2023 season and has since presented its collections annually at the event.
Founder Nie Ruohan’s experience working for the minimalist luxury brand The Row in the U.S. influenced the aesthetic of her eponymous brand, Ruohan.
The Spring/Summer 2025 collection explores the relationships between objects, structures, people, emotions, and sentiments.
The runway show featured 22 musicians spread across three floors. The first floor resonated with the crisp notes of marimbas and harps, the second with the rhythmic melodies of cellos, violas, and violins, and the third with performances on French horns, trumpets, and flutes, creating a layered musical symphony.
The collection featured 42 looks, continuing the brand’s minimalist design style. The color palette consisted of neutral shades, such as black, white, nude, sand, brown, gold, and dark/light blue, with almost no printed patterns.
The fabrics ranged from matte black-and-white knits to hand-pleated metallic linen, cotton-silk blends, and water-soluble cashmere, creating a symphony of textures.
Like the clothing, the bags were designed in solid colors with a focus on functionality, including large capacity crossbody and handheld bags, and handheld “moon” bags in various colors.
Shiatzy Chen
Chinese luxury fashion brand Shiatzy Chen continued to showcase its Spring/Summer 2025 collection at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
As the first Chinese member of the French Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, Shiatzy Chen debuted at Paris Fashion Week in 2008 and has consistently held fashion shows in Paris since then.
Shiatzy Chen’s designs often incorporate traditional Chinese cultural elements. The 2025 Spring/Summer collection is centered around the theme of “The Pen.” Founder and creative director Ms. Shiatzy Chen said, “From the nib springs not only blooms, it’s a symphony of sights, mountains, rivers, birds, and starry nights.”
The designs featured iris flowers shaped like pen shafts, conveying a world of floral language drawn with brushstrokes. Lightweight woolen fringes expressed the graceful and intricate strokes of a calligraphy brush.
The collection fused Eastern and Western elements, from Chinese-style dudou tops and diagonal-collar vests to Western-style pearl chain vests and cropped vest dresses, showcasing the blend of tradition and modernity, as well as vintage and contemporary styles.
Accessories were also inspired by the “pen” theme. Metallic heels mimicked the strokes of a pen, while accessories distilled pen tips and strokes into flowing necklines, asymmetric earrings, and waist chains, achieving a balance of elegance and fluidity.
A highlight of the collection was the “Paint Brush Jade Bracelet Handle” handbag, merging the elegance of jade bracelets with the flowing curves of brush strokes.
Shuting Qiu
A frequent presence at Milan Fashion Week, Chinese designer brand Shuting Qiu chose to present its collection at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris this season.
The theme of Shuting Qiu’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection was “Where Venus Walks,” inspired by the goddess Venus. Designer Shuting Qiu personally traveled to Cyprus, the birthplace of Venus, to draw inspiration from the mythology, costumes, architecture, totems, and mosaics, blending these elements with Shuting Qiu’s signature abstract 3D floral patterns.
The collection featured the brand’s iconic abstract floral designs: three-dimensional, exotic flowers, airy floral embroidery on tulle, vivid prints, and sequins and beads meticulously embroidered into patterns, adding luxurious and romantic touches to the garments.
This season, the brand also collaborated with artist Lu Xinjian, incorporating his signature abstract, vividly contrasting lines into the collection.
Additionally, the brand teamed up with UGG to create part of the footwear collection, infusing the shoes with vibrant new energy through colorful accents.
Supermodel Coco Rocha closed the show, wearing UGG’s platform mermaid boots paired with a dazzling gold short top and gold fringe skirt.
Continuing its commitment to sustainability, this collection used eco-friendly materials and surplus stock fabrics sourced globally. Intricate embroidery utilized sequins and yarns recycled from China and India. The designer also continued collaborating with embroiderers from her hometown of Hangzhou.
Uma Wang
Designer Uma Wang drew inspiration from the works of sculptor Constantin Brancusi on display at the Centre Pompidou in Paris for her namesake brand’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection.
Uma Wang created a series of dresses using pleated silk, waxed linen, and jacquard fabrics, embodying a sense of classical romance.
Asymmetrical shoulder designs ran through several looks, bringing a soft femininity to the collection. Ruffles were frequently used, either layered at the waist of dresses, cascading from one shoulder, or decorating the side of trousers.
The collection’s sculptural silhouettes reflected Uma Wang’s structured, sculptural aesthetic.
Uma Wang was one of the earliest Chinese designers to enter the official schedule of major international fashion weeks. Known for her expert tailoring and classical romantic design style, she has built a strong presence in both Chinese and international markets. Last year, she opened her first overseas store on Via Palermo in Milan.
| Image Credit: Provided by the brands and official brand channels
| Editor: Zhu Ruoyu
