Haute couture fashion week kicks off on Bund
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A fashion show during the opening ceremony of the 11th Shanghai New Customization Week.
Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE -
A fashion show during the opening ceremony of the 11th Shanghai New Customization Week.
Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE -
A fashion show during the opening ceremony of the 11th Shanghai New Customization Week.
Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE -
A fashion show during the opening ceremony of the 11th Shanghai New Customization Week.
Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE -
A fashion show during the opening ceremony of the 11th Shanghai New Customization Week.
Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE -
A fashion show during the opening ceremony of the 11th Shanghai New Customization Week.
Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE
Shanghai's annual haute couture fashion week started on Wednesday night on the Bund, shedding light on the talent of China's young fashion designers and regeneration of heritage skills.
The opening ceremony of the 11th Shanghai New Customization Week was held at the Fosun Foundation Shanghai with a grand fashion show.
The annual event, to push Shanghai's goal of becoming the world's design capital, will be held through November 20 in the wider Yuyuan block between the Yuyuan Garden Malls and the Bund.
The focus of this year's couture week is on Chinese traditions and the United Nations-designated category of "intangible cultural heritage," according to the Shanghai International Fashion Federation, the event's organizer.
"The annual customization week has become the top platform to incubate and drive the development of haute couture brands in Shanghai, China and Asia," said Xu Xiaoliang, president of the federation and former chief executive of Fosun International.
Xu Xiaoliang (fourth left), president of the Shanghai International Fashion Federation, poses with fashion designers attending the fashion week.
Dream of Butterfly
Leading customization brand WJX unveiled a collection of Shanghai-style cheongsam themed on the "Le Reve du papillon," or the "Dream of Butterfly," which involves the traditional weaving skill of Xinzhuang Town in Shanghai's Minhang District.
The skill, one of Shanghai's first batch of listed "intangible cultural heritage," originated in the town in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The delicate and beautiful weaving products became so popular that they were sold across the Yangtze River Delta region through the 1980s.
Vanessa Ye, founder and designer of the brand, blends the local weaving skill with French embroidery Lunéville for the fashion costumes in collaboration with the Shanghai Public Art Cooperation Center and the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts.
With the help of the center, she has also been working with the embroidery masters of China's She ethnic minority to incorporate the ancient skill and Shanghai's woolen embroidery into her products.
The traditional weaving skill of Shanghai's Xinzhuang Town has been incorporated in WJX's newly unveiled collection during the fashion week.
The haute couture week was initially launched in 2014 to help young local fashion designers develop their creative skills. It has become one of the most important fashion events in China and the world.
According to the federation, the annual event aims to contribute to the enhancement of Shanghai's soft power and the promotion of Chinese culture abroad.
Models wearing the new collection of local customization brand WJX.
