We chat to Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia, the founder and designer behind Taiwanese fashion house Shiatzy Chen on how it is working with family and the responsibility of sharing Chinese culture with the world
If you haven't heard of 69-year-old designer Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia you probably have heard of her celebrated Taiwanese fashion house Shiatzy Chen, which debuted at Paris Fashion Week in 2009. Wang is also behind popular Cha Cha Thé Ltd, a tea and lifestyle brand inspired by Chinese history and aesthetics. The proud mother of Harry Wang, who now runs the family business as CEO, talks working with family and the responsibility of sharing Chinese culture with the world.
Can you tell us about your upbringing and how you became a designer?
I never dreamed of becoming a designer. I came from very humble beginnings, and I was also the eldest in a large family of seven children so there were a lot of responsibilities, I had to leave school to work. I feel like everything that has happened came out of necessity. I helped in my uncle’s business, a ladies’ tailor located in a small town outside Taichung City in Taiwan and became quite good at needlework and embroidery. Then after I met my husband and had two children, we decided to try to start our own business.