It seems the ripple effect of Donald Trump’s trade war with China is now being felt at the upcoming New York Fashion Week, which starts on Sept 6.
Chinese designer Xiaojuan Yang, founder of independent label I Love Pretty, and her team have been denied visas to travel to the United States next month. According to various reports, Yang applied for a visa at the American Consulate in Guangzhou, China, but the application was turned down and no specific reason was given for the denial.
According to Forbes, 17% fewer business and tourists visas issued to Chinese nationals in the first five months of this year, compared to the same period in 2018.
This comes as the number of Chinese travellers to the US last year dropped for the first time since 2003, amid tensions between the White House and Beijing.
The I Love Pretty designer, who in the past has shown her collections in fashion capitals such as Paris and Milan, is still planning to show her spring-summer 2020 range. The show will happen without Yang and her staff on Sept 6.
New York Fashion Week has been attracting many Chinese designers in the last few years and in recent seasons its schedule has even included a day of events devoted to Chinese labels, China Day, supported by online retailer Tmall.
Yang’s visa refusal comes at a time when New York is trying to become more welcoming to international designers.
Fashion designer Tom Ford, the newly appointed chairman of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), recently said that “the future of American fashion rests on an increased global perspective” and has made it his mission to make American fashion more international and New York more appealing to global designers, journalists and buyers.
