On September 26, the 2023 World Design Cities Conference (WDCC) opened at the Huangpu Riverside with the theme of "Design Beyond Creativity". The event was organized by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. As a supporting partner, Fosun, which has been rooted in Shanghai for more than 30 years, and its subsidiaries, Yuyuan and Lanvin Group, joined the event by not only showing thoroughly the innovative designs in their products, business ecosystems and scenarios but also introduced technological innovations to press ahead with a fashion revolution, thus contributing to Shanghai’s development into a world-class city of design.

During the conference from September 26 to October 2, LANVIN, the French couture house under the global fashion and luxury group, Lanvin Group, presented its 2023 Fall/Winter Collection in a five-minute fashion show infused with cutting-edge AIGC technology, presenting an online metaverse show synchronized with the offline runway. Meanwhile, Yuyuan has introduced various original design products that highlighted the original charm of Chinese culture, integrating tradition and fashion to invent a new lifestyle that features the oriental lifestyle aesthetics. The "Shanghai-Milan Twin Cities Show" will mark the opening of the 13th Shanghai Haute Couture Week. The show aims to build a two-way fashion channel and a cultural corridor between China and rest of the world in the future.

Xu Xiaoliang, Co-CEO of Fosun International and Chairman of the Shanghai International Fashion Federation, said, "Shanghai has always been a leader in the domestic design industry and a bridgehead for the entry of China's excellent design works and outstanding design enterprises into the global market. Rooted in Shanghai while developing globally, Fosun has been deeply engaged in industry operations for more than 30 years, continuously iterating innovative products that feature the oriental lifestyle aesthetics. Such products add to the happiness of family life and, at the same time, fully facilitate Shanghai's development into a world-class city of design. They contribute significantly to the growth of the city's soft power."

Two Great Shows Connecting Three Places
A Celebration of Fashion in Shanghai, Paris, and Milan

On the morning of September 26, the attention of the global design community was focused on Shanghai. The passion for fashion was high on both sides of the Huangpu River. With the theme of "Design Beyond Creativity", the 2023 World Design Cities Conference officially opened.

At the opening ceremony, LANVIN, the French couture house under the global fashion and luxury group, Lanvin Group, presented a stunning runway show with its 2023 Fall/Winter Collection. Evocations of the 1940s and the 1980s find traces in the collection, as well as references to the eighteenth century, the renaissance and the medieval periods. Injecting modern charm into classic elements for a fresh take, the collection is a rediscovery of French elegance and exuberance. 

It is also the first time for LANVIN to explore the use of AIGC technology, presenting an online metaverse show synchronized with the offline runway. The seamless integration of past and present, design and technology, sparks a fresh and breath-taking experience, as LANVIN, the oldest fashion house still operating in Paris, reactivated for the present.

After the opening ceremony, the Shanghai International Fashion Federation, of which Fosun chairs, will hold a special event on the oriental lifestyle aesthetics - "Shanghai-Milan Twin Cities Show", in the main venue at the Huangpu Riverside on the evening of September 29, which is also the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The show will be the highlight of the World Design Cities Conference. The exciting "Twin Cities Show" will also kick off the 13th Shanghai Haute Couture Week. This year's high fashion week aims to bring forth the new through the old by turning into an "haute couture season", instead of continuing the previous "one issue per week" format of the presentation. The event not only will last longer but also will feature more diverse and exciting activities in addition to the brand shows, high-end customer salons and forums. That evening, the Shanghai International Fashion Federation will also sign a strategic agreement with the Shanghai Promotion Center for City of Design on organizing a campaign entitled "Oriental Lifestyle Aesthetics Going Global" with the aim of enabling more Chinese fashion brands to "go global".

On September 8, as an important overseas collaboration of the 2023 World Design Cities Conference, the Shanghai Fashion Day was held in Milan, Italy. The "Shanghai-Milan Twin Cities Show" is a continuation of the Shanghai Fashion Day in Milan.

The Integration of Traditional Culture and Innovative Design Demonstrates the Charms of Oriental Lifestyle Aesthetics

In the Hall of Industry of this year's World Design Cities Conference, Yuyuan, which owns 17 time-honored Chinese brands and many vintage brands, brings the original design of a variety of brands, such as Shanghai Watch, Seagull Watch, Dongjia, WEI Beauty, and Laochenghuangmiao, covering a wide variety of products such as wristwatches, handicrafts, cosmetics, foods and beverages, and featuring their packaging designs.

The Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains model of Shanghai Watch's Renaissance-Danqing Series of products is inspired by the Gu embroidery's "integration of painting theory into embroidery", showing paintings on the watch dial. Seagull Watch's Great Han Dynasty-General of the Flying Cavalry Collection is inspired by Chinese history, manifesting the "spirit of China" throughout the entire collection. The craftsmen of Dongjia and Suzhou Museum jointly launch the Secret Color Porcelain Lotus Lamp Gift Box, inspired by the "Secret Color Lotus Bowl" of Yue Kiln of the Five Dynasties, which is the treasure of Suzhou Museum. The cosmetics brand, WEI Beauty, launches a new series of Ming Dynasty Imperial Collection, inspired by the "Blue-and-White Dragon and Phoenix Box with Cover" during the reign of the Wanli Emperor from the artifact collection of the China Ceramics Museum in Jingdezhen.

In addition to the excellent design works from various brands, "Made in Yuyuan", an important future intellectual property of Yuyuan, has also been unveiled in advance at the conference. "Made in Yuyuan", which consists of Yuyuan's seven types of dim sum, is exhibited at this year's World Design Cities Conference. The designs on the card boxes as the packaging of the food is based on the series of original illustrations of Yuyuan's time-honored brands and they can bring consumers pleasant surprises when they "unbox" the breakfast for a week.

Moreover, Fosun and Yuyuan will also bring the oriental lifestyle aesthetics from Shanghai, China to Paris, France. On September 26, the Conférence de présentation du Festival Dragons et Lanternes was held in Paris as the special overseas promotional activity of the 2023 World Design Cities Conference. The event officially announced the Festival Dragons et Lanternes’ debut on the world stage as one of the representative cultural and artistic activities of the Chinese New Year. The 72-day Festival Dragons et Lanternes in France is scheduled to take place from late 2023 to early 2024, integrating the traditional Chinese cultural elements with the global fashion trends.