Call Shushu/Tong, Oude Waag, Samuel Gui Yang and Mark Gong the Shanghai Four.
Out of a sea of fashion shows, these designers have emerged as the brightest young stars for the spring 2026 season of Shanghai Fashion Week, despite broader economic uncertainties.
Having built distinct cultural tribes with Xiaohongshu-driven social media storytelling and savvy clienteling, these brands, most of which are around 10 years old, have matured around the same time and are ready to break into the mainstream.
Here, a look at the them and the brands that took to the catwalk in Shanghai.
Shushu/Tong
Inspired by Agnès Varda’s heroine Cléo from the French New Wave classic “Cléo from 5 to 7,” Shushu/Tong’s colorful female lead has developed a taste for prim dresses with distressed finishes. “It’s also about exploring softer design elements with structured ones,” explained Liushu Lei, cofounder of Shushu/Tong during a preview with WWD.
New textures, such as golden tweed, stained emerald green and distressed leather, furthered the designer’s exploration of the playful space between Lolita-feminine ideals and adulthood.
With a front row that included a dozen global influencers, Jinqing Cai, Kering’s China chief executive officer, and a few representatives from Shanghai’s Jing’an District Commerce Commission, it’s clear that Shushu/Tong’s feminine look is not just a viral moment endorsed by K-pop stars — the brand story has legs, and is running in its bow-tied heels.
Oude Waag
Jinwei Yin of Oude Waag, one of Shanghai’s most sought-after fashion voices, finally embraced traditional beauty for spring 2026, and it was a thing.
The Royal College of Art-trained designer has been building a cult following in China for eight years for his unique blend of avant-garde and Eastern sensibility.
The brand is edgy, cool and sexy, but not elegant. For the first time, Yin experimented with materials like satin, often associated with luxury fashion.
He referenced couture silhouettes and created contrasts with minimal details that are unmistakably Oude Waag. Through draping, Yin created volumes and shapes as if they were achieved via padding, but in fact were just clever patterns.
The designer said spring 2026 was about the complex interplay between self-perception and the gaze of others on femininity. Inspired by mirrors, which reflect reality while simultaneously generating illusion, the collection explored the tension between the two. Hence, the introduction of garments that move freely.
This new development opened a lot more room for imagination for what Oude Waag could be. A few more years of him exploring a wider range of fabrications and techniques would make him a strong contender to revive a legacy fashion house, especially those under Chinese owners.
Yin speaks the language, not just Chinese, but the business and cultural lingo. Given the momentum Oude Waag has built — dressing global names like Jisoo, Charlize Theron, Simone Ashley and Teyana Taylor, and selling in more than 40 doors worldwide, plus a booming China e-commerce operation — Yin would have the resources needed for a China-owned luxury name to work.
Samuel Gui Yang
Samuel Gui Yang’s 10-year anniversary show was a mixtape of the brand’s greatest hits, new classics, and a fully realized character study of its female heroine.
The brand’s love of latex was haphazardly draped at waist level over an oversize trenchcoat to create an assassin-chic moment; an excessively opulent bird-and-nature silk embroidery panel cascaded down the model’s back from a hair tie, subverting proportions and playing with tradition; while a model in canvas tracksuits carried a shredded shawl from spring 2022, proposing exaggerated nonchalance.
For its high-brow audience base, Samuel Gui Yang’s subtle design upgrades won the day — his signature Lee jacket, which once featured silicon-rubber mandarin closures, was now replaced by cotton cords that made it easier for the wearer to tie or undo.
The collection was also embedded with a few hidden surprises for friends and family — Rei Ayanami, a major female lead in the 1990s Japanese anime series “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” was immortalized in a color-blocked windbreaker in her iconic white, red and navy palette; while a fully sequined number paid homage to Madame Lee Gui Zhen, a Hong Kong craftswoman and entrepreneur who was tapped by John Galliano to hand-embroider his first Chinese-inspired couture collections for Christian Dior.
Lee’s granddaughter, Carolyn Yim — the creator of Ply-Knits — has been carrying on the family legacy by producing some of Samuel Gui Yang’s most iconic knitwear pieces.
