Having a fling with flair
Accenting both innovative designs and commercial reality, the 2013 Shanghai Fashion Week - the 11th year for the glamor event - opened on April 10 at Xintiandi with the first show featuring underwear designs that included Western and Eastern influences. The 35 shows that will be presented in the fashion week (which concludes on April 16) showcase domestic designers and Chinese and foreign brands.
These shows reveal the fashion trends for the coming autumn and winter and cover all possible categories including women's fashion, menswear, children's clothing, avant-garde styles, wedding dresses and accessories. Chinese fashion designers Ji Cheng, Qiu Hao, Li Hongyan, Wang Chuqiao and Shangguan Zhe, have seen their latest creations hit the catwalks to acclaim. With Chinese designs gaining in popularity with Chinese consumers, the fashion week organizers have decided to show the public just what the fashionistas will be seeking this year. An exhibition of the Chinese designers' couture works are being staged at Xintiandi until April 17, and enthusiasts there can buy the outfits that appeal.
With the rise of online shopping, which provides individual development opportunities for fashion brands, this fashion week has also invited the 10 major women's wear brands on China's leading shopping website, taobao.com, onto the catwalk. Visitors get to see the original designs close up and personally. As well, new graduates from the city's art and design schools get to show off their graduation collections.
Fashion icon Yue-sai Kan, artist Wang Xiaohui and art critic Lu Rongzhi have been among the celebrities invited to deliver commentaries on the shows.