Shanghai Fashion Week Returns
By Sandy Chu
The magical words ‘Fashion Week’ conjure up glamorous events in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Long-time institutions that set trends the world over, these fashion bonanazas are seen globally by the well-heeled set. In comparison, Shanghai’s Fashion Week’s history is short, to say the least.
Run by government-sanctioned Shanghai International Fashion Centre, the biannual event is sponsored by the city’s municipal government. Launched in 2003, SFW has attracted world famous designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Emanuel Ungaro, Lanvin and Vivienne Westwood, but is its impressive roster of A-list presenters enough to measure up to the international fashion weeks?
“It’s not necessary to compare the two. They are completely different in development and meaning. In the last few years Shanghai Fashion Week has done some outstanding things. They have found sponsors for a lot of new, young designers who can’t afford to do shows on their own,” Ziggy Chen, the head designer of Decoster, explains. “I think this has been extremely well done and had a very positive effect on fashion week. These sponsors are always big, well-positioned companies. Many young designers develop and move forward after showing at [SFW].”
With more than a decade in the business and 60 stores across China, Decoster is a well recognized and respected home-grown brand. As one of 10 designers featured by Vogue’s debut Fashion Night Out exhibit in Shanghai last month, Chen joined ranks with fellow domestic heavyweights Uma Wang, Jiang Qiong Er (Shang Xia) and JNBY. Yet, the fall 2011 edition will be the first time he presents at SFW with his new high-end brand Decoster Concept.
For the last three years SFW has been knocking on Chen’s door. Each season he politely declined. “I didn’t think it’s necessary to present for Decoster – it’s a commercial brand. With Decoster Concept we will focus on design for design’s sake,” he says. “Initially we only carried a capsule collection of menswear in our Xintiandi shop. Next year we will stock Decoster Concept in Beijing at Sanlintun and our Decoster Xintiandi shop will only sell this line. We will have really begun, so we want everyone to be able to see [the new line]. SFW made us feel like we could accomplish this with a show.”
Although it will help increase awareness, Chen emphasises ultimately it’s not about what they can receive. “We also hope that by participating, our brand, along with other designers, can keep growing together. If nobody cares about fashion week then other people in the fashion business won’t care either.”
As a mature brand, Chen feels they have a responsibility to the event. SFW’s support of young, local designers combined with established designers is key to developing a relevant and sustainable fashion week. In recent years SFW has been shifting its focus towards the domestic market. This internal focus has helped make it more relevant, but fashion in China still has a long way to go to make the event and the collections internationally accessible.
“We have had 30 years of change, but I think aesthetics haven’t developed and changed that quickly in that time. There is still a long way to go, but now it will develop rapidly,” Chen says. “Many people have asked when I think China will produce someone like Yohji Yamamoto or Comme des Garçons. I think it will be someone born in the 80s or 90s. They experienced communication differently and have such a different concept and understanding of design. For one of my contemporaries, I think it would be hard.”
Decoster Concept will be presented at Fuxing Park on 26 October. Web: www.decoster.com.cn
