SPOTLIGHT: BEST OF ASIA Yueqi Qi

Part of a new wave of Chinese designers gaining traction on the global fashion scene, Yueqi Qi transcends old and new, and past and future

- Cherry Mui

In 2020, in the early stages of the pandemic, 27-year-old Guangzhoubased Yueqi Qi travelled to Milan as one of the only two Chinese designers who were invited to be part of the inaugural edition of Gucci Vault, an experimental online space created by the brand’s then-creative director Alessandro Michele which showcases one-off pieces created by emerging independent designers using Gucci materials and restored archived pieces from the house. Each designer was also asked to submit a short film alongside their work. When the Kering brand reached out to Qi, her brand was less than a year old and she had no experience of film-making, but she managed to put together a poetic film about a character based on herself returning to her grandmother’s hometown of Kaiping in Guangdong—a visual feast of psychedelic colours, craft-heavy designs and a unique cultural lens into the countryside of China.

Qi is part of the new generation of Chinese designers building a presence on the global fashion stage. More recently, she staged her autumn-winter 2023 show in Tokyo, a city she knows well—and where she has a fan base. “I have been to Tokyo many times over the past six years. When I came to Tokyo in December to do a pop-up at GR8 Harajuku, I was overwhelmed by the love and support,” she says, referring to the famous fashion and streetwear concept store.