Remaking classics

Tokyo-based designer Chitose Abe (above) says she designs for modern women who move between office, family and social events.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"We start with abstract images and then create the fabrics. In this collection, the clothes might look quite heavy, but if you touch them and feel them, they are really light. So, there is this contrast."

She is also inspired by daily life in Tokyo, a city which combines the modern and the traditional.

Her designs are not only in the best stores globally, but she has a loyal following which include heavyweights like Vogue's Anna Wintour and Chanel's Karl Largerfeld, who described Sacai as "the most interesting brand of the moment".

"The world has become very global so it doesn't matter where you are. If you create something original, people will recognize it," Abe says.

Without portraying the ideal Sacai girl, Abe says she designs for modern women who move between office, family and social events.

"I basically create what I want to wear and I try everything. Am I going to wear this outfit if I go to a party? The Sacai girl is free and independent. I also want them to be happy wearing Sacai," she says.

The brand was previously sold in China mainly through multi-brand boutiques Joyce and Lane Crawford, where it stood along the likes of Alexander Wang, Balenciaga and Stella McCartney.

While Chinese customers are eager to try new designs, many have little loyalty to brands, says Ingrid Chen, Joyce's general manager of marketing and communications.

Sacai, on the other hand, already has a solid customer base in China.