Digital Cover: Zoe Xiaonan Li
Talent: Zoe Xiaonan Li wearing Jitrois Paris
Photographers: Chen Min & Sylvain Bris
EIC + Words: Anthony Vu Cao
Development: Chrissy Wang
Zoe Li is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and actress, living in New York and building an investment fund to back some of Europe’s most dynamic young fashion brands and help them expand internationally. Raised in Hong Kong, educated in the UK, Zoe has lived internationally and has enjoyed a career which has seen her work in fashion, the entertainment business and now luxury investments. She is the definition of East meets West.
We caught up with Zoe Li to chat about her inspirations, insights and thoughts on opportunities in the luxury and fashion business and how her travels and international upbringing has informed what she is doing now.
Hello Zoe – How are you?
I’m great thank you. I recently got back to New York having been in Europe working on a project. I have just about caught up on my jet-lag and feel rested.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. It seems like you have done a lot of things and lived in a lot of different places.
I am from Hong Kong and grew up and studied in the UK. I always loved clothes and fashion, so I chose to study Fashion Marketing at the London College of Fashion, but I also spent a year abroad living in Milan while studying at Institutio Marangoni. That year abroad and various trips to Europe I was fortunate to be able to take during my studies instilled in me and deep love for European culture and style and when I graduated I wanted to do something in the space. During a trip to Paris I came across the French luxury fashion brand Jitrois. My mother and I instantly fell in love with the clothes and approached the designer, Jean-Calude Jitrois, about working together. We immediately hit it off and my Mum and I were fortunate to become Jitrois’s Asia-Pacific exclusive distributors. The first few years running the brand internationally were tough, a real baptism of fire, but I loved it and it taught me the practicalities of running a business, dealing with customers, the importance of being totally focused. Working with Jitrois gave me an opportunity to split my time between Europe and Asia, to see the team and the collections. I was very hands-on with the business but after a while I was able to diversify and take on other projects in different sectors but in many ways this first project was formative. I have since then lived, back, in the UK and I am now in the States, but I still travel to Europe whenever I can.
So what are you working on at the moment?
I absolutely believe in and am passionate about the criss-crossing of cultures and the exciting things that can happen when different communities collaborate and interact. I see this most clearly in the fashion industry. Through my travels I have come across some wonderful niche brands which I felt could do so well in Asia, but needed a little help entering the market. These are brands I love and buy from, and which I know my friends would love, but which didn’t have the resources to expand. I saw an opportunity to help these brands and so I have spent the last year setting up an investment structure to back them, giving them the resources, whether financial or in terms of network and guidance, to help them develop internationally.
That sounds exciting, what are the company’s goals?
Well, our purpose is to help the brands reach international attention and be reachable. These brands do everything right when it comes to product and design, the look and feel of the shops etc, but they don’t have the resources to really perform outside of their home market. Selling in Asia in particular is actually quite difficult for Western brands, unless you are part of one of the big groups. But what makes these brands special is that they are small, unique and do their own thing. So the trick is to help them grow and reach international customers, without changing what makes them special in the first place. I like to say that working with the brands should be a partnership. I like to work with the brands where I could imagine myself as the owner. The fund, which we are launching soon, will only invest in brands we love and believe in. I feel that the timing is perfect for this and that consumers will be really responsive.
Outside of fashion you have done some quite interesting other stuff. Can you tell us a little bit about your work in other fields?
Well, growing up I always loved music and performing. I was quite into the contemporary music scene but I was also trained classically. I did a bit of singing at school and then I had the opportunity to take part in a few pageants and competitions, including Miss Globe. I felt really alive and energized when I was on stage, and so for a couple of years I had these exciting dual lives, of running a fashion brand and performing. I was really involved in the scene, I even designed the Cheongsam evening dresses for the Miss Bikini International finals. Pageants led to acting and while I was based in Hong Kong, I had the extraordinary opportunity to star in the film ‘Love Only’. Although I had performed for large audiences before as a singer and pageant competitor, I had never acted on camera. I was actually more nervous on my first day on set then I was the first time I stood on a stage.
What did you learn working on the film?
The main difference between my other experiences in the entertainment business and working on a film project is that you are a part of team on a movie set – you have to work with the other actors and the crew, all of whom are trying to do their bit, and you have to always be ready, you can’t let the side down. On a practical level, I really loved seeing how the shoot was organized, the goings-on behind the scenes and the production. I have been involved with a few film financing projects since making the movie, and that experience on ‘Love Only’ has been so useful in my decision making process.
Did any one person on the set stand out?
Well, it’s probably not fair to pick any one person, but if I have to I would say the Cinematographer Christopher Doyle. I love the movies he worked on with Wong Kar-Wai, so be able to work with him was a dream come true. He is so passionate and talented.
So alongside fashion, music and film, where do you find your inspiration?
Being able to travel and to work in quite diverse fields, I am exposed to so many cultures. Of course some things directly influence you, and I think I am particularly sensitive and open to art, and I make a point of visiting museums wherever I go. I have also been collecting art for the last decade, working with gallerists and dealers. I also love music and ballet and go to performances whenever I can. But I am also inspired by the places themselves, the food, the environment, the people. I feel this makes me who I am.
Fashion, entertainment and investments – do you see a connection between these different areas you have worked in?
I think its all related to my international upbringing and my travels. The projects I have worked in have all been creative collaborations, between people from different countries and with different talents. The opportunities I have been fortunate to have had couldn’t have happened without this international exposure, whether it was working with Jitrois, staring in a film or working with entrepreneurial fashion brands. The creative process is also key and I have been fortunate to have worked with some extraordinary artists and talents.
With so much going on and traveling so much, how do you find a personal headspace?
Its true, my life can be a little hectic and the sectors I work in are high energy and occasionally, dare I say it, high ego. So to clear my head and stay a little grounded I work on charitable projects, either by contributing what I can or helping them organise or raise funds. I work closely with a children’s charity and the ocean preservation society. I have been very fortunate and it’s a good feeling to work on something which is very different and related to helping others.
Zoe, thank you for speaking to us today.
Its my pleasure! GR8T
