London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 15, 2025

Shanghai Offers a Hopeful Glimpse of Post-Pandemic Fashion Weeks

Shanghai Offers a Hopeful Glimpse of Post-Pandemic Fashion Weeks

Shanghai Fashion Week just wrapped with 100 in-person shows and a newly energized consumer base.

Forget the occasional Zoom or WhatsApp glitch; the toughest part about interviewing a designer, retailer, or editor in Shanghai is that you’re living in two completely different worlds. In the States and Europe, we’re just now easing out of lockdown, considering a few spring purchases, and cautiously planning for in-person shows in September; meanwhile, Shanghai is booming. Fashion spending has grown rapidly in China since 2020, and Shanghai just finished its second post-pandemic Fashion Week-its busiest ever.

There were 100 runway shows on the schedule at Shanghai Fashion Week’s Xintiandi show space and Labelhood’s emerging designer platform; highlights included Shuting Qiu, Susan Fang, Yueqi Qi, Shushu/Tong, Ponder.er, Yuhan Wang, and former Loewe and Kiko Kostadinov designer Louis Shengtao Chen’s solo debut. In between the shows were just as many presentations, showrooms, trade shows, and exhibitions. Most attendees wore masks, but Shanghai effectively stopped the spread of COVID-19 last March; even without a vaccine (China is expected to start distributing them in July), the risk of transmission remains low. Just flipping through the photos of the packed front rows is surreal; here in the West, our fashion experiences have been limited to our laptops.



The energy in Shanghai isn’t just down to China’s swift response to the virus. With international travel discouraged, Chinese spending is being redirected to local designers and stores. “Chinese designers have really benefited,” Labelhood’s founder Tasha Liu, who also runs a store for new labels in the French Concession, explains. “The people who typically travel and spend money with luxury brands in Europe are finding that Chinese designers live up to that quality, so the pandemic really brought them to the forefront.”

Liu is seeing that trend even with China’s youngest shoppers. Most designers at Shanghai Fashion Week stage two shows: one for buyers and editors, and one immediately afterwards for consumers and students. When consumer tickets became available on Labelhood’s website (at no charge), Liu said all 6,000 were gone in a matter of three minutes. It was the most consumer interest they’d received in any season.



Even fashion fans outside of Shanghai were paying attention. On the first day of Shanghai Fashion Week, Labelhood partnered with Jiaqi Li (also known as Austin Li), China’s most popular Taobao live-streamer, to introduce a selection of Shanghai designers and sell their spring 2021 collections on the app. “The audience was over 10 million people all over China, and the sales volume was $10 million renminbi [more than $1.5 million],” she says. “It was the fist time we had done a live-streaming event like that, but it allowed us to talk to people all over the country, not just in the top-tier cities like Shenzen and Beijing.”

Ming Ma is one of many Shanghai talents enjoying the spike in demand. Since the pandemic, he’s received orders from 100 stores across mainland China; a year ago, that number was closer to 10. “There were some shops that only bought from Italy or France in the past, but they can’t really do that now,” he says. “So they’ve been trying new designers here in China and are getting really good feedback, so they’re buying more and more.”

Ma has noticed a similar mindset shift in Chinese consumers, some of whom might have prioritized Western labels in the past. “I’m seeing a lot of consumers who are really happy to buy Chinese designers, because they feel like it’s cool and are proud to wear it,” he says. “They’re noticing that there’s this Chinese originality and creativity, and people are doing great work. During the pandemic, a lot of designers and fashion students couldn’t go overseas, so they all stayed here and are establishing their labels in China.” (Rui Zhou, for instance, moved from New York back to China, while Yuhan Wang’s team staged her show in Shanghai while the designer was stuck in London.)



Pre-pandemic, editor and consultant Leaf Greener was rarely in Shanghai for more than a couple weeks; she traveled constantly for work, often for a month at a time during the ready-to-wear and couture shows in New York, London, Milan, and Paris. An entire year in China was an opportunity to reconnect with what was happening at home. “I think the pandemic inspired Chinese people to think more about our culture and our creativity, and embrace that even more,” she says. “The energy is here now. Before, we were traveling all over the world and putting our energy in other places, but people are thinking more locally. I think it’s subconscious-you just feel more supportive of Chinese talents. It isn’t just in fashion, either-art is really booming, and you can see the collectors getting really excited about Chinese artists. It’s fantastic.”

It isn’t so different from the New-York-or-nowhere pride so many of us have felt while our neighbors flee to Miami or the suburbs. Will our local designers, stores, and artists feel the love when NYC fully reopens, possibly this summer? Let’s only hope. In the meantime, Shanghai’s bold and unapologetic street style can provide some inspo for your post-lockdown look. “China is like an experimental lab right now,” Greener adds with a laugh. “It’s a very exciting moment.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
×