Chinese label Ms Min’s founder on why “Chinese style” is not just a passing fad

“Before Ian came on board as co-founder of Ms Min [in 2014], my focus was purely on design—on making things,” Liu says. “He brought with him a wealth of experience in luxury, and a vision for what it takes to build a brand in its entirety. It wasn’t just ideas, but also real practice: how to source and collaborate with fabric suppliers, how to bring in international talent for research and development, how to build our own production and quality control team.” 

By the time of this interview, Hylton had formally stepped back from the brand’s day-to-day operations to focus on his own eponymous label, leaving Liu to helm a now global-facing brand and its sizable staff. For a creative, the transition has not come easily. “As a designer, all you want is to be free—to be yourself, to get lost in the making. But running a business is a completely different world, especially when nearly 100 people are counting on you.” 

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Among her first notable moves is Ms Min’s return to Lane Crawford—more than five years after the brand quietly withdrew during the pandemic. Joining Lane Crawford in 2013 was a pivotal moment for the brand, which at the time was only available online within mainland China. “Being recognised and seen in that way was profoundly important,” Liu says. “It was the moment we truly stepped into the world of international fashion. It raised the bar for us—in how we design, how we operate, and how we think of ourselves as a brand.” Liu’s team remained in close contact with Lane Crawford throughout the hiatus; this year’s return marks a significant step in the brand’s broader entry into international markets.

The Hong Kong department store now carries Ms Min’s autumn 2026 collection. Across a series of denim looks, the threads themselves have been printed with floral motifs before being woven into fabric. This results in floral patterns that appear to emerge from within the cloth rather than sit on its surface. Another highlight is a gold top in lurex and mulberry silk, its surface worked into fine pleats for a sculptural, tactile finish. 

“Fabric is really the starting point of every Ms Min piece,” Liu says. “Each season begins with selecting fabrics that speak to our six recurring themes—Tai Chi, Blossom, Evergreen, Stillness, Joy and Renewal.” Tai Chi—the ancient Chinese philosophy of harmonising opposing forces—finds expression in her designs through fluid cuts counterbalanced by structures that hold firm. The idea runs through a series of shirts in this collection, each built on a voluminous checked base, with pleating adding surface dimension while tie details at the shoulders and chest cinch the form. The inspiration draws from pànbó, an ancient Chinese practice of using rope ties to gather and restructure the loose, sweeping robes of traditional dress for easy movement at work.

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The approach may be subtle, but a deep reverence for Chinese culture has shaped the brand from the start. Ms Min’s first collection in 2010 was themed around Lunar New Year, the most important festival in the Chinese calendar, and a time when wearing new clothes to family gatherings is a cherished custom. “I simply wanted to make something modern to wear during Lunar New Year,” Liu recalls of its inspiration. “Then I came across a small shop in a market in Xiamen that sold traditional Chinese brocades—I just loved them.” A dedicated Lunar New Year collection remains an annual fixture alongside the brand’s regular seasonal output—a contemporary twist on dressing for the occasion. Past editions have ranged from the classic red Chinese suits guaranteed to delight the older generation, to more muted earth tones, and lighter, younger-feeling looks in sage or bright yellow—each a distinct take on what modern Chinese style can be.

That cultural foundation has been at the brand’s core from the very beginning—long before Chinese aesthetics entered the global conversation in the way they are today, propelled in no small part by the viral phenomenon of “Chinamaxxing”, in which young westerners adopt and romanticise Chinese fashion and lifestyle. Yet Liu has not taken that fad as a cue to reach for a broader audience—to do so, she believes, would run counter to everything the brand was built for. “Chinese culture can’t be reduced to just one or two things,” she says. “There are [more than a] billion people across the world who carry Chinese heritage, each with their own sense of what that means. I am simply using the brand to express my version of it.”

If Ms Min stands for anything, it is the community that has grown up around it. “Our clients don’t come to Ms Min chasing a trend—they have a deep sensitivity to craft and quality, and seek their own cultural expression through the way they dress,” she says. “Building that kind of like-minded community, and creating something genuinely lasting together, is what matters most to me.”

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