The key to China’s booming economic growth has been the creation of several free trade zones where industry, and particularly clothing manufacturing, can take root. Since 1978, the nation of 1.3 billion people has grown at an average per capita rate of almost 8 percent per year. The mass-scale manufacturing of toys, household goods and apparel in these centers has made the label “Made in China” a fixture in the rest of the world. The youth of urban China are also a step ahead of the rest in their keen fashion consciousness.
On a recent trip to China, I bore witness to a body of youth whose fashion trends were so far ahead they haven’t even arrived in America yet. These styles were as rampant as polo shirts at Georgetown and could be found at nearly every clothing store and stand.
Besides Hulk Hogan-low-cut tank tops, baggy cuffed shorts and sexy lingerie-like socks, the most confounding item I saw was a type of blue jeans that contradicts every pillar of conventional jean wisdom. With double waistbands, crotches down to the knees, baggy thighs and tapered, bunchy lower legs, these jeans have the makings of the most unflattering pants ever worn. They are a distant, perhaps inbred cousin of the Ramones-influenced skinny-legged jeans that are appearing on the streets of coastal U.S. cities.
These jeans and other items are not the random and disjointed style choices of a Communist nation, but potentially the future of contemporary trends. The spring collection of the Italian company Miss Sixty featured a toned-down version of these pants. Though not quite as baggy on top and lacking the double waistband, there is no doubt that a low crotch and loose waist is the next desirable look.
China’s cheap labor and low living costs are attractive to apparel companies aiming to turn a profit on a pricey market. Diane Von Furstenberg and Eileen Fisher are among the many designers whose products are “Made in China.” This influx of commercial industry that produces flawless designer knock-off bags has also given China some of the most fashion forward cities in the world.
Whether or not these jeans should ever arrive for sale to the American masses is a question to be pondered. I have tried on a few pairs of said jeans, despite my original impulse to avoid them, and have found them to be laughably ugly. It is possible that I did not try the correct size, but it is more likely that, unlike the popular fitted and flared hipsters that flatter most figures, they are just not made for all bodies.
