Wang Tao: Taking 'China Chic' global

Taoray Wang collections’ past three shows have garnered a following among international media and buyers.

Barneys New York, one of the most sought after buyers during New York Fashion Week (NYFW), took a handful of her collection back to its office for consideration last fall. Though they didn’t buy anything, Wang said they were keeping an eye on her label.

She focuses on materials and tailoring, and her styles are minimalist. The “effortless blue shirt paired with wide, cropped khaki pants” won her a big round of applause from Women’s Wear Daily.

“I love design. I would do it even if I was starving,” she said.

After earning a degree in history from the East China Normal University in Shanghai, Wang went to Japan for a second bachelor’s degree in design. She won five International Fashion Designer awards during her four years at Tokyo Mode Gakuen College of Fashion and Design.

After graduating, Wang worked under famous Japanese designer Koshino Junko before setting off to London at the age of 30.

“I could have stayed in Japan and had a pretty good future, but I followed my heart. Europe was my dream,” she said. There she worked as creative director and director of China marketing for the Rebel Belle brand.

In 2004, through her supermodel friend Lu Yan, Wang was introduced to Wang Weidong, chairman of Broadast:Bo. Wang Weidong was looking for a new creative director for Bo, which targets urban Chinese women between the ages of 25 and 35.

Mother of a 9-month-old at the time, Wang joined Bo. Though the Taoray Wang label didn’t appear until 2014, the seed was planted from day one.

“I was used to working in high-end fashion,” said Wang. “The linings I used in the past were even more expensive than the fabrics we use at Bo. So I asked my boss to promise me that if I did well at Bo, he would let me do an haute couture label.”

In 10 years under Wang Tao’s guidance, Bo opened 700 new stores in China and revenues rose from $30 million to $350 million.

“Three years ago I asked my boss, ‘Do you remember your promise?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’”

Wang said that it was her job at Bo that gave her the inspiration for Taoray Wang. From 2008 to 2013, she not only worked as the creative director of Bo, but was also promoted to general manager. She said she wants to dedicate the Taoray Wang label to modern businesswomen.

“Broadast:Bo was for the younger me, romantic and literary; Taoray Wang is for the present me, independent and experienced,” she said.