A company a cut above the rest for high-end dressmaking

Even though Chu no longer ran the Chinese fashion brand, his exacting standards for material selection, body measurements, cutting, sewing and ironing are still strictly adhered to.

"In the past, the cheongsam did not need to be well-fitted because many women wore it at home and during casual occasions," says Zhou Zhuguang, one of Chu's apprentices and the current art director of Hanart.

"As time went by, people started viewing the cheongsam as a piece of classic clothing meant for special occasions, and this was why we revamped the entire crafting process," he adds.

Such is the company's dedication to the smallest detail－more than 30 craftsmen are responsible for each of the steps in the crafting process. Unsurprisingly, cheongsams made at the studio often come with long waiting times.

"Manual embroidery takes time. It takes at least two to three months to finish a piece. Sometimes it could even take half a year," says Zhou.

Despite Chu's departure, the brand has continued to uphold his desire of bringing Chinese fashion to the global stage. For example, Zhou has led his creative team on tours to cities including Paris, Lyon, Brussels and Budapest to showcase the Shanghai-style cheongsam. They even got to speak about the history of cheongsam at the United Nations Office at Vienna in 2018.

"When we held a news conference at the Chinese Cultural Center in Paris in 2018, people crowded the venue," Zhou says.

"Many foreigners only know about such clothes from textbooks. All they know is that the cheongsam is a Chinese dress, but many have never seen it in real life. They also believe that our cheongsam represents the height of Eastern fashion and it has a global appeal," he adds.