Shushu/Tong

Shushu/Tong is a Shanghai-based fashion label founded in 2015 by Chinese designers Liushu Lei and Yutong Jiang. The brand produces womenswear and related accessories built around a deliberately girlish but contemporary vocabulary: bows, ribbons, ruffles, pearls, gingham, pastel colors, and softly structured silhouettes. Its stated design direction is aimed at modern independent women who retain a girlish sensibility, combining nostalgic references with a more self-possessed and fashion-oriented attitude than a purely youthful or costume-like interpretation of femininity. Lei and Jiang were born in Chengdu and attended the same high school before meeting as fashion students at Donghua University in Shanghai in 2014. Both were influenced by the anime Nana and developed an interest in fashion design. Jiang had initially considered becoming a cartoonist, while Lei pursued fashion more directly. The pair later studied for master's degrees at London College of Fashion, where they lived together and developed the idea for their own label. Their professional experience included internships with Simone Rocha and Gareth Pugh, exposures that helped connect their Chinese background with the experimental and theatrical traditions of London fashion. After they were unable to secure visas to remain in London, the designers returned to Shanghai and formally established Shushu/Tong. The name combines Lei's nickname, Shushu, with Jiang's given name, Yutong; the characters and sounds also reflect the designers' names. The label initially sold through WeChat and other social channels rather than relying on a conventional fashion-capital infrastructure. Digital communication and social commerce helped the company reach customers and stockists while remaining based in Shanghai. This approach became an important part of the brand's growth and visibility in China and overseas. Lei serves as creative director and is primarily responsible for the design language, while Jiang focuses more heavily on marketing, clients, and commercial development while continuing to contribute to design decisions. Jiang also models the label's clothing and acts as an early wearer and sounding board for Lei's work. Their close partnership gives the brand a highly controlled visual identity, although the label has also faced criticism over the narrow range of body shapes represented by its designs and imagery. Shushu/Tong's collections draw on girlhood, nostalgia, retro anime, cinema, and the visual codes of feminine subcultures. Referenced influences include Aim for the Ace!, The Virgin Suicides, Gigi, and magical-girl anime such as Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Cardcaptor Sakura. The founders have identified Chloë Sevigny and Tina Chow as muses, while Faye Wong is described as a continuing inspiration. The brand's aesthetic has been associated with coquette fashion, balletcore, soft-girl styling, and Lolita fashion, although its use of these codes predates the broad popularization of hyper-girly dressing in the 2020s. The label has expanded beyond apparel through collaborations with Asics, Charles & Keith, jewelry brand Yvmin, and Estée Lauder. Its Estée Lauder holiday cosmetics project was characterized as the first collaboration between the global beauty company and a Chinese fashion brand. Shushu/Tong opened its first physical store in July 2022 at Shanghai's JC Plaza. The brand is also associated with guochao, the broader preference among younger Chinese consumers for domestic labels that offer a distinctive cultural or design identity. By 2024, international fashion coverage identified Shushu/Tong as an unusual Chinese designer label with traction both in China and abroad. Its present identity rests on a recognizable feminine signature, founder-led creative control, social-media fluency, and an ability to translate nostalgic references into premium contemporary ready-to-wear.

Liushu Lei and Yutong Jiang were both born in Chengdu and attended the same high school. Their paths converged more directly when they studied fashion at Donghua University in Shanghai in 2014. Both had been influenced by the anime Nana, which helped shape their desire to work in fashion. Jiang had briefly considered becoming a cartoonist before deciding that clothing offered a more suitable creative medium. Their shared interest in stylized femininity, popular culture, and narrative imagery became the foundation of their later partnership. The designers subsequently pursued master's degrees at London College of Fashion. They were flatmates in London and began conceiving a label together during that period. Their internships provided additional exposure to established design practices: Lei worked with Simone Rocha, while Jiang interned with Gareth Pugh. These experiences placed them close to London fashion's theatrical, sculptural, and craft-oriented traditions. They ultimately could not obtain visas that would allow them to remain in the United Kingdom, so they returned to Shanghai and officially founded Shushu/Tong in 2015. The label's name combines Lei's nickname, Shushu, with Jiang's given name, Yutong. The founders initially built the business through WeChat and social-media sales. This route allowed them to reach customers directly and grow without being based in Paris, London, or another conventional global fashion capital. As the label attracted attention, it was taken up by outside stockists, helping convert its digitally cultivated following into a broader retail presence. Lei became the brand's creative director and the main force behind its visual language. Jiang took a stronger role in marketing, client relationships, and commercial activity, while remaining involved in design development. She also became an important in-house model and tester for the clothes, giving Lei immediate feedback from a woman's perspective. The close founder relationship has supported a consistent image, but the same presentation has drawn criticism for showing a limited range of body shapes. Shushu/Tong's design vocabulary centers on hyper-feminine ready-to-wear. Ruffles, bows, ribbons, pearls, gingham, pastel fabrics, and other decorative details appear alongside contemporary proportions and construction. The label's references include girlhood and nostalgia as well as retro anime, films, and feminine subcultures. Collections have drawn inspiration from Aim for the Ace!, The Virgin Suicides, Gigi, and magical-girl works including Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Cardcaptor Sakura. Chloë Sevigny and Tina Chow have been named as muses, and Faye Wong has remained an important inspiration. Although later discussed alongside coquette, balletcore, soft-girl, and Lolita aesthetics, Shushu/Tong developed its hyper-girly approach before those terms became especially widespread after 2020. Its work therefore helped establish a fashion language that was later recognizable across social media and youth culture. The brand is also associated with guochao, a movement in which younger Chinese consumers favor homegrown labels with clear design identities and connections to Chinese creative culture. Coverage in 2024 presented Shushu/Tong as an uncommon Chinese designer label able to achieve recognition both within China and overseas. The company broadened its reach through collaborations with Asics and Charles & Keith on footwear, Yvmin on jewelry, and Estée Lauder on holiday cosmetics gift sets. The Estée Lauder project was described as the global beauty company's first collaboration with a Chinese fashion brand. In July 2022, Shushu/Tong opened its first physical store at Shanghai JC Plaza. The store marked a step beyond the brand's early reliance on WeChat, social media, and multibrand stockists, while keeping Shanghai at the center of its operations. The label remains founder-led and active, with its identity anchored in a highly recognizable interpretation of contemporary femininity.

