Connections and contradictions at CHIC Shanghai's autumn edition 2026

Despite internationalisation efforts, Chinese was the dominant language heard at the China International Fashion Fair (CHIC) Autumn edition, held from 25 to 27 August in Shanghai. In fact, non-Chinese visitors at this more compact and domestically oriented edition of the fair are quite rare so that there were no provisions for translation devices or translators made at the business programme arena. While exports are falling and tariffs and costs are increasing, Chinese brands and manufacturers try to stay afloat with innovative products, nearshoring efforts and a renewed focus on Chinese style. FashionUnited spoke with exhibitors about their individual strategies and outlook.

According to official figures, the fair attracted more than 61,800 trade visitors and close to 740 domestic exhibitors with a few international ones from countries like Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Korea, Japan and India. The exhibition area was spread out over 53,000 square meters and three halls. Networking events, called CHIC Matching, brought brands and manufacturers together. The Chinese market with its sheer size, product and manufacturing quality, innovative materials and efficient sourcing is certainly attractive but remains challenging. Language and connections remain the main ones, also for brands wanting to enter the European market.

Online fashion retailer About You was on site with its own booth to change that. In a dedicated session, Jeff Wang, who is in charge of establishing European brands in China, talked about the advantages of About You in the European market. He admitted that while About You is well known in Europe, especially among Gen Z consumers, this is not the case in China. Not yet, according to the online retailer who wants to enlarge its customer base in China and is also actively looking for Chinese brands to introduce them in Europe. Special incentives - among access to 26 markets - like legal help as well as no initial costs to join the platform. In addition, About You technology will be used to localise language and payment options and customer service.

Domestic focus, international aspirations

Casualwear brand Samceten, which used to make 40 to 50 percent of its business through international sales in its heyday in 2008 and 2009, is down to 10 percent of that share today. While Gan Dan Qing who runs the 38-year-old family business in second generation, wants to increase this percentage again, she was skeptical when discussing a platform business model like that of About You with FashionUnited. Though it is currently actively recruiting Chinese brands, Gan Dan Qing stated there there was neither people power nor time or capacities to go into it further from her end.

The brand thus continues banking on fairs like CHIC. Currently, the minimalist styles and quiet luxury items are popular with customers in Singapore, Kazakhstan, Japan and South Korea. At the fair’s spring edition, the brand gained new customers from Australia and Poland. Domestically, the company uses a network of about 1000 wholesale customers and produces one million pieces per year, with prices starting from 50 to 180 yuan wholesale (about 7.5 to 27 US dollars) for a t-shirt.

The company has been visiting CHIC for the last six to seven editions. It has subsidiaries in three different regions that focus on different product categories: shirts, pullovers and leather jackets in particular. By cooperating with other companies, they are also into material development, especially wool, cashmere, silk and cotton, all natural materials.

Asked about CHIC’s growth in the twelve years of its existence, Jiao Pei, vice president of the China National Garment Association (CNGA), referred to the fair’s move from Beijing to Shanghai in 2015. Holding it bi-annually is important for the country’s cultural identity according to Pei.

In terms of export perspectives, Pei mentioned that tariffs/taxes could increase the price of products, which in turn may reduce buyers’ intentions to buy Chinese products. “But this will have no impact on CHIC because of the fair’s strong domestic focus and strong base in the domestic market.”

Chinese style with global ambitions

For the first time, there was an area designated specifically to Chinese style, which housed about 20 brands, reflecting the growing confidence of a Chinese fashion industry that is increasingly defined by distinctive design, brand development and global ambitions.

General manager Wang Chun appreciated this effort and the proximity to like-minded brands when speaking with FashionUnited. Her brand Fan Hua was founded four years ago. It hits a nerve with its contemporary clothes that have a traditional twist - elements borrowed and reinvented from traditional Chinese garments. The preferred material is brocade and the target group women between 30 and 50. Since May of this year, there is another brand - Sun Yun Shan - which follows an even more contemporary approach to attract a younger target group and more unisex pieces. It seems to work as the booth was quite crowded at the fair.

“We have engaged a well-known designer who studied in the UK, Ling Hu,” shares Wang Chun whose mother Zhao Xin is also a designer. Chun is a history buff and says that the clothes are inspired by Chinese history. “It becomes a matter of national pride,” she says.

