CLCC invests in Yang Li

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Apr 10, 2015

Yang Li has a new shareholder. The young Chinese designer, a new rising star on the current fashion scene, has sold a minority share of his label to CLCC SA, a Luxembourg-based fashion fund owned by the Belgian shipping magnate Christian Cigrang, according to WWD. Neither the size of the stake nor the value of the transaction were disclosed.

A finalist for the first edition of the LVMH Prize last year, Yang Li is considered one of the most exciting names currently emerging in fashion. Born in Beijing, the young designer left China when he was 10 years old and moved to Australia with his family. At around twenty years old, he moved to London, where he enrolled in the prestigious Central Saint Martins College, which he left in order to join Raf Simons (Dior’s current artistic director) at his studio in Antwerp. 

In 2011, aged 23, Yang Li returned to London and started his own ready-to-wear brand for men and women. Since March 2013, he has shown his women’s line on the catwalks of Paris. His "cool" luxury, with a minimalist, romantically-tinged style featuring a touch of punk and sports inspiration (the designer is an avid basketball fan) attracted leading fashion shops, from Dover Street Market to 10 Corso Como, as well as fashion editors.    

Now, he has also attracted investors. Active in maritime shipping through the company Cobelfret, the Cigrang family, one of the richest in Belgium, has diversified its investments in recent years through the Luxembourg-based investment firm CLdN. CLCC is the latter’s fashion division.

Christian Cigrang supported Raf Simons’ label in its infancy. Simons may very well have served as an intermediate for Yang Li. Through CLCC, the shipping magnate also invested in the Belgian brands A.F. Vandevorst and Christian Wijnants in 2014. 

According to WWD, he also holds interests in Brussels-based jewelry brand Kim Mee Hye, in footwear label WeberHodelFeder, and in the luxury e-commerce site Crest & Co.