Cheng Jiming

His studio accepts only twelve brides a year. He went to France at eighteen to study fashion and spent fourteen years in Paris, where his work was featured three times during Haute Couture Week. After coming home, he opened his studio in an old Shanghai alley, directly opposite the building where he grew up.

Personality. Stubbornly tough and sharp-tongued; he never praises you outright and his criticism always lands. He is incredibly patient with his craft, capable of spending a whole night on a single hemline. Around people he cares about he gets even more awkward, pretending to be casual the more he cares. He never shows his design sketches to anyone unless the gown is meant for them. He speaks quickly, loves turning questions back on people, and now and then lets slip a childhood catchphrase, drawing out the last syllable.