The company has its own small factory but also manufactures elsewhere. While the domestic market makes up the lion share of turnover, there are customers in London and Thailand; mainly Chinese living abroad. It also operates eight stores, all in Shenzhen. Turnover is 10 million RMB (about 1.5 million US dollar) per year, increasing rapidly. Both brands are firmly established in the luxury segment with a jacket going for 1500 RMB (about 224 US dollars) wholesale.

Italian pavilion aiming for Chinese market

There were 14 Italian brands represented at the fair; nine returning brands and five newcomers The number is up from 12 at previous edition and 6 in August 2025. For Spring 2027, participation of 20 brands is envisioned. They comprise mainly of womenswear brands, two menswear labels as well as accessories brands.

The Italian Fashion Agency also takes a group of Italian fashion companies to Supreme and has participated in CHIC for the third time after the Covid pandemic. Raffaele Vedani’s history with the fair is older than that - he remembers the first time he attended, back when the fair was still in Beijing.

“‘Made in Italy’ is sought after,” he states when speaking to FashionUnited, pointing to the high quality, natural materials like silk and cashmere and the fact that production is taking place in Italy. “The brands participating here [in the pavilion] are trying to enter the Chinese market,” he says. “China is a difficult market,” he adds and elaborates that this is in terms of language but that there are different kinds of businesses out there. “It is about finding true cooperations rather than someone who just wants to copy styles,” Vedani states.

He is quite happy with the flow at the current edition; there have even been new customers, particularly from Qatar, Canada and Panama.

Denim World @CHIC

There was a separate area with about 30 denim manufacturers and brands at the fair. XZY Denim specialises in womenswear, which makes up about 70 percent of their business, with the remaining 30 percent dedicated to menswear. The company was founded in 2018 and sells domestically as well as in the international market, with a ratio of about 90 to 10 percent. UK, Russia and USA are particularly strong markets, with clients having been acquired at the March 2026 edition of CHIC, which was very successful.

The brand’s unique selling point is its high quality, which left visitors at the fair impressed. For example, the top seams of a jeans are hand stitched, eliminating the dots that are usually visible between stitches, as explained by managing director Vickie who runs the company together with her husband.

Another advantage, especially for small or medium-sized brands and retailers, are relatively low minimum order quantities (MOQ) of 200 pieces and reasonable pricing - for example 200 RMB (around 30 US dollars) for a pair of jeans. Lead time is 45 days, all given the MOQ of 200 pieces.

The company has its own factory where it employs about 80 to 90 highly skilled workers due to its focus on doing certain steps by hand. The denim used comes from China and abroad, especially traditional denim-manufacturing countries like Japan, Italy and Turkey. The factory produces about 200,000 pieces per year.

The managing director was happy with the current edition of CHIC, having gained many new customers from the domestic and international market, for instance from Japan, South Korea, Singapore and India.

In terms of challenges, production times need to become shorter to keep a competitive edge. To become more efficient, more skilled workers are needed, which are hard to find. In terms of the international market, language remains a challenge. For now, the bulk of sales will come from the domestic market, of which Vickie predicts an increase of around 15 percent for the next few years. The goal is to shift the focus towards luxury in the domestic market.

Outdoor market shows promising performance

The outdoor and sports sector also had a separate area at CHIC, comprised of about 25 booths. Yalida is an outdoor brand and manufacturer for both mens- and womenswear. The family-owned business was founded in 1995 and sells its own outdoor brand Ironcross as well as workwear and uniforms under the brand YLD workwear. The ratio of the two segments is about 50/50 as is the production for the domestic and the international market. The company exports to many countries, among them South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, the Middle East, Singapore and Germany.

While the sales in the international market have decreased by about 20 percent due to the current tariff situation, the domestic market is showing an increase, reports production head Andrew Lin. His wife, Grace Yang, is the general manager and the second in command after her mother who is the founder and CEO.

The company owns three factories, one of them in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and is thinking of expanding production into other countries like Egypt and maybe Ghana down the line. A marketing and sales office and showroom in Europe is also in the pipeline, potentially in Munich, to easier reach important customers like Engelbert Strauss and Kübler. Yalida currently produces about 10 million pieces annually, of them 6 million are padded jackets and down jackets. Apart from CHIC, outdoor fair ISPO, workwear and corporate fashion fair A+A and Milipol Paris are important events.

China International Fashion Fair Spring 2027 will take place from 10 to 12 March 2027.

FashionUnited was invited to attend the fair.