A Fifth Fashion Week Capital? Shanghai Makes the Case for Itself

Fashion insiders are always hunting for the next big thing, yet they often look only where they already know. My first experience at Shanghai Fashion Week showed that the Chinese metropolis offers a strong argument for expanding that search, and the reasons go beyond the sheer size of its market.

In Shanghai the atmosphere feels youthful, tightly linked, and unusually close to the actual buyers of the clothes. At Labelhood, an independent platform that has become one of the week’s most compelling stages for emerging talent, the line between industry insiders and the public is refreshingly thin. There is a show for editors and buyers, and a second show that welcomes anyone else eager to see the runway.

Blake Abbie, the Canadian‑born editor‑in‑chief of A Magazine Curated By, has spent considerable time watching the Chinese fashion scene. He says this proximity is one of Shanghai’s defining strengths. Here, designers are especially aware of the market. In other places that awareness may sit in marketing departments; in Shanghai the designers themselves seem to understand what people want to wear. “I don’t necessarily think that’s the case in Europe or New York, where designers often create clothes based on what they think people should wear,” he explained.

Abbie believes the difference stems from the fact that designers and customers belong to the same young community. Their relationship is less hierarchical and more of an exchange. Consumers back local labels, designers listen, and the feedback loop fuels creativity instead of merely dictating what sells.

Tasha Liu, who founded Labelhood, sees this consumer engagement as one of Shanghai’s greatest assets. The city operates on several fronts at once: runway shows, showrooms, retail and a digital ecosystem that lets shoppers follow new labels almost as soon as they appear. Domestic buyers attend in large numbers, she noted, turning Shanghai into a true trading hub as well as a creative showcase. While Paris may still be the primary destination for international buyers placing orders, Shanghai has its own commercial momentum.

That momentum did not happen by accident. Since 2015, Shanghai Fashion Week has been building an ecosystem that blends presentations, showrooms and business opportunities, according to Landon Du, the week’s Projects Director. The main venue generally requires designers to have at least two years of experience, with applications reviewed by a committee of industry professionals, media, showroom owners and buyers. By contrast, Labelhood offers a more open platform for emerging names.

Putting on a collection is far from cheap. Production, models, styling, lighting and public relations all require funding, and sponsorship rarely covers the whole bill. Many of the designers on the calendar already run retail businesses in China, some of which have reached multibrand stores abroad.

Liu points out that the business infrastructure supports creative independence. China’s production capabilities and sophisticated e‑commerce channels let young labels reach consumers without first building an elaborate international distribution network. Designers can grow through online sales and multibrand retail before opening their own stores, a path that is often far more difficult in other markets.

The commercial awareness does not mean the clothes are merely designed to please consumers. Both Liu and Du highlight a growing interest in Chinese heritage, craftsmanship and traditional techniques. Designers are looking beyond familiar cultural references to explore processes preserved by families and communities, such as traditional dyeing and embroidery. The challenge is to bring these practices into the present without turning them into museum pieces.

Liu mentioned Kinyan Lam, which works with traditional dyeing methods from rural southwestern China, and Samuel Gui Yang, whose work blends Chinese aesthetics with a contemporary sensibility. For Abbie, the appeal lies in how craftsmanship is woven into garments that can actually be worn. He described designers spending months on intricate embroidery, sometimes reaching couture‑level detail, while creating pieces meant for everyday life. These are not precious objects meant to be admired from a distance, but expressions of craft that remain accessible to younger customers.

The attitude behind this exploration is also shifting. After the pandemic, more designers returned to China from studies abroad and began to examine their own cultural inheritance with renewed interest. Earlier generations had also looked to Chinese tradition, but often without the same everyday sensibility. Now, Abbie says, there is a stronger sense of pride in where designers come from and a desire to make that identity part of contemporary life rather than a decorative reference.

The relationship with international luxury brands is more nuanced than a simple story of local labels displacing foreign ones. Liu argues that major fashion houses have helped educate Chinese consumers, teaching them the importance of design, storytelling and brand identity. Those same consumers are now shaping their own tastes and discovering new possibilities within Shanghai’s vibrant fashion ecosystem.