Designers, Showrooms Rethink Strategy Amid China’s Structural Slowdown

SHANGHAI — A cloud of uncertainty hangs over Shanghai Fashion Week, as it reckons with one of its most challenging retail environments in the past 10 years.

However, the consensus among designers and showrooms remains cautiously optimistic, as they push ahead and perhaps even thrive — if market consolidation plays in their favor.

On the macro level, a recent market stimulus package from the Chinese government provided a much-needed boost to consumer confidence in the short run, but more is needed to save the fashion and luxury sector.

As Barclays’ luxury analyst Carole Madjo remarked in a recent China Feedback Call, “It remains to be seen if China’s weakness is structural or cyclical, but based on what we heard on the ground, it is perhaps structural.

“Wealth creation is changing as the private sector goes under pressure. It’s not coming from the property market or stock market, but AI, green energy and technology sectors. The current view is that these new growth drivers might drive less and at a slower pace,” Madjo added.

For Lv Xiaolei, Shanghai Fashion Week‘s doyenne and executive vice chairman of the Shanghai Fashion Designer Association, the industry must “prudently think of next steps.” “We [the SFDA] will continue to be the glue that connects all facets of the industry and open up more resources inside and outside the industry for designers,” said Lv.

Lv also said that SFDA will help designers strike commercial deals, as well as work with its strategic partners to promote local designers on the global stage.

“The unfavorable environment could mean inertia and limit designers’ creative output, but I still look forward to those that have the urge to think outside the box and be truly creative — it’s the most important thing they can do to protect brand value,” said Tasha Liu, founder of Labelhood, who mentioned Joyce Bao, Raydots, Kinyan Lam, and Re Shui as “brave new brands” that can jolt the industry into action.

Roger Miao, managing director of the trade show Ontimeshow, remains adamant that the market will gravitate toward “commercially savvy and aesthetically independent” brands. “The market is going through a period of consolidation, but when overall volume shrinks, the ones that survive will manage to get a larger piece of the pie.”

Apart from its expansive 269,000-square-foot main trade show space, Ontimeshow is launching a new vertical spotlighting accessory brands. “We are the scaffolding for the industry, we have to do what it takes to prop up market confidence,” added Miao.

For Ying Zhang, founder of Not Showroom, she hopes the latest edition of Shanghai Fashion Week will attract “smaller, yet more refined wholesales channels.”

Over the past few years, China’s once-burgeoning multibrand retail market has also reached a turning point, epitomized by the closure of Net-a-porter China and prominent local boutiques, such as Machine-A, In the Park, and R130.

“We feel an urgent need to rethink our roles as brands, buyers and showrooms, that’s why Not has returned to our roots, our manufacturing hub to host the showroom, in hopes of carving out a new communication channel between all nodes of the supply chain,” said Ying, who will be shuttling visitors to Not’s parent company Chenfeng Group’s campus in Kunshan, a city that’s an hour’s ride away from downtown Shanghai.

Not Showroom will not only include headliners such as Samuel Gui Yang, Yuhan Wang, and Rui Built, but will also include homeware brands, including Keycraft, Monochrome, Roomology, and Envy envy.

Andrea Jiapei Li, the New York-based Chinese designer, is also making her China market comeback with Amiche Alpine and Commxn Commxn, the latter a Not Showroom incubated label with a gorpcore bent.

For Daisy Bao, founder of the Guangzhou-based vertical incubator Modeland, with the market in a cyclical downturn, it’s key to play up the business-to-consumer aspect of the showroom business.

“[The years] 2017 to 2019 was the golden age for Chinese designer brands; even with a limited [stock keeping unit], you can win orders in the millions. The market began to plateau in 2022, and now the bubble has burst,” said Bao. “Brands that want to survive will have to move from wholesale to direct-to-consumer, that’s why we are looking at Shanghai Fashion Week as an optimal promotional platform rather than a dealmaking one.”

Bao, who drove three days to Shanghai in a colorful truck fully stocked with the latest from Cynthia & Xiao, a Hong Kong-based designer label, will unlatch the back door to unveil a mobile pop-up in the outdoor area of Showroom Shanghai.

“Brands will have room to grow once the market continues to mature; that’s something to look forward to and be confident about. The challenge that comes with the so-called consumption downgrade is a collapse of the current pricing system. Consumers want better goods at better price points,” said Bao.

For designer Yueqi Qi, launching “Collective Six,” a self-organized showroom that includes Didu, Karmuel Young, Kusikohc, SansPeng, Ximon Lee, and her eponymous label, was a way to break away from the doldrums of the current market environment. The business-savvy Qi also gained support from Adidas for her showroom space.

“Last season was the worst in terms of traffic and wholesale orders, which led us to realize that our aesthetic doesn’t fit into the current commercial realm that well. That’s why the six of us decided to come together and run our own showroom, so that we can weed out the stores that are not a good fit and take the time to take care of the buyers that get it. We want to treat them like our VIP customers,” said Qi.

The Hong Kong-based designer Karmuel Young is also leaning toward consolidation. “Our B2C business keeps rising currently, so we will have more pop-up events in different cities to showcase the pieces and share our vision with more people,” said Young of his retail strategy.

Angel Chen, known for her colorful design that injects Chinese heritage craftsmanship into streetwear silhouettes, is not only returning to the Shanghai Fashion Week stage after a three-year hiatus, but is pondering a second venture, an artisanal knitwear store. “I want to work with Chinese traditional craftsmanship and combine it with my design language,” Chen said.

Clot, the streetwear label founded by Edison Chen, is also making its Shanghai Fashion Week comeback after a year through its partnership with Adidas Originals. “We are always trying to bring something different to the audience,” said Simon Wat, general manager of Clot. “It’s a different approach to how we’re bridging the gap between East and West yet staying true to our roots.”

Samuel Gui Yang, known for his New Chinese Aesthetic looks and another Adidas Originals designer, will bring his collection to life with a runway showcase. The Shanghai and London-based brand will be expanding into the beauty sector through a collaboration with Herbeast, a local skin care upstart. Samuel Yang, cofounder of Samuel Gui Yang, observed that China’s hyper-competitive e-commerce market, which acted as an important sales channel for many multibrand retailers, is now hurting young designers.

“We are not online, but for brands that are, I know they’ve taken a hit due to high return rates,” said Yang.

“For now, people are playing it safe in hopes of riding out this wave of market saturation post-COVID[-19], but to truly innovate on a fashion level feels more urgent now than ever,” added Yang, who framed his latest collection around the winds of change, calling it “East-Wind.”

The South Korean label Anderson Bell, which previously showed in Milan, is hoping that hosting a runway show during Shanghai Fashion Week will help the brand better understand the local market.

“I’m trying to understand Chinese culture by attending various events. Also, I’m deeply involved with my team in every aspect of the show, from selecting the venue and after party to managing the guest list, because I want our first show in China to be a success,” said the brand’s creative director Dohun Kim.

The Shanghai-based fashion communication agency BoH Project’ founder Bohan Qiu summarized that Chinese brands should think more on how to drill deeper into the core, from storytelling and DTC channels, to building a brand’s audience with meaningful and impactful organizations.

Meanwhile, international brands need to prioritize innovation as they enter China’s competitive landscape by tapping into “a world-class talent pool here, alongside a diverse, exciting and increasingly mature community.”