The Shanghai Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026 took place from Oct 9 to 16, with Xintiandi serving as its main venue.

As a highlight of this year's Shanghai Summer International Consumption Season, the event showcased more than 4,000 new clothing and accessory items, transforming the city into a vibrant celebration of style and creativity.

Yet the energy extended beyond the runway. Just a few blocks away, Yongyuan Road, a 500-meter stretch in Jing'an district, has emerged as the heart of a new wave of immersive fashion experiences.

The Shanghai Fashion Weekend, which runs to Oct 26, is carrying the creative energy of Fashion Week into the streets, making high fashion more accessible through a "content + experience + consumption" model.

Visitors can explore brand installations and hands-on workshops that bring creativity to life. At Attempt's booth, fabrics dyed with natural pigments from pomegranate skins and madder roots reveal organic patterns shaped by heat and time. The Argentinian brand Sagrada Madre fills the air with earthy aromas from incense made with Peruvian palo santo and herbs, while local label Xixingle showcases vintage-style teaware. Designer jewelry label Narcii's new collection, inspired by Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, invites urban women on a sensory journey of self-expression.

Beyond shopping, Yongyuan Road has evolved into a social hub for dialogue and discovery. Inside the C-building forum space, podcasters discuss how personal style influences life choices, while designers and show producers engage audiences in conversations about the role of aesthetics. Buyers gather around the r3 and Present Monana booths, studying fabrics and sharing insights, turning once one-way showcases into two-way creative exchanges.

Outdoors, fashion takes on a playful spirit. A six-meter-tall Forever 21 pop-up draws crowds with its Smurfs collaboration line. The aroma of Cafe Kitsune coffee drifts through the air as visitors relax on the grass for the "Yongyuan picnic", basking in the sunshine and enjoying sweet treats. Local shops have joined the celebration too, offering exclusive gifts, co-branded menus, and design-inspired touches to their storefronts.

From the spotlight of the catwalk to the rhythm of city streets, Shanghai Fashion Weekend shows how creativity can move beyond the runway, making fashion not just something to watch, but a way to experience life.

Sources: Shanghai Observer, official WeChat account of Shanghai Jing'an Media Center at "jaxwzx"