Customization week to make Shanghai leading fashion hub
A grand fashion show at the Bund Finance Center on Friday night marks the beginning of the 10th Shanghai New Customization Week.
Shanghai's annual customization fashion week was launched at the Bund on Friday. It aims to be on par with the world's top fashion events in Milan and Paris.
The 10th Shanghai New Customization Week (SNCW) began at the Bund Finance Center (BFC) with a grand show on Friday night along the Huangpu River, featuring more than 100 haute couture brands from both home and abroad.
Some 30 brands will host new product releases and exhibitions during the fashion week, to run through November 17, along with additional fashion shows and salons.
The event aims to help enhance the city's soft power and achieve its ambition to become a global design capital. It is also part of a series of activities to capitalize on the "spillover effect" of the China International Import Expo, which wrapped up on Wednesday, according to the Shanghai International Fashion Federation, the organizer of the event.
The SNCW will help map out the blueprint of the "Bund Fashion Belt" in Huangpu, Shen Shanzhou, director of Huangpu District, said at the launch ceremony.
Domestic advanced customization brands showcase their latest creations.
The SNCW will become an important fashion consumption platform in Huangpu to group together young haute couture practitioners and other business resources and give full play to Huangpu's leading role in fashion consumption, Shen said.
This year's SNCW has "oriental aesthetics and quality lifestyle" as its main theme. Through shows and events, it will showcase the "life aesthetics" of Chinese people from various perspectives, such as costumes, jewelery design, utensils and cosmetics.
The main theme "oriental aesthetics" conforms to the times, the urban spirit of Shanghai and the affection of global consumers, said Xu Xiaoliang, president of the federation and co-CEO of Fosun International.
"The 'oriental aesthetics' shall be promoted to the modern life and families around the world by involving the concept into more products and services," said Xu.
A number of rising local brands in fashion, jewelery and haute couture will showcase their latest products featuring 'oriental aesthetics.'
ADORITZ, a local female clothing brand, will launch a "Rose" series spring and summer fashion show on Saturday. The products are mainly inspired by Chinese dolls, and blend traditional Chinese crafts with modern techniques.
Traditional Chinese cultures are showcased.
The new collection titled "Calligraphy" of GRACE CHEN's traditional Chinese style series will be released on Sunday.
Following the "Chinese Zither" and "Chess", the "Calligraphy" collection works Chinese calligraphy into clothing designs.
As a highlight, a men's wear show will be titled "plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum," known as the "four gentlemen" plants in Chinese poetry and literati paintings. New clothes will be released along with the new products of the Shanghai Watch, a time-honored brand of the city.
A number of artworks featuring China's heritage skills will also be released during the SNCW. Dongjia, an online platform gathering masters of heritage skills like woodcarving, will display how traditional skills can be blended with fashion elements.
Multiple themed salons on "oriental aesthetics" will also be held to focus on the inheritance of oriental cultures, the blend of fashion and art, lifestyle customization and creative design.
The SNCW was initiated a decade ago to help improve the designing capabilities of young local fashion designers. It has become one of China's and the world's top fashion events.
A model showcases a costume inspired by Chinese calligraphy.