Echoing the contemporary art museum setting — the show was staged at Rockbund Art Museum — and models carried industrial assemblages such as paper-wrapped bundles and plastic bags, offering a sculptural meditation on city life — adding a “very Samuel” touch.
Mark Gong
Mark Gong’s bold and energetic runway show was set in a dystopian version of “Thelma & Louise,” the 1990s feminist road trip movie. “My very first collection was Western-inspired, so I wanted to do it again, but better,” said Gong backstage. “It was about finding a female perspective in Westerns.”
The blue Cadillac, a silent main character from the film, became the inspiration for several showstopping looks, including automotive mirror parts fitted at the chest, which were created in collaboration with Yvmin, the hit fashion accessories brand known for its Shushu/Tong linkup.
Knitwear, including fitted cardigans, sheer knitwear bodysuits and knitted biker jackets, showed a softer side of Gong’s aesthetic. Sharply cut oversize blazers embroidered with florals, paired with fringed leather cowgirl pants, embodied the designer’s vision of sexy, empowered femininity — perfect for Lisa of Blackpink’s next red-carpet appearance.
8on8
Started around the same period as Oude Waag, 8on8, the fashion label founded by Central Saint Martins alum Gong Li, celebrated its eighth anniversary at the Xintiandi venue with a playful set design that reminded one of “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.”
The show started with models sprinting past the giant vegetables, a fun way to unveil its latest footwear collaboration with American sportswear brand Keen. The Jasper runner model got a rose pink or mountain green colorway update, and is adorned with suede patchwork pegasus motifs and ponytail-like fringe details at the back, a nod to the upcoming year of the horse in the Chinese lunar calendar.
Inspired by a family trip to rural Mexico, where the locals would run around wearing big, colorful skirts during harvest, Gong said he wanted to express a longing for freedom and nature among urban dwellers via crafty details and earthy tones in a highly skillful spring 2026 lineup that effortlessly blended sportswear’s functionality with sartorial codes. Highlights included a series of tracksuit and blazer two-in-ones, neon flared shorts, graphic T-shirts and calabash-shaped handbags.
Comme Moi
Model-turned-designer Lu Yan compared her decade-old brand Comme Moi to an exquisitely crafted piece of amber: her edges and passion have not vanished, but are now encased within an elegant shell. She has nothing to prove; the once business-savvy, shapely, tailored and snatched lineup became warm and soft in a good way.
“Comme Moi has matured as I reflected on the past decade or so running the brand. I’m constantly seeking innovation and change. You’ll notice a more relaxed approach this season, but the overall aesthetic is still rooted in our core message, celebrating inner beauty. To me, Comme Moi remains the ultimate female protagonist,” the designer said.
Like a lingering glow of sunset, Lu opted for colors including peach-orange, burgundy and beige before gradually exploring the glimmers in black and white toward the evening looks, which showcased her masterful skills in technical innovations, mixing 3D cutout prints, embroidery, beading, pleating and frayed edges to create rich and tactile layers.
She also experimented with cloud-like, sheer linen for relaxed, languid dresses and incorporated silk and satin for a muted, starlight effect on the asymmetrical daytime ensembles. Slouchy, fine knits were also on offer, some featuring a stylish gradient effect.
Ao Yes
With origami butterfly collars, Chinese knot-inspired bow ties, and traditional hebao-shaped, or pouch-like pockets, Ao Yes’s spring 2026 collection evoked the feeling of a nostalgic spring outing.
Founded three years ago by former fashion editor Austin Wang and designer Yansong Liu, the brand continues to reinterpret “New Chinese Style” with a subtle twist.
Having collaborated with Zara and Disney, Ao Yes understands what resonates with the mass market. This season, fluorescent pink, blue and white formed a rational yet romantic palette — a vision of a young schoolgirl poised to step into the real world. Butterfly-collar blouses and beaded slipdresses, meanwhile, stirred the memory of a lingering spring night.
