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Not a single air bubble was acceptable. Xiong Songtao's glistening enamel crafts, which employ the Chinese cloisonné technique, a form of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), have attained the precision required for high-end watch dials.

Xiong, a third-generation master of Xiong's Enamel, took great pride in this innovation, which has brought acclaim to the family brand both domestically and internationally. The brand secured a global partnership with the Spanish fashion house LOEWE, which celebrated the Chinese Year of the Snake with a collection that pays homage to Chinese cloisonné.

The collaboration with Xiong saw LOEWE introduce two sets of cloisonné works: a Nest bag with snake head and lotus cloisonné details as well as necklaces with cloisonné pendants featuring the auspicious snake, monkey and cloud motifs.

This project exemplifies a growing trend in which international luxury brands increasingly draw on China's craft heritage, particularly ICH crafts, to navigate the evolving Chinese market. As China marks the 2025 Cultural and Natural Heritage Day on Saturday, the trend also highlights ICH's surge in prominence.

Such partnerships create a synergy that, on one hand, helps international brands gain cultural depth and local market insights, while on the other hand, provides ICH brands with enhanced visibility and growth opportunities.

TAPPING INTO ICH

The collaboration with Xiong was not LOEWE's first tribute to art collections inspired by Chinese cultural heritage. In 2022, the brand presented its holiday collection, which included the Chinese Monochrome collection of bags, inspired by Chinese monochrome ceramics from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

Other fashion houses are also on the move. The Italian brand Fendi collaborated with artisans from China's Yi ethnic group to create a Baguette bag featuring traditional Yi embroidery and silverwork. French luxury brand Dior incorporated "Ronghua," a velvet flower-making craft that has been practiced since the Tang Dynasty (618-907), into its men's couture knitwear. Additionally, Italian luxury brand Valextra teamed up with Qian Lihuai, an ICH bamboo weaving artist from China, to launch the Valextra Bamboo Iside limited edition last year.

"China is a vast market," said Wei Xiang, a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He added that it is only natural for international businesses engaged in culture and commerce to accommodate the consumer demand in this market.

Consulting firm Bain &Company published an analysis report on the 2024 China luxury goods market on its official website. It said that the Chinese market is expected to recover at a moderate pace in the longer term, driven by the solid fundamentals of China's economy and the growth of its middle class, affirming that "Despite current difficulties, the Chinese mainland remains an attractive market for luxury brands."

The Chinese mainland boasts over 60 Louis Vuitton stores as listed on the luxury house's official website. The arrival of new fashion house locations signifies a vote of confidence in the market. LOEWE unveiled its flagship store in Shanghai in February, while Balenciaga just held an opening ceremony for its flagship store in Beijing's Sanlitun shopping complex in May.

Yet a shift is underway among young Chinese consumers -- especially Gen Zers, the coveted demographic for luxury brands. Increasingly discerning about consumerism, they're prioritizing experiences like travel over material goods. Moreover, they are increasingly embracing homegrown brands, designs, and cultural symbols, a trend now referred to as "Guochao," or "China-chic."

The crafts listed as the country's ICH represent the most time-honored, best preserved and outstanding artistry and craftsmanship in China. There are over 1,500 ICH projects at the national level across the country.

ICH-related products have become increasingly sought-after. According to data from China's leading e-commerce platforms, Taobao and Tmall, in 2023, the annual transaction volume of ICH-related products surpassed the 100-billion-yuan mark, reaching 107.32 billion yuan (about 14.95 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 37.7 percent.

MUTUAL OPPORTUNITIES

Xiong proudly stated that the necklace pendants they crafted for LOEWE rival the rigorous standards required for watch dials. Silver bent wires with a diameter of just 0.04 millimeters -- about half the thickness of a human hair -- were applied to silver bases filled with enamel paste. Each piece was handmade, taking approximately 20 days to complete.

Chinese cloisonné, which was widely produced during the Ming and Qing dynasties, was more broadly used in jewelry and metalware in the ancient royal court. China listed this time-honored craft as a national intangible heritage in 2006.

"The ICH brands, steeped in history and rich in cultural heritage, are more adept at creating culturally unique products. However, their global influence remains limited," said Wei, noting that international fashion brands and China's ICH share a complementary relationship that naturally encourages collaboration.

"In contrast, some international fashion houses have over a century of experience in successfully translating cultural value into commercial success. This synergy creates mutual opportunities," Wei explained.

Xiong came to admire those brands' legacy during his collaborations with elite fashion houses. "What truly defines these brands," he reflected, "is an ingrained sense of honor -- forged through generations -- a commitment to craftsmanship they hold dear."

The partnership also enables Xiong's Enamel to redefine its brand by expanding beyond traditional art pieces into wearable jewelry, creating a more everyday context that is likely to attract young consumers. Notably, the motifs featured in the LOEWE pendants were designed by Xiong's Gen-Z daughter, a jewelry design graduate, to whom Xiong plans to eventually pass the baton.

"Our craft and technique are superb, and our brand becomes more prominent, and above all, China is getting stronger, with more people coming to love Chinese culture," Xiong said in a summary of his insights into the new trend of collaboration. Enditem

(Zhou Rui and Zhang Jiaxuan also contributed to the story)