Bosideng, the 49-year-old Chinese down jacket powerhouse, is set to make its Paris debut on Oct. 7 — a move that signals the brand’s ambition to fuse directional ready-to-wear with its performance-based outerwear.
“This is the first time that we put in focus the puffer style and how it can become good ready-to-wear,” explained Pietro Ferragina, Bosideng’s creative research and development director for the last eight years.
The collection, titled “O,” is meant to push forth a “fresh and easy” down collection suitable for all ages. “It will be 40 percent commercial pieces integrated with ready-to-wear and 60 percent showpieces,” explained Ferragina.
Split into several acts, Ferragina said the show-viewing experience will have a subtle theatrical spin.
“I grew up with Jean Paul Gaultier, so of course, the ideas for the show will be something different — more theatricality than a normal show,” added Ferragina.
When asked if the Paris show would rival the theatricality of last year’s outdoor spectacle at St. Sophia Cathedral Square in Harbin, China’s “City of Ice,” Ferragina quipped, “That time has already passed.
“In some ways, fashion has already changed, let’s forget about that kind of theatricality and start to think about the substance,” said Ferragina.
“You can see one woman who grew up with the same kind of product in different ways,” added Ferragina of the show inspiration.
Ferragina, who spends the bulk of his time — 80 percent to be exact — on womenswear, said the brand’s Paris runway show will help its Western audience “see another Bosideng.” “Our work in Shanghai has the potential to be in the high-end segmentation. In a way, it will be something that surprises the audience,” said Ferragina.
In 2023, Bosideng made its Milan Fashion Week debut for spring 2024.
Model Coco Rocha; Eileen Gu, the American-born Chinese free skier, and Hu Bing, Chinese supermodel-turned-actor, modeled key looks from the collection, which was inspired by the Italian Renaissance.
Last September, Bosideng collaborated with the northern city of Harbin in Heilongjiang Province on a co-branded collection aimed to promote local tourism.
The brand has also taken large scale billboards in locations that include Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport.