EXCLUSIVE: Shanghai Fashion Week Opts for Online Showcase as Lockdown Subsides
The postponed Shanghai Fashion Week, which was originally scheduled to be held from March 25 to April 1, will take place from June 17 to 19 in a digital format in partnership with Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, WWD has learned.
After a two-month citywide lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Shanghai is slowly reopening, and members of the local fashion community are eager to release their new collections, many of which have been completed months ago for the original show date.
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The final lineup of the online showcase will be revealed on June 13, with more than 30 brands participating. Every day, a six-hour livestream will broadcast fashion videos across various social media channels, and release behind-the-scenes content, as well as panel discussions.
Xiaolei Lv, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Fashion Week Organizing Committee, said: “Even though we are faced with great difficulties, Shanghai Fashion Week will never be absent. We are always here to inject new energy into the fashion industry, and help Chinese fashion designers to shine.”
The trade shows, which have been a crucial component in the success of Shanghai Fashion Week in recent years, however, won’t return with the digital showcase.
Tasha Liu, founder of fashion retailer and emerging talents support program Labelhood, said due to the pandemic, many Shanghai-based designers were unable to process much of the sales, and some of them are looking for opportunities to host smaller sales events in July and August after COVID-19 rules are loosened further in the city. Meanwhile, the majority of the brands based elsewhere in China have completed the sales on their own.
Around half of the brands planned to show with Labelhood will join the digital showcase, Liu added.
“The fact that we are able to put out this digital fashion week is a vote of confidence for the designers and everyone else involved. We are maximizing our efforts to unite all forces to raise attention for the fashion industry. We hope that their creativities can encourage and inspire us all amid this challenging time,” she added.
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