The universe of Hui is increasingly linked to Italy. The Chinese brand founded in 2009 by Hui Zhou Zhao paraded for the first time in our country in 2015 as ambassador of the Cantonese style thanks to a project promoted by the National Chamber of Italian Fashion. The maison then returned to presenting its collections during the Milan fashion week in 2018 and since then it has been among the names on the official calendar of the women’s edition of the event. “We will present the spring/summer 2024 collection in September. Italy, and Milan in particular, are very important to us as confirmed by the installation of our registered office in Corso Monforte and the offices in Corso San Gottardo, and it is also in the Lombard capital that we would like to open a concept store in 2024 that contains all our proposals, perhaps in the Brera district, a special shop where Chinese culture meets Western culture”, declared a Pambianconews the manager. The common thread with Italy has also developed thanks to the minority shareholder Rosaria Rattin.
The brand has 30 single-brand stores in China while in Italy it is distributed in ten multi-brand stores and is present in two shop-in-shops, one in Venice, at the La Coupole boutique, and in Palermo in via della Libertà. The Belpaese represents the second market, after the domestic one, followed by the United States and Russia where Hui debuted in conjunction with the autumn/winter 2023-24 collection. The maison closed 2022 with a turnover of 1.5 million euros but aims to double the turnover for 2023.
In addition to garments with a typical oriental silhouette, the proposals of the women’s brand are characterized by hand-made embroidery. Accessories, footwear and gloves are also among the products traded in Italy, in Patria Hui also produces bijoux, hats and small accessories.
Hui Zhou Zhao was awarded the role of ambassador for Shenzhen – Milan relations, a position received by the Foreign Affairs Office of Shenzhen Municipal People’s government. A mandate that testifies to Madame Zhao’s commitment in recent years to consolidate the cultural and commercial link between Italy and China, in particular with the city of Shenzhen, known as a technological pole but still not very involved in the fashion sector. The entrepreneur also founded La Hui Fund of Shenzhen Women and Children’s Development Foundation, aimed at supporting women and children in poverty. An art collector and with a master’s degree from the Milan Polytechnic, Madame Zhao is the promoter of the Centennial Fashion Museum dedicated to the protection of Chinese craftsmanship.