Like all the other major fashion weeks, Shanghai fashion week was thrown a curveball because of COVID-19, but that didn’t stop creators from spreading important themes of the world. Many of SFW’s shows were not virtual, heightening the impact of the themes. This year, SFW had three major themes:

1. Sustainability

Sustainability is something everyone should be focusing on, but China is being one of the first to be innovative with sustainable fashion. China, like many other developing countries, has had very big problems with sustainability. The biggest focus with sustainable fashion was rebuilding their relations with nature as China has been one of the top countries that have been producing at the expense of nature. Partnering with companies like H&M, Shanghai Fashion Week hopes to make not only a step forward for Chinese fashion but fashion as a whole industry.  

2. Simplicity

Unlike a lot of fashion shows, which are filled with bright colors and pops of contrast, creators at SFW decided to take the opposite approach. Fashion shows are generally something elaborate and elegant, but to showcase the inner strength of women creators at SFW showcase women without all the “fluff” of other fashion shows. Minimal makeup, basic clothing, and fierce models were all a large part of this year’s SFW and honestly, it is an extreme understatement to say we were impressed. Just like with food, if you have good ingredients food will taste good, if you have good quality clothes and fierce models, the fashion show will be a hit. 

3. Undergarment Versatility

Going off the same topic as Simplicity and capturing a woman’s inner strength and resilience, SFW focuses on casual streetwear clothing that is accessible to everyone. Whether you like streetwear or something more glamorous SFW has got something for everyone. Uma Wang and Galia Lahav’s collaboration on a fashion company called Threegun made a statement in Chinese fashion. With basic colors and styles of underwear and lingerie, both Wang and Lahav made the statement of “underwear is not just for underclothes anymore”.

 

All in all, we were incredibly impressed with Shanghai’s Fashion Week and can’t wait for next year!