In the three years since it was founded, Sissae Qipao has created a strong brand identity for itself in the Indonesian fashion industry. Following their passion, the makers of this brand, the Willy sisters - Inwi, Vero and Dora - have been through a challenging yet rewarding journey. Bridestory goes deeper in talk with the Willy sisters about the brand, about the Shanghai dress and about their journey in the fashion industry.
Tell us a little background on Sissae Qipao
Around three years ago, we came up with an idea for a label focusing on Shanghai Dresses (known as Cheong Sam or Qipao). It started out in the form of pure passion on fashion industry. The main idea is to combine the exotic origin design from Shanghai Dresses – with contemporary design.
Why did you choose Shanghai Dress as the main core of your label?
For us, the original Shanghai Dress has beautiful design. It accentuates the women's bodyline in an elegant way. We believe that if we combine it with contemporary design, Shanghai Dress could be the best choice to wear on daily, as well as formal occasion. Our approach in our label is to bridge the gap between conservative elegant and contemporary appeal.
Your formal collections are well-suited for special occasions such as Chinese wedding tea ceremony. What are your tips and tricks for the Brides-to-be in terms of choosing the perfect Shanghai Dress?
First and foremost, know your body type. Originally, Shanghai Dress is the body-hugging type of dress, in which, not every women has the type of body that suit the design. Curvy body can look really good in the body-hugging dress, yet still, it can make you look voluptuous. Therefore, our line has various designs for various types of body. We have the body-hugging, A-line, sheath, and bell dresses.
For the women with wider hips, we suggest them to avoid the bell dresses – and go with the A-line dresses instead. For the women with wider shoulder, we suggest them to wear cap sleeves – and go with the short-sleeves dresses instead.
Secondly, compliment your age with the right design. Our approach for the right design also depends on age. There are certain types of dresses that suit certain age – for example with the body hugging and mini dresses, the target are around 20 to 35 years old.
Thirdly, pay attention to how the dress fits your body. There are so many label choices of Shanghai Dresses out there. So the key is to know which dress fits your body best. There are certain types of cuttings that are looser on certain parts of the body. For example, there are empty spaces on your cleavage, or your back. Therefore, it is very important to fit the dress on before buying.
For our readers who want to purchase Sissae Qipao, when will be the new collections coming in?
We launch our new collections every four months, but every once in a while, we have mini collections. It depends on the inspiration, really. But the constant new collections can always be expected every four months. For this year, we will have them on April, August, and December.
How do you see your label in the near future?
It will always involve Shanghai Dress as the core design. For now, we do not see ourselves expanding our lines in other types of dresses. We are expanding in terms of market exposure, and we thrive to serve only the best for our customers. Our next agenda is to explore more on Couture Collections.
