Jean-Loup Rebours of Faxion PR: “There is a real need to re-evaluate Chinese fashion in France"

China is a country of consumers, not creators. This is the prejudice that Jean-Loup Rebours, director of the press and influencer communications agency Faxion PR, has chosen to deconstruct by launching a new wave of Chinese designers in Paris.

Why have you specialised in Chinese brands?

We have a huge advantage in France: Paris remains the global benchmark for fashion. Chinese brands, like many others, therefore want to benefit from the prestige that a presence in Paris offers. The objective is not always to sell in Europe. From a commercial point of view, the European market seems quite closed to newcomers for the moment. However, a Parisian presence can also serve as leverage to fuel the brands' development in their domestic market.

On the French side, we also need to open up to new designers who have been sidelined until now if we want to maintain our position as leaders in the fashion industry. At Faxion, we believe that Chinese designers deserve a place in Paris that has long been inaccessible to them. There is a mutual benefit, a win-win situation.

We still have many prejudices about this country, particularly that 'Made in China' is a promise of poor quality and that they do not create, but copy. Someone (whose name I will not mention) even told me one day: “Be careful, China is not a country of creators, but a country of consumers”. This is obviously false. It confirmed to me that there was a real need to re-evaluate Chinese fashion in France.

What does your work consist of?

We help international brands position themselves in the Parisian press market to support their development. Being represented by a public relations agency in Paris gives brands the opportunity to access a huge network of stylists and journalists, not only from France but also from Europe and the US.

This can be for international development purposes, as Paris is often the first step for many brands looking to export, or to solidify the brand's image in its domestic market. We therefore exhibit the collections of the designers we represent in our showroom in Paris, where we present them to our network of media partners.

Where do you source the brands you present in Paris?

I mainly source during Shanghai Fashion Week, in showrooms like Tube Showroom, Not Showroom or Lab Showroom. I also do a lot of research on Xiaohongshu — Red Book, the Chinese Instagram.

Finally, I rely on my network and relationships — what is known as 'guanxi' — where people I know introduce me to other interesting players. This then generates word-of-mouth referrals, which are much more effective than 'cold' prospecting.

What are your selection criteria?

I love discovering brands that highlight the immense diversity of Chinese craftsmanship, whether in materials, vegetable dyes (sometimes with medicinal herbs), silverwork or ceramics.

I also place great importance on working with brands that re-evaluate 'Made in China'. This sometimes challenges Parisian mindsets, who are surprised to discover clothes of extraordinary quality that are “yet” entirely made in China.

In terms of design, I find that the Chinese touch is increasingly standing out in the finesse of the cuts, the subtlety of the silhouettes and the creativity of the prints. Chinese factories offer a production flexibility that is sometimes difficult to find in Europe. This allows them to faithfully support the most creative ideas of the new wave of Chinese creators.

What about the working conditions there?

For now, we do not collaborate with mass-market brands, but mainly with emerging labels that often engage in local production and promote the craftsmanship of Chinese minorities, such as the Miao, for example.

This social question has not really arisen for the moment, because by choice we have not wished to work with brands collaborating with factories where there could potentially be humanitarian problems. That said, this question also arises with European brands: look at Zara and Bangladesh, among a thousand other examples. It is not a problem specific to China.

Can you give us some examples of brands you have launched on the Parisian scene?

There is Ruohan (an Andam 2024 competition finalist, editor's note), a brand we no longer collaborate with today but which I deeply respect. We worked with them from their first steps in Paris until they became a benchmark brand today. For me, it is the spearhead of the new wave of Chinese creators abroad: a unique silhouette, extremely advanced work with materials, all fuelled by an extraordinary artistic and philosophical reflection. A visual minimalism, but an intellectual maximalism.

I also greatly admire the work of Her Senses, a Chinese lingerie brand based in Shanghai and founded by Sarah Han. Everything is made in China with high-quality Chinese materials. Han has succeeded in creating a sexy lingerie brand without it being tacky (vulgar in French, editor's note), with a particularly refined design. We have dressed Demi Lovato, FKA Twigs, Chappell Roan and Kylie Jenner in their pieces, and they are now fans of the brand. On the commercial side, Her Senses is represented by the Vòis showroom in Paris, as it wishes to develop its international sales.

These are just a few examples, but I could also mention the shoe brand Empty Behavior, or the ready-to-wear brands Peng Tai, Piacevole e, Erdos and Chen Sifan (to name but a few), which we support in the Parisian market and which, in my opinion, embody the finesse of Chinese design.

What are the differences between dressing habits in China and France?

I find there is a real freedom in dressing in China, especially in Shanghai and Chengdu. You can feel a real taste for fashion on the streets, a desire to experiment. This is obviously not the case everywhere, as China is very vast. When you leave Paris, you realise how restricted we sometimes are in the way we dress. As soon as you stand out a little, it is perceived negatively.

I also find that the Parisian shows of Western brands are becoming more and more normative and commercial. In Shanghai, at the Shushu/Tong show for example, I really rediscovered the pleasure of watching a fashion show.

Is Paris's position as the fashion capital challenged by Shanghai?

I do not believe it is at the moment. On the one hand, I have the feeling that Shanghai Fashion Week is struggling to internationalise and brings together very few foreign brands. On the other hand, I find that the Parisian scene is gaining prestige and opening up more and more, thanks in particular to the work of the FHCM, whose curatorial eye I admire.

Shanghai is not yet challenging Paris for its title of world fashion capital. I do not think this will happen as long as we in France are able to maintain, protect and develop the cultural system we are fortunate to benefit from.

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