Shanghai Fashion Week: Tradition as a driving force for modernity

More than almost any other fashion week, Shanghai demonstrates how the trends of tomorrow become relevant through a country's cultural heritage. The autumn/winter 2026 collections of many emerging labels were particularly compelling because they were as rooted in the zeitgeist as they were in history. The city, too, continues to serve as a testing ground for global corporations, from Adidas to Maison Margiela.

Between metropolis and mythology

The fashion scene in China is still relatively young. About ten years ago, independent designers began building their own brands and fan bases, some after studying at renowned fashion academies abroad. Unlike established fashion houses, they do not consult an archive or have to follow a certain heritage code. Instead, they take their cues from global catwalks and adapt trends quickly.

Recently, designers have increasingly managed to incorporate influences and a visual language rooted in local traditions. This unique touch makes their collections not only locally relevant but also more attractive to a wider audience.

Shanghai Fashion Week distills something singular: the elegance and cool that can only emerge from the dynamic friction of East and West, season after season.

The subtle collection by the label Samuel Gui Yang, which showed off-schedule again during fashion week, was certainly one of the most remarkable in this regard. With looks poised between dream and reality, myth and metropolis, models walked the catwalk concealed under a canopy, wrapped in an orange silk blanket or a white feather cape. The boundaries between East and West blurred between denim, Chinese frog buttons, clean-cut coats and flowing silk fabrics.

The label Ao Yes, founded four years ago, also seems to have found its formula. The seemingly demure and therefore chic looks appeal to a hyper-urban clientele from China's major cities with their clever to ironic play on classic cultural symbols. This season, a stylised orchid was a recurring motif. It appeared as a mini-print on knee-length skirts, as embroidery on cardigans, or as appliqués on a blazer and skirt ensemble.

Ultrafeminine styles

Another recurring trend at Shanghai Fashion Week is ultrafeminine fashion. The label Shushu/Tong presented looks that blended school uniforms with 1930s glamour for Shanghai's bourgeois, cheeky Lolita.

The designs of Jacques Wei were rather reminiscent of the elegant ladies of decadent 1920s Shanghai, who swore by Parisian chic but added their own touches. French influences were also evident in the collection of designer Xu Zhi. Leather, lace and flowing fringes were intended to evoke the bohemians of the Rive Gauche in the late 1960s.

Designer Susan Fang has developed a distinctive language of ethereal gowns whose weightlessness could have been inspired by the celestial creatures of Chinese mythology. For the FW26 season, her signature dreamy dresses made of transparent fabrics were complemented by garments with bows in a variety of designs.

Labelhood or brand activation at its finest

visually arresting and culturally grounded — authentic without sacrificing edge. This sensibility extended well beyond the catwalks. Labelhood, an incubator, retail space, and runway platform for emerging labels during Shanghai Fashion Week, offered one of the season's most compelling examples.

Each season, Labelhood launches a campaign for its festival, which includes events for fashion enthusiasts in addition to catwalks and showrooms. All shows organised by Labelhood, such as those by Oude Waag, WMWM or Swaying Knit, are held twice: once for a professional audience and once for fans and fashion enthusiasts.

The platform's accessibility is central to its mission — nurturing genuine appreciation for emerging designers rather than merely catering to industry insiders. Season after season, impeccably styled devotees turn out in force for both the shows and the wider fashion festival.

The festival campaign has quietly become a masterclass in locally resonant brand activation. For FW26, a slogan in Chinese calligraphy — "Take a Leap" — met a photoshoot steeped in retro sensibility.

In keeping with the theme, Labelhood simultaneously launched a trainer inspired by Chinese craftsmanship in collaboration with the US footwear company Nike. The black Shox Z Calistra is seen on the models in the campaign and presented as a pop-up in the Labelhood store. The concept holds because the shoe earns it: the inspiration behind the trainer carries a narrative with genuine weight.

