It's in the bag

For instance, a product line launched last year followed the trend for round-shaped bags. Named Chasing Deer, the pattern on the series of shoulder bags and handbags was inspired by images of the ancients hunting with archery on horseback, with the figures and landscape presented in a cartoon style.

Silk brocade used to be the second core element of the brand, the fixed lining material of all bags and also its jewelry boxes. At one point, it was even included in the brand's name as "Liangjin", understood as "quality silk brocade". However, Qi is now extending the selection of materials the brand offers.

"I found that brocade is not an international material-when we held exhibitions in Europe, the attendees showed little enthusiasm for Song or Tang brocade. When we tried to explain that brocade was among the first group of goods that traveled to Europe on the ancient Silk Road, they merely nodded their heads."

Qi also complains that for traditional materials like brocade, the variety of supply is very limited, and the overall production quality is poor. As a result, he was forced to go to Japan to find well-made brocade, where the fabrics-which originally emerged from China's Tang Dynasty-were better persevered.

From the last quarter of 2018, Qi started using leather, as there are many kinds of leather, in a lot of colors, and which use various tanning techniques.

He says, "In order to grow the brand's customer base and make it acceptable to a more diversified group, we never stopped exploring and experimenting with fresh materials and fresh processes. Leather has been widely used among luxury goods, so accepting leather should give our brand a fairer chance when competing with incumbent luxury brands on the global stage.

"The brand will carry with it the original spirit and some original features, but it will also absorb more and more concepts that help us build elegance and beauty," says Qi.