• 2024

  International fashion-business recognition

  [1]Shushu/Tong - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  Fashion-business coverage highlighted the brand as a Chinese designer label succeeding in both domestic and international markets.

• 2022

  First physical store opens

  [1]Shushu/Tong - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  Shushu/Tong opened its first physical store at Shanghai JC Plaza in July.

• 2015

  Shushu/Tong is founded in Shanghai

  [1]Shushu/Tong - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  After studying in London and returning to China, Liushu Lei and Yutong Jiang formally established Shushu/Tong in Shanghai.

• 2014

  Lei and Jiang meet at Donghua University

  [1]Shushu/Tong - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  The future founders met while studying fashion at Donghua University in Shanghai.

A premium, designer-led womenswear label that translates girlhood, nostalgia, retro anime, and cinematic references into contemporary hyper-feminine clothing for independent women.

• Ready-to-wear · 2015

  Shushu/Tong womenswear

  The core line consists of contemporary women's ready-to-wear organized around a hyper-feminine design language. Dresses, tops, skirts, outerwear, and knitwear frequently use ruffles, bows, ribbons, pearls, gingham, pastel colors, and softly nostalgic styling. The clothes reinterpret girlhood and retro cultural references for an adult customer described by the brand as an independent woman with a girly heart.

• Footwear collaborations

  Collaborative footwear

  Shushu/Tong has extended its visual identity into footwear through collaborations with Asics and Charles & Keith. These projects brought the label's decorative, feminine styling into partnership products while giving it access to the audiences and distribution networks of established footwear and accessories companies.

• Jewelry collaboration

  Collaborative jewelry

  A jewelry collaboration with the local brand Yvmin translated Shushu/Tong's romantic and ornamental codes beyond clothing. The project formed part of the label's wider effort to express its aesthetic through complementary accessories.

• Beauty collaboration

  Estée Lauder holiday cosmetics gift sets

  The Estée Lauder partnership produced holiday cosmetics gift sets incorporating Shushu/Tong's fashion-oriented visual identity. The collaboration was notable because it was characterized as the first time Estée Lauder had partnered with a Chinese fashion brand.

• Asics collaboration

  China · International markets

  Shushu/Tong collaborated with Asics on footwear, bringing its feminine and nostalgic design language into a sportswear partnership.

  Outcome. The collaboration expanded the label's presence beyond apparel and connected it with an established international footwear brand.

  Source
• Charles & Keith collaboration

  China · International markets

  The brand partnered with Charles & Keith on footwear, adapting Shushu/Tong's hyper-feminine codes for a broader accessories audience.

  Outcome. The project further developed Shushu/Tong's collaborative accessories business.

  Source
• Yvmin jewelry collaboration

  China

  Shushu/Tong worked with local jewelry label Yvmin on a line of jewelry related to the fashion brand's decorative aesthetic.

  Outcome. The collaboration extended the brand's identity into jewelry and highlighted its links with China's independent design scene.

  Source
• Estée Lauder holiday gift-set collaboration

  China · International markets

  Shushu/Tong collaborated with Estée Lauder on holiday cosmetics gift sets, bringing the fashion label's visual codes into beauty products.

  Outcome. The partnership was described as Estée Lauder's first collaboration with a Chinese fashion brand.

  Source

• 2022

  Open the first dedicated physical storeStrategy

  Background

  After beginning with social-media sales and multibrand stockists, the label had an opportunity to create a direct physical retail presence.

  Action taken

  Shushu/Tong opened its first physical store at Shanghai JC Plaza in July 2022.

  Aftermath

  The opening marked a move toward branded retail while keeping Shanghai as the label's operational and creative base.

  Source

• 2015

  Build the label from Shanghai through social commerceStrategy

  Background

  The founders returned to China after being unable to obtain visas to remain in London, where they had studied and developed the initial concept.

  Action taken

  They established the label in Shanghai and used WeChat and other social-media channels for the first sales before expanding through external stockists.

  Aftermath

  The approach enabled Shushu/Tong to grow outside the traditional Paris-London-New York fashion-capital system and supported later domestic and international visibility.

  Source

• 2019-12-06

  LILY and SHUSHU/TONG designer collaboration[2]LILY与SHUSHU/TONG设计师联名合作prnasia.com

  Reported: 2019-12-06

  LILY and SHUSHU/TONG released a designer collaboration clothing collection themed “Girl’s Portrait.”

1. 1Shushu/Tong - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2LILY与SHUSHU/TONG设计师联名合作prnasia.com