The collection drew inspiration from two seemingly distant sources: a still-life painting of a shirt collar by Joe Brainard, the prolific 1960s New York writer and artist, and a short story by Yu Dafu, the early 20th-century Chinese author and revolutionist. “There’s a springlike romanticism in his writing, one that still carries a distinctly Shanghainese flavor,” said Wang of Yu’s influence.
Xu Zhi
Xu Zhi’s spring 2026 collection was a multicultural remix through a Silk Road lens. Inspired by French poet Arthur Rimbaud’s transcontinental odyssey, the Central Saint Martins graduate Xuzhi Chen incorporated his signature fringe treatment with Slavic embroidery, Bohemian raffles, Art Nouveau floral patterns, ancient Greek motifs and William Morris’s intricate natural elements via jacquard and 3D beadings for a lineup that felt confident, crafty and poetic.
The designer said the collection is aimed at offering an elevated and cultural escapism for urban elites, who long for a “Midnight in Paris” kind of adventure.
Ya Yi
A relatively new addition to Shanghai’s fashion scene, Ya Yi, with support from the Cervantes Institute, the Hispanic Cultural Center of Shanghai, staged an immersive performance that took the audience to the world of famed writer Sanmao, whose storied and tragic life stretching across China, Western Sahara and the Canary Islands has inspired generations of China’s intellectuals.
Accompanied by a nonchalant guitar performance, dancer and choreographer Dong Jilan, donning a brown velvet dress and having the same long, wavy hair as Sanmao, woke up from a miniature dune and roamed around the set in a highly spiritual and ceremonial fashion.
It was followed by a cohort of drapy ensembles in velvet devoré, linen, ramie, persimmon-dyed silk, and mud-dyed silk jacquard, evoking the writer’s well-documented desert dwelling experience and her one-of-a-kind East-meets-West personal style.
Jacques Wei
Jacques Wei brought a slice of 1980s Paris to Shanghai with a show set at Yangtze Hotel — a 1930s architecture marvel with grand modernist wall carvings against Chinese gateways, a mix-and-match glamour that has come to define the vitality of the five-year-old brand.
“The ’80s is all about volume, silhouettes and colors, like red, orange, yellow and green, but we tune downed the palettes so it can feel more 2025,” explained Donghui Wei, who cofounded the brand with stylist Austin Feng.
Apart from the strong shoulders, the confident female narrative also had a playful bent — a feathery headpiece that framed several model’s faces was described by Wei as “Labubu-inspired.”
“I felt the need for some details that lifts the spirit of serious fashion,” said Feng.
Marrknull
Marrknull’s return to the runway, styled by Daliah Spiegel, a cult-favorite, brought back the raw and electric energy of DIY fashion once favored by local underground musicians. With handbags seamlessly protruding from skirts, pantyhose covering stacks of massive bangles, doses of hot pink and big fur, the collection was made for social media consumption.
Qiuhao
Qiuhao quietly opened fashion week with a strong collection mining the idea of utilitarian aspects of Chinese traditional garments in the 1930s, which were subtly influenced by the Art Deco movement.
“I want her to be someone not instantly recognizable in the crowd,” said Qiu of his inspiration for spring 2026, or what he calls “Collection 41.” “But when you do notice her, you notice her distinct charm,” added Qiu.
To reinforce such subtle visual distinctions, Qiu constructed his latest collection around rules of economics: fabrics were cut in stripes before twisting 45 degrees to create bias cuts so as to save extra fabric waste — they became the basis for asymmetric button-downs with qipao-collars and bellowing nylon trenchcoats that swayed sideways as the models glided down the runway, wearing delicate tabi heels — made with a thin leather, Qiu’s version captures the snug factor created by the split-toe sock.
Accessories were also a close imitation of Qiu’s day-to-day encounters — a stone-shaped leather clutch was a one-on-one reproduction of a gorgeous stone found in his Japanese garden.
Critical of click-bait fashion that “gravitates for the supernatural, the demonic, the celestial, all kinds of spirits and monsters,” Qiu sought to “unearth beauty from reality. Maybe it won’t grab your attention immediately, but when you take a closer look, you can still sense that something is different,” said Qiu of his realism approach to fashion.