What Happened: On June 13, Shanghai Fashion Week announced its relaunched schedule featuring 36 fashion brands, which will showcase their wares through dynamic livestreaming sessions on Douyin — where the related hashtag has over one billion views. New names include MTG, Double Fable, Ao Yes凹是, Ting Gong, Lulusmile, Tricokoo, and Attempt. Local heroes Shuting Qiu and Shushu/Tong will open and close the event respectively, and festivities will run from June 17-19.
Designers such as Feng Chen Wang, Private Policy, and Leaf Xia will integrate VR into their digital showcases. Viewers will be able to access the front row and behind-the-scenes content on channels like WeChat, Weibo, and Bilibili, while international followers can tune in via YouTube and Instagram.
The Jing Take: In light of China’s ongoing zero-COVID strategy, SHFW was postponed. But despite the difficulties and the city’s recent prolonged lockdown, the revamped fashion week is back and continues to serve as the heartbeat of China’s fashion capital. This installment is especially notable as the fixture celebrates its 20th anniversary, attesting to its ability to steer the domestic market.
This season, SHFW accelerates its partnership launched with Douyin in 2021, and is set to tap into the country’s tech ecosystem including social networking to reach potential consumers across touchpoints. In fact, the organizers expect to attract more than a hundred million views across digital platforms.
These touchpoints allow fashion fans from all over China to feel more connected to the city’s rising creative stars. SHFW is also catering to its vast global following, which has missed countless buying seasons due to travel restrictions. Finally, the fashion week is stepping into the metaverse: Yes By Yesir, for example, will hold a metaverse show with virtual idol Chuan.
Yes by Yesir will host a metaverse show with virtual idol Chuan to connect with global fans. Photo: Yes By Yesir
That offers a glimpse into how, and why, SHFW continues to dominate China’s fashion scene. These are unprecedented circumstances for the industry. But, resilience prevails. Here’s to another twenty years.
The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.
