As the first fashion event post outbreak of the pandemic, CHIC Shanghai saw 43,986 visitors from September 23-25 at National Exhibition & Convention Center, Shanghai.
CHIC presented itself on an area of 53,000 sqm with over 500 brands in fashion & lifestyle segments. Mainly Chinese brands and international labels having Chinese agents were represented in CHIC.
The focus of the fair was on sustainable fashion and the upgrade of fashion, which corresponds to the current demand of Chinese consumers.
There is an upward trend in Chinese trade. For August the National Bureau of Statistics published an increase of 0.8 per cent for the first time since the beginning of the year. Domestic consumption will be the most important growth driver in the next few years, as well as higher quality, more expensive collections that meet the high demand for quality and style. The smaller metropolises in particular (lower tier cities with up to 3 million inhabitants) are recording high consumer spending.
At the same time, the digital platforms continue to develop rapidly with enormous sales growth. The market relevance of young consumers in particular with regard to willingness to spend is also increasing, such as the Gen Z group (born after 1996), who make up 25 per cent of the country’s population. According to a recent PwC study on China’s ‘New Retail’, this group and China’s millennials are willing to spend a lot on products that emphasise their individuality and values of life. Health and sustainability are very important to them.
“The global clothing industry is exposed to enormous strains and faces great challenges. The industry is in a process of transformation and adjustment, the key points are digitalisation, innovation and the change in the entire development concept. Sustainable development has become a global consensus. A responsible and a sustainable industrial ecosystem and an ecological supply chain system have become an important part of the industrial “soft power”. CHIC is the microcosm of the development of the Chinese clothing industry and sees itself as a service provider for industry and trade to which the fair provides all resources,” said Chen Dapeng, president of CHIC and the China National Garment Association.
Due to travel restrictions, only national brands presented themselves at CHIC in Shanghai. They provided a good overview of the current trends in the Chinese fashion market: Urban View (men), New Look (women), Impulses (designer), CHIC-Young Blood (streetwear and denim), CHIC Kidz (kidswear), Shoes and Bags, Secret Stars (accessories), Future Link (innovations for fashion and retail), etc.
Casual / leisurewear was an important topic in menswear in addition to the providers of classic suits such as Dong Meng. Well-known brands such as Lei Nuo presented bravely coloured collections including suits in chimney red for men and orange for women.
The silver-metallic coloured collection by Thankque was a crowd puller. Giving off strong futuristic vibes, their new collection of men´s streetwear includes graphic t-shirts with humorous comic prints, casual shorts and stylish puffer jackets with a “space” theme touch.
Colourful puffer jackets and coats were also seen at Suo Ou Te, in combination with bold slogans and puffer bags.
In the kidswear area the very trendy label Qirui & Deze showed the latest trends in kids fashion and was successfully matched with Tesco on site.
At Jing Yia, it was all about denim from destroyed jeans with colourful prints to matching denim jackets, also using creative graffiti elements and spray patterns. Linen was a strong topic at Impulses, the designer area.
The latest trends on the Chinese fashion market were presented in all segments.
The core topic of CHIC was “Fashion for Future” – sustainability as a guide for the fashion industry.
The “Sustainable Development Zone” at CHIC presented the sustainable production approaches of fashion manufacturers, selected by the China National Garment Association, the Social Responsibility Office of the China Textile Industry Federation and Womenswear Daily.
The exhibitions “Fashion for Future CHIC” and “WWD Salon” showed the use of environmentally friendly biodegradable fibres, dyeing methods with natural products, reduction of water consumption by 50 per cent through laser methods, implanted chips for tracing the product origin and much more. The sustainability seminars at the fair were fully booked.
“Reshaping the future of the industry: trends and prospects for sustainable fashion” was the keynote speech given by Yan Yan, director of the social responsibility office at the gala of the first evening of the fair, hosted by Sateri, the world’s largest supplier of sustainable viscose fibres.
“Sustainability” as a guide for the Chinese fashion industry will also remain a core topic at CHIC in March.
The CHIC app has again proven to be an indispensable multifunctional tool, the function of which is continuously being developed. Visitors registered themselves, seminars were booked, trade fair documents were made available for exhibitors and visitors, services such as catering or logistics services could be ordered. The Electronic Journal reports on trade fair and market trends. The CHIC online mini-programme makes it possible to take part in the trade fair live. More than 30 match-making meetings were organised and successfully carried out in this way. The upgrades and new features of the CHIC app seamlessly link offline and online, thus also enabling digital participation in the trade fair without any distance.
With the expansion of the functions of the CHIC app, numerous companies were successfully networked with new customers at the fair, and more than 30 match-making meetings took place in the separate meeting area at the fair.
The exhibitors met customers from all trading channels from multibrand shops, boutiques, e-commerce platforms, department stores: Kappa, FolliFollie, Lily, My Style, Wanda Plaza, Wangfujing Department Stores, LiQun Shopping Center, JD.com, Amazon, TMall, etc. Numerous business deals were made. The need for personal exchange was great, and the participants were enthusiastic about the innovative offer at the fair.
CHIC September 2020 was again held in parallel to Intertextile Shanghai, Yarn Expo and PH Value.
The CHIC spring event in March is again planned with international participation.
The autumn event of CHIC Shanghai will take place from August 17-19, 2021; CHIC Shenzhen from November 3-5, 2021.
