Rewriting the Everyday: Key Takeaways From Shanghai Fashion Week

What was clear this Shanghai Fashion Week is that China’s growing number of independent designers are rethinking the business models that helped them establish themselves in the first place.

The shift was visible across the Spring/Summer 2027 season, which saw a host of shows and presentations take place from October 8 to 16, with homegrown label Hemu and its Silk Road collection kicking off the week. But beyond the usual formats, brands took the opportunity to open standalone stores, test pop-up retail and reconsider their reliance on showrooms to reach wholesale buyers.

These moves point to a new phase in the development of China’s independent fashion sector. For emerging labels, fashion week exposure and placement in multi-brand boutiques have long been important routes to recognition and distribution. But as some brands build stronger customer followings and more established relationships with retailers, they are looking for greater control over how their products reach markets, as well as the customer relationships that follow.

The luxury market is still facing a sluggish recovery, particularly in China, as consumers only become more selective about spending. For independent designers, creative recognition is just one part of the equation. They must find ways to convert attention into sales, build repeat business, and develop distribution models that can withstand uncertain demand.

At Shanghai Fashion Week (SHFW) this season, those questions were reflected in both the runway collections and the commercial decisions taking shape around them.

Designing for everyday life

The SS27 collections highlighted a move towards designing clothes for everyday wear, rather than the occasion pieces or dramatic styling that’s often graced the Shanghai runways.

Pronounce, the Chinese label making its mark in Milan, offered a notable example. Marking the brand’s 10th anniversary, designers Yushan Li and Jun Zhou used its latest womenswear collection, Through Her Eyes, to reconsider the traditional boundaries between men and womenswear from a female perspective. Defined silhouettes and softer tailoring appeared alongside less structured pieces, while proportions and construction techniques drawn from traditional Chinese dress were reworked for contemporary wardrobes.

Shushu/Tong, meanwhile, continued to develop its girlish femininity aesthetic. For a label with an established visual identity, the challenge is less about changing its signature look than extending its appeal beyond occasion dressing. Xu Zhi explored a similar tension through pairing Victorian-inspired nightdresses, lace and vintage prints with distressed denim, biker jackets and military outerwear, better fit for everyday dressing.

Across the season, a more polished but relaxed approach emerged. Clean silhouettes, restrained colors and familiar wardrobe staples provided the foundation, with distinction coming through cut, proportion, materials and construction. The result was not minimalism for minimalism’s sake however. Designers explored how to retain a recognizable point of view, despite making clothes that customers could wear and style in different ways.

Change is also afoot in product development. For Rui Zhou, founder and creative director of RuiBuilt, his brand’s approach to designing and creating product has evolved over six years in business. “In the beginning, we deliberately focused on creating more visually striking pieces, often suited to events or celebrity dressing,” Zhou says. “But as we have expanded across Asian markets and learned more about what customers and multi-brand retailers are looking for, we have introduced more everyday pieces like jeans and lightweight jackets that can be layered with other items.”

For independent labels, versatility, perceived value and the likelihood of repeat purchases matter as much as design identity. The challenge is to broaden a brand’s appeal without diluting the characteristics that distinguish it from competitors.

Building direct consumer relationships

Changes in product design are unfolding alongside a reconsideration of how independent labels sell their collections. During SHFW, a number of brands opened physical stores or explored new retail formats, signaling a greater willingness to invest in direct relationships with consumers.

Many Chinese designer labels have historically relied on a combination of fashion week presentations, showrooms and multi-brand retailers to build their businesses. The model allows brands to reach customers across cities and markets without bearing the full cost of operating their own stores. Retail partners also provide access to established customer bases and take on part of the inventory risk.

But wholesale distribution can limit brands’ access to information about the people buying their clothes. As brands become more established, some are looking to close that gap. From premium shopping malls to local neighborhoods, standalone stores and pop-ups are becoming a more deliberate part of distribution strategies.

After years of building its business through wholesale, Samuel Guì Yang is entering standalone retail. Founder Yang sees the brand’s first global store as a natural next step in its 10-year journey. Located on Julu Road, opposite the Shanghai Writers’ Association, the store came together in less than two months and opened on day three of fashion week. The neighborhood’s local character made it a fitting setting for its first store, according to the designer.

Other brands are taking different routes into physical retail. Markgong has moved from online into bricks-and-mortar selling, having opened its first flagship in IAMP Mall in August, while Nana Jacqueline is expanding through new shopping malls and new cities. Ruohan, which has built its business through wholesale partners including Lane Crawford and presentations at Paris Fashion Week, is preparing to open its first standalone store on Hunan Road in Shanghai in the coming weeks.

RuiBuilt is testing the format on a smaller scale. Following its SHFW presentation, the brand hosted a four-day pop-up from October 11 to 14, featuring signature designs, exclusive colorways and lifestyle products alongside the more dramatic runway pieces that are often harder to order through multi-brand stockists.

Taking greater control of wholesale

Beyond the move into direct retail is not the only way Chinese designer labels are reassessing their business models. Some are reconsidering how they work with wholesale buyers and the showrooms that have traditionally connected them.

Fashion consultant Cherrie Ying says a number of brands now have an established base of retail clients and can invite buyers they already know to view collections directly. They can also negotiate budgets, product assortments and delivery schedules themselves, tailoring their approaches to different markets.

The change is less about abandoning showrooms than reconsidering when and how to use them. Working directly with buyers can reduce intermediaries and give brands greater control over customer relationships and the pace of order negotiations.

The range of platforms available to brands is expanding, too. During fashion week, Mode Shanghai and Ontimeshow operate alongside independent showrooms, offering different settings for collection presentations and order-taking. Brands must increasingly decide how to combine trade fairs, showroom partnerships, existing buyer relationships and direct retail into a coherent sales strategy.

Now, more established labels are choosing to work directly with buyers they already know, handling orders and delivery schedules themselves.

But showrooms still have a place, especially for smaller design teams that need help managing the wholesale business and reaching buyers in new markets. Brands are just becoming more selective about when they use them and what they get in return. Therefore, the challenge becomes finding the right balance between building an entirely independent business and relying on partners to reach more consumers.