QIFEI Brings Worldly Hearth to Milan

On 25 September, Yilin Na will present QIFEI's Spring/Summer 2027 collection, Worldly Hearth, at Galleria Meravigli in Milan. The show is part of A Rising Voice, presented by the Afro Fashion Association, and is included in the official Milano Fashion Week calendar.

Why Milan?

For Yilin Na, this is a return.

The QIFEI Creative Director studied Fashion & Design at Istituto Marangoni in Milan, where he was named among the school's Top 10 Outstanding Students of the Year in 2018. In 2020, his work Butterfly Effect was presented on the Casa Marangoni platform.

After developing his career in China, including being named among Shenzhen's Top 10 Fashion Designers in 2022 and 2024, he comes back to Milan, this time not as a student but as the designer of his own label.

Worldly Hearth is therefore both a debut and a return.

Who is AFA?

The Afro Fashion Association (AFA) is a Milan-based organisation dedicated to creating opportunities and visibility for designers and creatives from underrepresented communities in fashion and the creative industries.

Through its mentorship programme and initiatives such as A Rising Voice, AFA supports emerging designers not only with creative guidance, but also with access to the professional ecosystem that surrounds international fashion.

For QIFEI, that collaboration has provided the framework for Na to bring his work to Milan and to develop his voice in an international context.

Why AFA?

Worldly Hearth was developed through AFA's mentorship programme under the guidance of Michelle Francine Ngonmo, AFA's Founder and President, together with the AFA team.

The collaboration has allowed QIFEI to move beyond simply presenting a collection. It has created a bridge between Na's experience in China, his education in Milan and his ambitions for an international audience.

Ngonmo will join Na at the press conference ahead of the show, alongside a special guest from MALAKING.

Why MALAKING?

MALAKING is more than a snack. It has become a pop-cultural symbol.

For Na's generation, it is a memory of everyday Chinese life, a flavour encountered from childhood onwards and recognised instantly across the country.

That familiarity became the starting point for Worldly Hearth.

Rather than looking to historical symbols or established ideas of what "Chinese fashion" should look like, Na turns to something contemporary, ordinary and personal. Spice becomes a language for memory, community and everyday experience.

These ideas are translated into silhouette, texture, colour, movement and detail. The collection reflects QIFEI's interest in contemporary identity while moving away from familiar visual clichés.

A collection made by hand

Among the pieces is a garment that took eight weeks to sew by hand. Created specifically for the presentation, it is not intended for commercial sale and will appear on the runway at Galleria Meravigli.

For QIFEI, this is not simply an appearance during fashion week. It is an opportunity to introduce a new generation of Chinese fashion to an international audience, through a language that begins with something familiar.

On 25 September, Worldly Hearth arrives in Milan.

The show is presented with D.WONDER as media partner. The Berlin-based independent magazine works at the intersection of fashion and emerging technology, from 3D editorials to digital fashion, and brings QIFEI's Milan debut to an international readership.

Words Patty Wong
Editing Jonah Liu