The 5 best shows of Shanghai Fashion Week FW25

In Europe, the plummeting fashion sales in China are being watched with growing concern, and increasingly elaborate explanations are being sought. Yet, following the many shows of the Shanghai Fashion Week, which edition after edition is becoming a true force, the feeling is that the Chinese market has begun to develop its own strong autonomy thanks to a lineup of brands and designers who, in some cases, would not look out of place leading the world's top luxury maisons. That said, many of the collections seen, including some of the best, still appear indebted to the leading global fashion brands – this season saw a flood of Prada, Miu Miu, Saint Laurent, and Diesel epigones. But what makes the Chinese designer scene so interesting is that there is never a lazy copy: there is always a detail, a type of design, an idea that establishes the “kinship” between imitated and imitators but configures it as a creative reinterpretation capable of standing on its own – in some cases even surpassing the original inspiration. And if Markgong has been a highlight of the week for some time now, the high moments of the just-concluded fashion week were numerous. So much so that a list of the top five moments barely captures what was seen in the past few days in Shanghai.

Here are the 5 best shows of Shanghai Fashion Week.

1. Shushu/Tong

This year, the creative duo Liushu Lei and Yutong Jiang celebrate ten years of their brand Shushu/Tong – a name that, thanks to social media, has managed to cross oceans and continents, reaching Europe and America with a reimagining of 1950s womenswear executed with truly millimetric precision. Of course, it is impossible not to recognize the influences, if not of Miu Miu, then at least of the aesthetic universe of Miuccia Prada with a touch of Sandy Liang. But the meticulous cleanliness of the lines, the impeccable sense of color and styling, and the overall compactness of the final result are truly stunning.

2. Xander Zhou

One of our favorite names in the Shanghai scene is Xander Zhou, a designer whose aesthetic references to an almost cinematic futurism are sometimes too explicit, creating more the sensation of a costume than a real garment – but what a costume. This collection was of magnificent strangeness; the tech details like visors, transparent tablets, and blazers lit by LED screens imagined the future with such boldness that it made one forget the cumbersome drone wings attached to the shoulders of many looks. Specifically, what shone was the stunning level of tailoring in the tops, absurdly complex and full of meticulous details; and above all, the strong will to ignore any trends or influences to continue with a completely independent design and storytelling approach.

3. Oude Waag

This season, Jingwei Yin presented a very sexy, very bold collection with a surprisingly measured palette, shifting from cold grays to earthy, almost Martian reds. The silhouettes echoed some of Rick Owens’ work, but just as an echo. However, the entire proposal, in its relative conciseness, possessed an authentic originality and a completely unique vision that would be interesting to see venture into even more daring and experimental territories.

4. ili node

A tiny brand founded by three mysterious designers, who remain almost anonymous even on the official Shanghai Fashion Week website: AB, Lesley, and Lucia. Nothing else is known. They have very few followers on Instagram, less than a thousand – yet they know how to punch above their weight. Their collection is, to quote the Lithuanian-Milanese singer Popa, «insanely chic», and even though we don’t know what resources were available to such an independent trio in the vast Chinese fashion ecosystem, the looks presented on the runway were truly masterful. Stunningly deconstructed dresses, layers of dark fabrics revealing flashes of almost baroque garments, a sense of decadence and asymmetry that was almost hypnotic to behold. Someone bring them to Paris.

5. Yirantian

Yirantian Guo is a master of silhouette. His latest show resembled a lighter version, devoid of disco decadence but no less sexy, of Tom Ford’s golden years at Gucci. Here too were reminiscences and flashbacks from Miuccia Prada’s world, but the details and constructions classified Guo’s work as a distinct entity. A master of rigorous silhouettes, Guo brought to the runway stunning skirt-pants and jackets so tightly fastened and buttoned they resembled armor; the show opened with a very '90s, minimalist note, then unfolded into increasingly vibrant variations that never slipped into easy excess. Among the many beautiful things seen in the collection, the silent hero was a fairly short sheath dress whose slit dangerously climbed up the thigh – a kind of irreverent mischief that is difficult to craft while remaining firmly within the realm of good taste. Guo succeeded.