Fashion rejunvenates itself for Fall/Winter 2024

In the midst of the vibrant spring scenery, the 2024 Shanghai Fashion Week opened with a grand gathering of stars, including renowned Japanese designer Naoki Takizawa, and a show by Le Fame, the Chinese label known for its modern Shanghai-style.

This season the Shanghai Fashion Week theme was “Chainborne,” aiming to foster deep integration among various stakeholders through a busy schedule of fashion shows, trade shows and showrooms.

In todays digital era, Shanghai Fashion Week once again partnered with Douyin (TikTok China), launching digital fashion shows and showcasing unique Chinese designers to a wide audience, reaching up to 117 million views.

​To kick off the fashion marathon, Le Fame, which will celebrate its tenth anniversary next year showed its Fall/Winter 2024 ready-to-wear collection at Hall Red, Taiping Lake in Shanghai Xintiandi. 

The collection called “Modern Shanghai Trilogy” was presented in three chapters: “Shanghai Glamour”; “Shanghai Moonlight”; and “Shanghai New Classical.” Collaborating with independent designer Zhong Zixin, the label reimagined the city’s iconic style and history, inspired by the 1920’s and the modern day Shanghainese woman.

“For brands like Le Fame that have both designer style and commercial potential, it’s a huge breakthrough for us to be the opening show. It’s time for Shanghai to launch a brand with a strong Shanghai aesthetic,” ​said WANG Manxiu, co-founder of Le Fame which reached an impressive annual turnover of nearly 250 million yuan in 2019 and is looking to expand oversees. 

Mode trade show

Among the bustling events of Shanghai Fashion Week was also the 2024 Fall/Winter Mode Shanghai Fashion trade show, which welcomed many domestic and international newcomers. Mode attracted 11 showrooms, nearly 300 brands and enterprises, with overseas exhibitors accounting for nearly half. A 10% increase from the same period last year, many of which have a background in the supply chain.

Raxxy, a luxury down jacket brand, showcased its 3D reconstruction technology, along with several patents for new craftsmanship techniques. The brand’s founder, William Shen, draws inspiration from traditional Chinese bamboo weaving craftsmanship. “We are innovating fashion, introducing entirely new fashion technologies,” he said.

With the help of Shanghai Fashion Week, the brand has experienced rapid development over the past three years. Shen mentioned that the brand has partnered with a European brand management company allowing it to enter the European market, distributing to boutiques.

Also present at Mode was Dongli, a label that originated from the cashmere supply chain.  In collaboration with fashion brand Siqiyoung, founded by blogger Maggie Yang Siqi, and Douyin, it jointly launched its latest products at the main show venue of Shanghai Fashion Week.

For Dongli, as a cashmere sweater manufacturer, participating in Shanghai Fashion Week is to leverage its influence, gather market feedback, understand market demands and trends, expand domestic and international markets, enhance the brand’s position in the fashion industry, deepen exchanges and collaborate with other well-known brands and designers, and collectively promote the industry’s development.

M Space

M Space, held every season, focuses on “sustainable fashion development” and “fashion
business innovation issues,” exploring the current status, opportunities, and challenges of
the industry, and sparking future trends, concepts, and models. The event focuses on
topics such as AI intelligence, sustainable development, e-commerce channels, and supply chain upgrades.

“China is a market we are very optimistic about, especially over the past five years. We
deeply feel the speed of development of sustainable fashion concepts in the Chinese market
and are amazed by the potential of the Chinese market. In the next stage, we will fully
leverage AI intelligence to actively reach our consumers in a more visual marketing approach,
allowing them to see and recognize the sustainability of our brand,” said Thierry Andretta, the global CEO of Mulberry, in a discussion with veteran media personality, founder of the
Can U sustainable fashion platform, Cui Dan during a panel at the opening forum of M Space.

Also participating in the discussion, Wang Junhong, Executive Director, and Vice President of Lilanz Group, added, “Should the concept of sustainable development also be interpreted from a
business perspective? Brands must survive and thrive in order to have greater capabilities
and broader influence, thus making more contributions to sustainable development for
humanity, society, business ecology, and the planet.”

Ontimeshow

Considered one of the key events of Shanghai Fashion Week, FashionNetwork.com spoke with Gu Yeli the founder of Ontimeshow, over coffee. Created in 2014, it is currently the largest invitation-only fashion trade show in China, targeting global fashion designer brands and specifically targeting the Chinese market.

Ontimeshow now covers an area of over 25,000 square meters in the West Bund area and is gradually expanding along the Suzhou River. The number of participating brands has increased from the initial 48 to over 4,000 accumulated over ten years, with a total audience of over two
hundred thousand people, including buyers, exhibitors, and press. 
 
The first edition of Ontimeshow came about following a phone call from Lv Xiaolei, the general secretary of the Shanghai Fashion Week Organizing Committee, to Yeli. Initially, Yeli was contemplating opening a men’s fashion multi-brand store, conducting research in London and Shanghai, but seized the opportunity in 2014. 

The first venue had excellent ceiling height, light, open spaces, was in an ideal location and with the groundwork laid by the ten years of development of Shanghai Fashion Week, the
name “Ontimeshow” was decided, meaning “right timing, harmonious people, and
favourable circumstances.” “Friends said the meaning of the name was hoping
that fashion shows could start on time and that fashionistas wouldn’t be late,” joked Yeli.

Shanghai Fashion Week and the surrounding events have come a long way but, “The new changes and uncertainties in the current retail market make it difficult for everyone in the fashion industry to stand alone. It is the vigilance and mutual assistance of old and new partners that have led to today,” the trade show founder pointed out.

This success of the fashion event not only provides a stage for designers to showcase but also offers business opportunities. This has also prompted more refined platforms and service providers to join, such as Tube, Not Showroom, and Ontimeshow’s Roomroom. Platforms supporting Chinese designers like Labelhood are also in the mix. Both Chinese designer brands and Shanghai Fashion Week are experiencing explosive growth.