Shanghai Fashion Made Waves Overseas with 'Design to Wonderland' at the Milan Exhibition, 2024

Amidst Shanghai Fashion's global outreach in 2024, this exhibition aims to highlight the "Shanghai brands", showcase the new strengths of Shanghai's fashion consumer goods, help integrate brands into the global development ecosystem, and promote cooperation in the fashion consumer goods industry both domestically and internationally.

This exhibition, themed "Designing Dragon: Fusion of Tradition & Innovation," not only features 27 outstanding fashion consumer brands from Shanghai and other regions but also demonstrates the innovative extension of traditional Chinese cultural elements in contemporary fashion design. The exhibition highlights carefully selected products from Frank Chou Design Studio's Rectangle series, interpreting the fusion of tradition and modernity, along with enamel paintings brought by the age-old Chinese cloisonné enamel technique, blending over 700 years of heritage with modern aesthetic concepts. Additionally, refreshed national classic brands such as Hytex, Lao Feng Xiang, Bright Dairy, Warrior, and Mangelan; innovative skincare brands leveraging unique Chinese botanical resources like Wild East; fashion trendsetters like Shanghai Tang, Li Ning, and Powerland; and continuously innovating digital, networked, and intelligent products like Moovi, as well as many design-driven emerging Shanghai brands such as Peco and Handhandhand, aim to display the flourishing ecosystem of Shanghai Fashion Made and explore the application of sustainable, green design in the fashion consumer goods industry.

At the opening ceremony, Mr. Geng Xiewei, the Commercial Counselor of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Milan, delivered a speech. He warmly congratulated the official opening of the "Design to Wonderland" series of activities organized by the Shanghai Design Week during this year's Milan Design Week. As the economic center of Italy and a world-class "fashion capital", Milan has been a bellwether for the development of the design industry. At this new historical starting point, Milan and Shanghai will continue to carry forward their friendly traditions, deepen institutional cooperation in fields such as culture and commerce, and jointly promote development and prosperity. It is hoped that through this event, Shanghai will further gather international design resources and continuously expand the influence of Chinese design brands, fully empowering the city's high-quality development and the building of a first-class international consumption center.

He fully supported the "Chinese Design" and "Shanghai Design" going global and continuously deepening international exchange and cooperation. On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Shanghai and Milan being friendly cities, the event invited Mr. Luo Zhiwei, the Director of the Shanghai Design City Promotion Center, Mr. Andrea Cuman, the International Affairs Director of the Milan Design Week, and Mr. Sun Qun, the Chairman of Beijing Keedu and the co-initiator of the "Milan Design Week China Week", to make joint initiatives and express support. Through this exhibition, fashion and design works with Chinese cultural elements will be brought to Italy, allowing more people to understand Chinese culture and the fashion of Shanghai, while promoting international exchange and business cooperation.

"We see that Chinese design is now integrating into the global system in a more open manner, especially in the field of exchanges in the fashion consumer goods industry, which has led to more cooperation between Chinese and Italian brands. We are full of confidence in this," said Mr. Andrea Cuman, the International Affairs Director of the Milan Design Week.

As a special guest, Mr. Zhou Chenchen, the founder of Frank Chou Design Studio, shared the RECTANGLE series products, hoping to create a quiet yet powerful state. The sense of order and ritual conveyed by this stability is actually a very important core of Eastern culture. It maintains the connection between the individual and the group, connecting the cultural values of the past and present.

The exploration of the "design language of the East" and the intersection and difference between Eastern and Western cultures will help facilitate the globalization of Chinese design.

In the future, it is hoped that more Chinese designers who utilize the design language of the East will take the international stage, allowing Chinese design and Shanghai fashion to exert greater influence globally.

'Design to Wonderland', as a core project of Shanghai Design Week, came to Milan after its September 2023 event in London. Dedicated to pushing Chinese fashion consumer brands onto the international stage and accelerating their development in the global design field, this event is not only a brand showcase but also a platform for deepening exchanges and cooperation between China and Italy in design philosophy, brand development, and sustainable practices, reflecting the fusion of innovation in the fashion consumer goods industry with design and culture. 'Design to Wonderland' will continue to focus on the growth ecosystem of brands, providing a global display platform, and promoting sustainable development of the industry and the revival of cultural aesthetics through design innovation, set to land in Hong Kong, China, in July 2024. Stay tuned.

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