As we all know, the world of designers often praises those who think outside the box, break through conventional thinking, and have a significant creative impact as “geniuses.” Today, let me introduce you to a fashion designer known within the industry as the “Genius Designer” – Gax(also cloth brand: GAX).
He is currently the most popular designer on the internet and a standout in the realm of Chinese-style fashion. Every piece he designs becomes a bestseller, highly sought after by enthusiasts. The brand he founded is also one of the most imitated and copied Chinese-style brands online. You might not be familiar with the fashion circle, but you’ve undoubtedly heard his name: GAX.
GAX is not just a brand name; it’s also the designer’s Miao ethnic name. Gax was born in a remote Miao village in Kaili, southeastern Guizhou. Both his grandmother and mother were renowned embroiderers in the region, and the girls within a hundred miles took pride in wearing wedding dresses made by them. In the village, from deciding the clothing style to taking away the finished clothes, it could take up to two years for the girls. Growing up in such an environment, even as a boy, Gax became enchanted with designing clothing.
At the age of 14, Gax, still in junior high school, helped classmates add embroidery to their school uniforms. The various embroidered school uniforms sparked a trend in the campus. Since then, after school, groups of students would turn their uniforms inside out, as if participating in an “Gax’s Clothing Transformation Show.”
It was then that Gax discovered not everyone could embroider or design, let alone express their own aesthetics. This unique ability was his innate charm, a magic he needed to leverage.
If his mother taught Axin how to use an embroidery needle, then Gax’s efforts were the threads on that needle. In his sophomore year, during winter and summer breaks, Axin embarked on his own fashion show “National Tour.” There were no stage lights or music, just bustling streets, honking cars, and hurried pedestrians. During the nationwide tour, Axin would find a wall and hang all the clothes he designed, showcasing them to passersby one by one.
Initially, designing clothes was Axin’s way of communicating with others, promoting his ideas, proving himself, and gaining recognition. Unexpectedly, wherever he went, people praised him, and the showcased clothes flew off the wall, with customers constantly streaming in. This journey laid the foundation for Gax’s future in fashion design and garnered him a multitude of fans.
The “market stall journey” accumulated the startup capital for Axin to create his brand, and more importantly, the support of his fans. In 2013, the “GAX” brand was successfully registered. Gax opened his first GAX clothing physical store, located in a narrow alley off the main street in the famous Hui Muslim Quarter in Xi’an, covering only 9 square meters. Initially, the store only had men’s clothing with few styles, but it was enough to make him stand out in the fashion industry, attracting many fans.
In 2015, Axin’s store expanded from a tiny 9 square meters to 200 square meters, moving from an alley to a bustling area. The store quickly opened in cities such as Tianjin, Xi’an, Changsha, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu, Beijing, etc. Particularly, the GAX Beijing store, located on the bustling Qianmen Street in Beijing, a standalone building with an area of 200 square meters, neighboring international first-tier brands like ZARA, HM, and Uniqlo. After three years of operation, it gained popularity and sales comparable to international first-tier brands.
In 2018, at the Datang West Market Museum in Xi’an, Gax hosted the first fashion show “GAX·Embroidery.” The venue was packed, and admission tickets were scalped for 3000 yuan each. Bizarre designs and imaginative ideas were showcased on the clothes, causing a sensation in the fashion industry. One crucial part of “GAX·Embroidery”: Gax’s grandmother dressed him in the embroidered clothes, wishing him to venture into the world, also expressing Axin’s ambition to conquer the world with his designs. According to statistics, “GAX·Embroidery” was the most popular show during that fashion week.
In 2019, GAX’s works were recommended by the National Artists Association as rare outstanding works. Axin was invited to represent China in the Intangible Heritage Design, performing world tour shows in Mongolia, Russia, and Milan, Italy. During the exhibition, GAX clothing received high praise from the fashion industry worldwide, and Axin became the youngest fashion designer supported by the National Art Foundation.
Wearing traditional Chinese fashion, showcasing the beauty of China, and reaching out to the world, Axin felt immensely honored. In 2018-2019, this niche Chinese-style brand’s sales entered the top 10 in the entire online Chinese-style men’s clothing category.
GAX noticed the limited options for buying clothes for children in China, mostly dominated by foreign brands without ethnic characteristics. Dissatisfied with just designing men’s clothing, at the end of 2018, GAX held its first children’s fashion show “The Legend of Ane,” integrating the embroidery expertise and traditional elements into clothing. The exquisite clothing was like a bomb, detonating fashion week and winning two major awards in the fashion industry in 2019: the “Intangible Heritage Award” and the “Fashion Styling Award.” In the New Year’s Eve show in 2020, the Maritime Silk Road Committee selected Axin as an outstanding representative of the domestic avant-garde and hosted the opening show. Since then, GAX has stepped onto the international fashion week stage.
Whether incorporating high-slit designs, boasting “vibrant and lively” men’s pants, seamlessly blending embroidery with a sporty style, or juxtaposing plastic with regular fabrics, each piece reflects Axin’s quirky fashion sense, truly catching the eye. However, the most representative GAX clothing is undoubtedly those trendy Chinese-style items that flood the streets. These trendy items have supported many imitation industries, with as many as 600 counterfeiters for popular embroidered T-shirts featuring the Monkey King.
But GAX’s designs go beyond this. In addition to the popular sold-out items, Gax has always been seeking innovation and breakthroughs. Many big brands are pursuing high-profile collaborations, while Axin has chosen a more down-to-earth approach to design. In June 2020, to help more than 50 elderly rural grandmothers in Shaanxi, Axin incorporated the small tigers they handmade into his designs, and the items sold out within two hours.
Axin does not blindly follow fashion trends. While others are rushing forward, he slows down to appreciate every detail of life. Regardless of the fashion world’s perception or positioning of him, he always considers his fans as the top priority.
In 2019, Gax was named one of the Top Ten Miao People of the Year. Not only did he realize his self-worth through design, but he also helped many rural craftsmen. Through his fame, he allowed more people to discover the beauty of embroidery and Chinese style.
He does not shy away from sharing his creativity on social platforms, along with snippets of his life and daily moments. Unlike other mysterious and lofty fashion designers, he endorses his own products, often serving as the model himself. Understanding how to market and create in the current environment has garnered him the attention and support of millions of fans, making him the most popular designer on the internet.
Everyone is seeking their unique selves but is hesitant to take the risk to truly be themselves. Gax’s designs allow you to openly be yourself.
If there are countless designers called “geniuses,” then Gax is one of the few “enchanting geniuses.” Whether it’s his whimsical ideas or imaginative designs, his works seem to be filled with spirituality, a supernatural quality that captivates the soul and remains unforgettable to those who have seen them. He is Gax, a clothing designer, but more than that, a supernatural being in the world of design.
Chinese source: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1674788403623235821
