“I never thought they were cooking so hard there!” When I was in China, it was a message at the top of my Instagram inbox. Occurring on the heels of Paris collections, Shanghai Fashion Week rarely gets the attention and credibility it deserves as Shanghai shows are not exposed to social media at the level of its western counterparts.
But that’s changing, and it’s not just your Instagram inbox. It was my fourth tour in Shanghai and I have never seen many western reporters in town. With the increase in visibility of labels such as Mark Gong and Shushu/Tong (thanks to celebrities such as Jennie, Sydney Sweeney, and Olivia Rodrigo), the global position of Shanghai Fashion Week is growing. However, the Chinese market is unstable, and Shanghai’s up-and-coming fashion scene has become a huge hit. There have been a significant decrease in schedule shows this week, and pedestrians have been reduced for weekly events.
The good news is that Shanghai talent shows incredible resilience, returning to the more commercial aspects of the collection, with others pushing creativity to the extreme. This season included a wealth of revitalization by international brands, including exhibitions by Loropiana, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana, as well as opening Prada’s first independent dining concept in Asia in downtown Shangay. Without further ado, there’s everything you might have missed at Shanghai Fashion Week.
This week’s top collection
Knockout “Y3K” show
Weiran graduated from Parsons in 2022 and quickly founded the label Weiraen in Shanghai. This was her second runway show, and one of the most talked about moments of the week, with a futuristic couture treat that lit up her big ambitions. Rather than shaping the commercial line, she hones her quirky creativity in the hopes that it will help her build a more consistent, bespoke business. This collection was inspired by Hieronymus Bosch Garden of joy on earth. She said it was the first time she had grounded her collection on a particular theme, and the focus helped her.
Two names to see
Every season in Shanghai, the Fashion Incubator and Retail Label Labels holds lab showrooms that concurrently with the show schedule. It’s a place where visitors can find fresh talent. Among them, this time designer Joyce Bao, a whimsical, hot dream of lace, skillfully draped and shirred sophomore, and St. Martins, a graduate of red GG, graduated from the excellent menswear of plant plants with boiled wool and screen-printed motifs with felt or screen-printed motifs.
Free Ho arrives in Shanghai
ILI nodes and Xu Zhi are bringing free ho munition heat to Chinese customers. The grumpy layers of Nod have alternated slammed their bodies and unraveled around them, but Zhi wanted inspiration from the 1970s’ interpretation of Free and.
Sustainable outlook
Hong Kong-based designer and finalist of the Sustasia Sustainable Fashion Prize, Karmuel Young has put together some truly unique riffs for classic workwear. His spacious jumpsuit can be converted to both pants and jackets, or long overcoats. This is an incredible feat of pattern making, making sure modular fashion doesn’t have to look clumsy or crafty.
Commercials are not foul language
The short sentence was celebrated in business for 10 years in one of Shanghai’s best style collections. This provided an endless wardrobe inspo with colorful knits, playful layers and creative riffs on simple wardrobe classics. Short Sente designer Lin Guan is a graduate of Calvin Klein Menswear, where fashion outlooks put more comfort and enjoyment than everything else.
One of the first Chinese models to be recognized worldwide, Lu Yan launched the label Comme Moi over a decade ago. She created it in the name of Topville on her Shanghai Fashion Week calendar and compiled a glossy runway show and collection designed with her own chic image.