“The core of this design lies in the interpretation and elevation of cultural symbols,” Labelhood said in a statement. “The design team captured the essence of the masterful black pottery technique from China's late Neolithic period, using a special patent leather process to replicate the deep black colour and warm lustre created by the fire of the kiln.”

The shape of the lace fastening is inspired by the lattice windows of the Jiangnan region. The collaboration is presented in-store, set against black pottery and the Chinese lucky colour red, which is found inside the shoe and in the Nike logo. It is this translation of a classic aesthetic into contemporary form that gives the shoe its particular appeal — culturally grounded, yet made for everyday wear.

Fashion week as a testing ground

Nike aside, the fashion week drew other world-renowned brands equally intent on experimenting with new formats.

The fashion house Maison Margiela showed in China for the first time, marking the start of an innovative dialogue with the Chinese audience with its show. To conclude Shanghai Fashion Week, creative director Glenn Martens invited guests to a container port, where the ready-to-wear and couture collections, inspired by a Parisian flea market, were shown together.

Immediately after the show, a 12-day series of exhibitions followed in four different Chinese cities. The dialogue with the audience was carefully crafted. On the catwalk, the very first looks hinted at a significant Chinese cultural technique, with models resembling porcelain figures in their couture dresses of gazar fabric covered with many layers of organza and matching masks.

The venue for the second exhibition in Beijing, a Peking Opera house, was also aptly chosen in view of Margiela's theme of anonymity and masks. The move by the label, which belongs to the Italian fashion group OTB, follows the strategies of other luxury houses that have recently focused heavily on localisation in their campaigns to win customers. It is also a signal of the Chinese market's maturity — one now receptive to a house like Margiela, whose appeal has always resided with the connaisseur.

The sporting goods company Adidas also invested in the Chinese market with a three-day event on the historic grounds of the Xintiandi Laguna primary school. In addition to a fashion show, there was a retro football market and an exhibition featuring an archive of World Cup jerseys from the Herzogenaurach-based company.

Next wave

The Shanghai fashion scene is also already working on the future of its emerging designers. With the “New Wave Fashion Awards”, the Shanghai Fashion Designers Association presented awards for the first time that recognise a 360-degree vision from designers.

The “New Wave Fashion Awards” are not seen as a one-off competition, but as a long-term project to promote multi-talented creative individuals in the fashion industry. Creative personalities are judged by more holistic standards, and the aim is to open up more comprehensive paths for the innovative development of Chinese designer brands, according to a statement.

The six finalists had to present a site-specific project at locations in Shanghai from March 25 to 30 that went beyond a mere fashion collection. A systematically creative approach was required to build an immersive brand experience for consumers.

Designer Gong Li, for example, created a bed installation for his label 8NO8, in keeping with the whimsical city kids who populate his collections. In the end, however, others prevailed. The label Motoguo took home the ‘Future Force Award’, and Chen Sifan won the ‘Public Impact’ Award.

The main prize, the “Visionary of the Year Award”, went to designer Feng Chen Wang. She hosted a pop-up store in the historic building of a British tea trading company in Shanghai to mark the tenth anniversary of her label. In her collections, Western streetwear influences meet traditional plant-dyeing techniques, and the rooms of the building also reflected the constant dialogue between East and West. She also added a personal touch by referencing the tea from her home province of Fujian, which was served as a drink at the pop-up.

It was a landmark week for Wang — who marked her tenth anniversary with a womenswear launch at Shanghai Fashion Week, having previously shown her menswear in Paris. She also presented a fashion show in collaboration with the tech company Apple during the fashion week.

“The recognition contributes to visibility and strengthens the brand,” she said of her award via email. Looking to the future, the next step for her is to find the right balance.

“Creativity remains at the core, but we also need to grow in a more holistic way, creatively and commercially, and build something sustainable,” said Wang. “Personally, I want to stay curious, keep learning and constantly evolve.”