Same, same but different: China's Feiyue shoes may look just like the French ones worn by Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom (right) but the two products are priced very differently in the market. photos provided to china daily

One brand. Two realities.

While made-in-China Feiyue shoes retail for as low as 39 yuan ($5.95) on Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, almost carbon copy versions made by French company Feiyue Shoes Holding sell for between 500 and 1,000 yuan. The two businesses are not affiliated in any way.

The disparity highlights how the latter has managed to turn their France-registered brand into a fashion essential for trendy people across the world, and how the tables were once ironically turned on China, which has for decades been known for copying instead of innovating.

The original brand, however, is slowly but surely finding its way back onto the feet of consumers by rebranding itself as more than a cheap, functional shoe for the masses. Last year's collaboration with Disney to launch a Star Wars-inspired series highlighted their ambition to stay relevant to a global audience in these modern times.

The brand is now available in up to 50 sportswear shops in major first- and second-tier cities in China. It has also aimed to cater to the different demographics by introducing a variety of designs that fall under different price ranges.

Furthermore, China's Feiyue — Shanghai Shenglong Shoes Co Ltd is currently the official manufacturer and distributor of the brand — has tapped into the booming Chinese e-commerce market to boost its reach. Up to half a million of its shoes are sold through these platforms.

The total sales of Feiyue shoes in 2015 increased by about 10 percent from the year before, with 2 million pairs being sold through off-line channels. Online sales are also on the rise.

"We need to be offering diversified products if we are establishing a presence in physical stores and online platforms," said Liu Wangsheng, general manager of Shanghai Shenglong Shoes Co Ltd.

"The shoes that are priced above 200 yuan have been very popular among young people, and we will launch another 28 models in the second half of this year to satisfy the market demand," added Liu.

True origins

Feiyue was first founded in 1963 in Shanghai, inspired by China's Great Leap Forward that took place in 1958. The brand literally means "flying forward" in Chinese and is called "white sneakers" among Shanghai fashionistas.

"The brand was extremely popular among Chinese consumers and was a fashion icon in China back in the 1980s," said Liu, who said that annual sales of Feiyue sneakers had exceeded 4 million pairs during that period, a phenomenal amount during those days.

Back then, Feiyue was the footwear of choice for everyone, from students to peasants to even government officials. Wearing those white sneakers soon became associated with honor and luxury. There was once a widely circulated story about a young man who had walked home barefooted in the rain as he did not want to stain his beloved Feiyue shoes.

Following a series of ownership changes and restructuring — Feiyue is now owned by Double Coin Holdings Ltd, a tyre manufacturer — the brand lost its luster and instead became something only the elderly people or martial arts exponents would wear, mainly because it was cheap and durable. In the late 1990s, Feiyue's manufacturer even had to put the shoes up for sale on the whole sale market because demand was just too low.

When international brands such as Adidas, Nike and Converse started to become popular among the locals at the turn of the century, Shanghai Shenglong Shoes Co Ltd decided to kickstart a revival by relaunching production in 2003 and setting up a design department in 2005 to aid these efforts.