The Design, Art and Fashion Fair (DAFF) will return to the Wharf 1846 waterfront this weekend with local and international brands, food and drinks, music, art performances, and a fashion show.

DAFF is Shanghai's biggest biannual lifestyle community event. "DAFF's main goal is to give China's creative leaders and rising talent a platform to interact, share ideas, and promote new projects," said David Lin, creative director of organizer, local events agency The Ice Cream Truck (TICT). "For the public, DAFF is a great excuse to get outside, enjoy the weather, go for a bike ride, eat and drink, hang out with friends, and get inspired by cool new things happening in the city."

The event will include fashion shows from local and international designers, art performances, DJs and live bands, interactive installations, workshops, pop-up shops and exhibition booths, food and drink from Shanghai chefs, and a chill-out area for eating, socializing and dancing.

Lin said that since the founding of TICT, apart from organizing parties and music festivals, he always wanted to create a big outdoor lifestyle event, which covered not only music, but also fashion, art, design and food. "When we were approached by Wharf 1846 to help out with events and marketing, we took that as an opportunity to create and build DAFF to the branded event it is today - a community event that is accessible for all ages, and that promotes all the local and international talent pushing creative boundaries here," said Lin.

"The beautiful thing about DAFF is that although it is geared towards the 18- to 45-year-old, young creatives and professionals demographic, we really do get all types of people coming to the event."

DAFF attracts a lot of industry experts looking to check out current trends, as well as meet the designers, distributors, and buyers. "It's also really great to see families come through and get their kids involved with the painting and art workshops, dancing to the music, and having a good time. We feel it's very important for children to have this type of exposure at a young age," said Lin.

This will be the fourth DAFF to take place but, in a change from previous years, this year it will span two days instead of one, starting on Saturday (May 25) from 2 pm to midnight and ending on Sunday (May 26), when it is open between 2 pm and 9 pm. The last DAFF, in October 2012, saw 80 brands participate and drew a crowd of nearly 5,000 people.

"The fashion shows are always a big highlight, and this year we have some amazing, young, fresh designers showcasing their lines," said Lin.

There will also be a bike ride from Lola Club on Yongjia Road to DAFF at 2 pm both days.

"As a lesser-known attraction, but soon to be huge, we are very proud to have Henry Krinkle playing a live set for us on Saturday," said Lin. "He's a great producer who we've been lucky to work with in the past."

Lin hopes that DAFF will continue to get bigger and better. "We would love to see DAFF go in a similar direction as other events such as Bread & Butter in Berlin, where the whole city becomes a platform for a certain cause," said Lin. "It should serve as a way for artists, designers, brands, and companies in many industries to come together, get inspired, collaborate, and build a better city in which to live."

Date: May 25 to May 26, 2 pm to midnight (May 25), 2 pm to 9 pm (May 26)

Venue: Wharf 1846

Address: 601 Waima Road

外马路601号

Admission: Free

Visit tictcreative.com/daff for details