Silk, chinoiserie and old-world silhouettes: this is ‘Made in China’ fashion from a bygone dynasty era
Inspired by the beautiful traditional fashions of China’s master craftsmen and women, young Italian designer Pia Zanardi launched Yali, a brand which has all its items handmade in China’s rural regions
Pia Zanardi discovered a whole new meaning to the term “Made in China” after travelling as a student from her home in Italy to Shanghai, where she saw beautiful traditional crafts such as silk weaving, hand-dyeing and embroidery that had survived thousands of years.
In 2015, she launched Yali, a luxury collection of jackets and robes inspired by clothing from China’s ancient dynasties. Today, she designs the line from her studio in London and regularly travels to China’s rural regions, where each piece is stitched together by some of the country’s remaining master craftsmen and women.
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Here she talks about starting the brand, what fascinates her most about Chinese culture and what she has planned for the next year.
What prompted you to start Yali?
After spending some time in Shanghai and Beijing, I began making jackets for myself and my friends in London inspired by antique ones that I’d found at markets. At the time, I was still at school, writing my thesis.
