Secretary General: The Fashion Capital is at Your Fingertips

Secretary-General at the Haishang summit on October 23rd, in order to work together to promote the development of Shanghai Fashion Week, hundreds of well-known domestic media gathered at the Shanghai International Fashion Industry Center to participate in Shanghai Fashion Week finale event - Haishang summit. At the scene, he visited Shanghai Fashion Week Organizing Committee Deputy Director and Secretary-General Mr. Shi Shiping on the development of Shanghai Fashion Week and the prospect of Shanghai becoming a world fashion and fashion capital.

What are the changes in Shanghai Fashion Week in recent years? During the eight years of Shanghai Fashion Week's founding, our operating experience has become more and more abundant, the operating team has become more and more professional, and the overall level of Fashion Week continues to increase. For example, at the beginning of the event, Fuxing Park was the only main show field. At the beginning, there were only 5 or 6 brands. The release of the year and season was very different from the international one year and the second quarter. In 2007, we completed the integration with the international first-line fashion week release system and also started the trend release in each of the two quarters of the year. At the same time, the participation of related parties has also continued to increase. This year, Shanghai Fashion Week has attracted more than 30 brands, more than 40 designers, and more than 100 media. The quality and scale have grown. This is a big change. Another point is reflected in the improvement of the image and function of the entire city. For example, with the opportunity of the World Expo this year, some international organizations such as the United Nations’ South-South Cooperation Organization and the World Fashion Organization also participated in the Shanghai Fashion Week. This is another change. It is a future trend.

What is the gap between Shanghai Fashion Week and International Fashion Week? Where did we have the Haishang Summit in 2008? At that time, the organizers of Paris and London Fashion Week were invited to talk about the operation and development direction of Fashion Week. At the time, we all thought that Shanghai Fashion Week was still immature compared to those that had been 25 or even 50 years old. But after those international professionals watched, they all felt that Shanghai Fashion Week had been doing quite well. Nowadays, Shanghai’s Fashion Week has increased its influence in the international arena, and the gap has continuously narrowed. At present, Shanghai has become one of the six major fashion weeks in the world. We hope that after several years of hard work, we will be able to compete in Tokyo.

Why did the fashion week unite with the fashion media to jointly create the summit forum during the fashion week? We really felt that we must develop the fashion week. The media power can not be ignored, including traditional media and emerging media. The media's dissemination effect is multiplied in a geometric form. Without media, all activities are like closed doors, making it difficult to produce a wide range of influence. However, we also hope that Fashion Week will not be just a small number of people's events. In this way, the power of the media will emerge. Therefore, the development of fashion media and fashion week is a complementary relationship. The media can promote the development of the fashion industry.

After the World Expo Shanghai Fashion Week will be how to use its own strength to build Shanghai into a fashion capital In the post-World Expo era, the development of high-tech industries and creative cultural industries is the general direction. It can also be said that this will be a development direction for Shanghai in the next 10 or even 20 years. As one of the creative industries, the fashion industry has received increasing attention. With the continuous advancement of urbanization, the demand for China's textiles and apparel will also accelerate. This is a good foundation. The second basis is that China’s per capita GDP will reach 5,000 US dollars this year, Shanghai will be 10,000 US dollars, and per capita consumption will exceed 3,000 US dollars. The internationalization of urban development also drives people's fashion ideas and continual advancement of consumption concepts. This also provides a space and possibility for the development of the fashion industry to meet individual consumer demand. As a display platform and a performance model in the fashion industry, Fashion Week can attract more domestic and foreign eyes to focus on China’s fashion forces and forcefully and positively drive the entire fashion industry forward.

The signing of the Shanghai Garment Industry Association (SGTA) and the World Fashion Organisation (WFO) means what will bring about the future of Shanghai Fashion Week. We hope that through this cooperation, we will promote Shanghai Fashion Week’s brands and designers. Models, business resources, cooperation with world fashion weeks, and more cities allow Shanghai to integrate into the world's fashion industry faster, develop a creative economy, and nurture outstanding talents. After signing the contract, WFO will recommend the most influential and creative designers in the world to participate in SGTA's fashion release in the second quarter of each year. At the same time, SGTA will also recommend outstanding Chinese designers, brands and models to WFO, which will be arranged by WFO. Published, displayed and exchanged during the world's major fashion weeks. In the future, once every two years, the “HaiShang Summit” will also establish different themes according to the development trend of the world fashion industry, and invite the most influential figures in the global fashion industry to give speeches at the forum. It also includes occasional visits and exchanges between members of the organization, cooperation in the fashion brand business, and so on. This will be inspiring for everyone in the industry who are concerned about Shanghai Fashion Week.