Shanghai Fashion Week has yet to meet international standards

By Yanie Durocher Source:Global Times Published: 2016-4-20 17:13:01

Illustration: Polly Cao



This season's Shanghai Fashion Week (SFW) surprised us with new emerging designers stepping onto China's national platform instead of reserving itself to the traditional Taiping runways. What does this mean for the evolution of SFW?

SFW is starting to explore its landscapes and boundaries in terms of fashion organization and designer labels. Trade shows in China are also becoming increasingly relevant and influential on an international scale for key buyers and the media. Diverging from traditional rules and opening itself to more foreign designers is a key part of its growth and evolution.

As a fashion and lifestyle blogger, I travel to international fashion weeks around the world every year in order to cover insider trends. Hence, despite the current efforts of bringing SFW on an international pedestal and the commercial capability of becoming an internationally recognized fashion capital in the years to come, right now I'm still seeing a very large discrepancy between the quality of Chinese shows and fashions compared to Europe.

Why the discrepancy? Unlike Shanghai Fashion Week and or other emerging fashion weeks, internationally recognized fashion weeks in the West have a strict federation with extremely high standards against which brands are allowed to enter their calendar. This enhances the credibility of the current brands showcased on the calendar as well as giving them an aggressive international media exposure and support.

Thus, no brand can simply pay to get in these shows; they must be recognized and accepted by the federation board first, where every year consistence and brand sustainability must be kept coherent to a certain level.

This is not yet the case for Shanghai, where the schedules can be quite random and where there is also a fee to get into the calendar. The "open secret" of being able to also sell and buy fashion week tickets right in front of the entrance is also a bit crude.

During fashion weeks in Milan and Paris I often see Anna Wintour (Editor in Chief Vogue America), Francesca Sozzani (Editor in Chief Vogue Italy) and Angelica Cheung (Editor in Chief Vogue China) sitting front-row right beside A-list Western celebrities. In contrast, I've never seen big media giants or superstars attending Shanghai's Fashion Week, which makes it appear rather low-class and second-rate.

This year, something that also highly disappointed me in one of SFW's main shows was the level of obvious food and beverage endorsements showcased during the catwalk, where models were walking the runway while drinking sponsored products. This is simply greater proof that the current state of Shanghai wouldn't pass in other international fashion weeks.

Moreover, production quality and the show itself in Milan/Paris Fashion Week has always been epically entertaining while maintaining a high sense of professionalism showcasing skillful craftsmanship. When it comes to fashion and fashion events, I must say that "devils are in the details"; from the lighting, venues, creativity, model selection, to makeup trends, hairstyles, colors and structures of the clothing, it is not for no reason that European international fashion weeks are recognized for their highest standards.

Even with the major political and economic crises currently occurring all across Europe along with 35 percent unemployment and skyrocketing tax rates, Europe's luxury and fashion scene refuses to sell itself out by enlisting sponsorships or reducing the quality of their apparel and events. They keep the dream going. Shanghai should aspire to the same standards if it ever wants to become Asia's fashion capital, as I believe it has the potential to do.



The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Global Times.



Posted in: TwoCents, Metro Shanghai

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