Shanghai Fashion Week highlights domestic brands

Shanghai Fashion Week, which concluded yesterday, surprised this year’s visitors by focusing on domestic brands and designers. Organised by the Shanghai Textile Group, the spring edition of Shanghai Fashion Week 2013 took place from April

10th to 16th.

Founded in October 2003, the bi-annual Shanghai Fashion Week has always claimed a focus on “designed in China” but went all out with the latest edition, maybe inspired by China’s first lady Peng Liyuan who wore exclusively made-in-China outfits during her recent foreign tour?

Highlights of the fashion week were fashion shows by Taobao.com, a first for China’s largest e-tailer, also founded in 2003, and Chinese designers like La Vie, Helen Lee and Qiu Hao whose innovative creations had visitors and bloggers all abuzz.

“Well constructed, perfectly styled and beautifully presented, Qiu Hao’s Shanghai Fashion Week show left us breathless,” enthused Marianna Cerini from Chinese fashion website AnyWearStyle according to Jing Daily. “All around a stunning show that elevates SFW to an international level,” agreed fashion blog Shanghai Style File.

Shanghai Fashion Week shows best of “designed in China”

"We want to build the image that Taobao not only has a substantial number of clothes, but also original designed-in-China clothes,” said Taobao womenswear marketing chief Shen Ting after the show according to People’s Daily Online. “This is the best time for Chinese designers,” confirmed Li Min, creative director of Minman, one of the ten womenswear brands showcased in the Taobao show.

Internationally acclaimed designer Qiu Hao and winner of the Woolmark Prize was recently named one of China’s fashion industry’s top 25 most import people by Forbes. “The designer’s strong showing at Shanghai Fashion Week may contribute to continued recognition of Chinese designers and the increased status of China as a center for fashion innovators”, hopes luxury and culture magazine Jing Daily.

And indeed, one would think that this is what international visitors from more than 20 countries like Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden and the United States would expect when visiting a fashion week in China.

Image: Shanghai Fashion Week