Daniel Chong, accessories designer: 'Fast fashion must become aware of its production volumes'

Valencia - For Daniel Chong, backpacks, wallets, shoulder bags and fanny packs with minimalist shapes, yet enveloped in prints and colour have become his main hallmark. In the designer's eyes, it was vital to give accessories the importance they deserved and to abandon monochrome. More than 10 years ago, he not only found a clear niche in the market, but also responded with his own brand. Now, he is proud to say that he has gone from sales of 300,000 euros in 2020 to two million in just three years. Despite such success, Chong prefers to be realistic and does not hesitate to assure that "the most difficult thing is to maintain, because the more you grow, the more expenses you have". However, by 2025 he is anticipating a similar increase, with the potential to reach four million euros.

In a decade he has managed to bring his pieces to the US and Europe, selling through 190 points of sale worldwide, but without ceasing to produce locally. While Madrid in Spain remains the center of operations and a workshop, with a focus on customisation, Elche houses the production of bags and backpacks —specifically in the workshops of Ramón, Maricruz and Abel, all of whom Chong sees as "part of our family"— and Pamplona assumes the remaining 40 percent of the production.

It is in the latter that Chong's sister Sally heads a workshop made up of "wonderful women who cut and sew for our firm". Oporto, the second largest city in Portugal, has now also joined the brand's list of suppliers, having recently become the location for its new textile line, which debuted its first collection 'Old School' in February, for which most clothing "will be made responsibly". FashionUnited spoke with the brand's founder about the challenges of starting a business, expanding internationally and finding balance in a new world that is crying out for more sustainable brands.

Looking back on your more than 10 years of experience in the sector, can you tell us a little about the origin of your brand and how you got started on this adventure? When did you know you were drawn to the world of fashion?

I have always been drawn to fashion. My mother has been an impressive dressmaker and since I was little I grew up among sewing machines, fabrics and patterns. Although I studied design and communication, when I started in the world of fashion I already knew how to sew. My mother has been a great teacher, so it was not difficult to start with it. In fact, studying communication has given me a lot and has made the creative process of my garments more fun thanks to the influence of cinema.

And why accessories?

I have always been a fan of accessories. I believe that, as the word suggests, it is the accessory that completes your look, but I also saw a clear niche in the market. Usually the accessory is not the protagonist and the colours that are typically manufactured were black, navy or brown. Realising this, I decided to create pieces that were unique and that stood out for their shape and colour. I believe that our designs are special because we have a wide range of colours and that makes our customers identify with the brand and be able to recognise our creations immediately.

“Usually the accessory is not the protagonist and the colours that are typically manufactured were black, navy or brown. I found a clear niche in the market and decided to create pieces that were unique,”

Akin to sneakers, in recent years backpacks have become an indisputable piece of any street style. Prior to this, the accessory was possibly seen more in other European cities and not so much in your home country of Spain. Did you notice that it was taking off in an increase of sales or through new audience?

Several years ago I participated in a street fair in Pamplona, the city where I started with the brand, and I brought 20 backpacks. To my surprise, I sold them all in a couple of hours, then I realised that there was a clear need. People loved backpacks, they wanted to go hands-free, they wanted something that was not only for students, but for everyday life. I think that from that moment on I said to myself: this is what was needed.

Your brand has achieved impressive expansion with over 190 points of sale worldwide. What would you say has been the key to your success?

The key has been perseverance. We have self-financed ourselves, we have reinvested the profits in the company and we have managed to open points of sale year after year. I believe that success only comes when you do things with determination and enthusiasm. Improving the product over time, improving quality, getting fully involved with sustainability and believing in what we are doing is undoubtedly the key to success in any project.

In terms of international expansion, how have you managed to establish such a significant global presence?

I believe that the brand itself has a very powerful international projection. In our stores in Madrid and Barcelona, we are visited by thousands of tourists a year. Some of them have stores in their places of origin and contact us to become distributors, they are very impressed by the design and that it is a product made in Spain.

We entered the US market in 2022. We opened a pop-up store in Aventura Mall in Miami, the second largest shopping centre in the country, it helped us to test the American market and today the brand is distributed both via B2B and B2C. We also participated in the Maison & Object fair in Paris last September and the reception was very positive. We were able to observe other creators and we discovered that we have a very high level and that we are very competitive. Our idea is to open multi-brand points of sale throughout Europe and we are achieving it.

“In our stores in Madrid and Barcelona we are visited by thousands of tourists a year. Some of them have stores in their places of origin and contact us to become distributors,”

What are the future plans for Daniel Chong in terms of expansion? New challenges on the horizon?

We have just launched our new textile line. We wanted to offer a total look of the brand and we have started with unisex garments that stand out for their organic materials and the influence of colour. We want to achieve the same thing that we have been achieving with bags and backpacks: that they are identifiable, fun and affordable.

We participated for the first time in the Madrid Fashion Week last February and we are working on one collection per year to be able to supply our resellers without lowering the quality of our services. We prefer to strengthen our brand without abandoning our customer service which, for us, is the best we can do.

Belgium, France, the US… in which market do you perform best and why? Are there any international market that have pleasantly surprised you?

The UK has pleasantly surprised us, it was a market that, as a result of Brexit, we had somewhat forgotten, but B2C sales have resumed considerably. We believe that by having waterproof pieces it has become a brand with relevance for this region.

France is a great consumer of our brand. It has been difficult to generate trust in the French market, but they have finally been buying our pieces and have believed in their quality.

In terms of business strategy, how do you strike a balance between maintaining the exclusivity of a brand and expanding your global presence? Any advice for other brands that are also in this process?

To find that balance, you have to diversify products, offer limited productions, infinite combinations and, above all, grow in sales without neglecting the quality of the product or after-sales service. Our business strategy is based on communication. You have to tell everything, all the processes are part of a brand: show our workshops, be ethical and offer values for our work environment and for our community of clients. You can grow and you can manufacture in Spain, obviously taking production outside the margins would be greater, but in terms of values, I believe that we must defend local work and value it.

In the digital age, how do you perceive the current relevance of physical stores and their subsequent interior design?

The digital world is a reality, it is a universal showcase, everyone can see your store from the comfort of their home, but physical stores provide something else: a visual, sensory experience… I believe that if we did not have physical stores, our growth would not have been so rapid.

The training of our employees, for example, is essential. They have to believe in the project and they have to try our products, our entire team has products from the brand, so when recommending to customers they speak from their personal experience and that is essential.

“You can grow and you can manufacture in Spain. Obviously taking production outside the margins would be greater, but in terms of values, I believe that we must defend local work and value it,”

Talking about physical points of sale is also talking about rent. Taking into account that you own four stores in the capital, how do you experience the rise in rent in Madrid?

The problem of rent is an imminent reality, not only because of high costs, but because there are many premises that are closed and they are being converted into homes, which is why the price of premises is also increasing. It can happen that you are evicted from the premises because they are going to sell it for housing, as has happened to many fellow designers.

Sustainability is part of your DNA, how has it influenced the development of your products? Is there any major difficulty when it comes to wanting to make sustainable accessories?

The industry is constantly researching recycling processes and recycled fibres. However, they usually take years to lower it to those of us who manufacture on a small scale, which makes it difficult to work when you want to find monofibre or sustainable materials, but we are constantly discovering new materials: synthetic leathers or those that come from cactus, grape, corn, as well as recycled leathers from waste. Researching takes time and you have to take it into account when innovating.

“We want to raise awareness among the population about department stores continuing to promote mass consumption of garments at ridiculous prices,"

What is your opinion on vegan leather? Is it really sustainable?

There are thousands of variants of vegan leather, for our bases we use a leather alternative made from microfibres and a polyurethane layer. It is a resistant and durable product, stain resistant and washable. As it contains microfibre, it is a recycled product and, therefore, more sustainable… The problem lies in the polyurethane layer, which complicates the process of recycling it again as it is not a monofibre product.

We prefer leather, it is a noble and biodegradable product. We also use vegetable tanned leather that is dyed with natural dyes such as beetroot, being free of chrome and other chemicals.

And finally, experts say that sustainable fashion is no longer enough, that it must be regenerative. What is your opinion? Do you carry out any regenerative fashion actions?

Of course, all our cotton is circular, it comes from clothing landfills where it is shredded and fibre is extracted again. Cotton, even if it is organic, consumes a lot of resources, such as water, or wears out the land. When a garment is organic it means that it has not had pesticides in its process, but it is not entirely sustainable due to all the resources it consumes.

We want to raise awareness among the population about department stores continuing to promote the mass consumption of garments at ridiculous prices. Fast fashion must become aware of the volumes of its productions. Isn't it ironic that they manufacture without measure and that we are one of the smallest firms that choose recycled cotton? They should take charge of giving their garments a new life themselves.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.ES. Translation and edit by: Rachel Douglass.