Abstract
Shanghai has become an economic center of China and the world, as well as a place where young urbanites connect the dots between its mythical past and its promising future. A city of influence with a growing art scene, striving creative industries, and millions of avid tech-savvy consumers, Shanghai is also a fashion capital in the making. The Gen Z, or digital natives born after the mid-1990s, are at the forefront of social, economic, and cultural transformations. Their behaviors, aspirations, and mobile identities are increasingly driving the worlds of fashion and luxury, in China and globally. This chapter examines Shanghai fashion through three dimensions: the physical, digital, and social dimensions. The fusion of physical and virtual places in a phygital world, and soon in the metaverse, combine with the fast-moving sociocultural environment of an emerging country to create opportunities and challenges for the fashion industry.
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Notes
- 1.
Fashion studies are a new area of study that uses multiple disciplines to examine fashion through the lens of sociology, history, the arts, etc. Fashionology studies the social production processes related to fashion. Clothing items become fashion items through a process of transformation and their relationship to specific institutions (Kawamura, 2018).
- 2.
The concept of Chinese dream was introduced by the President in 2012, and it serves to give a common goal to increase nationalism. The term “new normal” refers to a slower economic growth rate in the last 15 years that has required a rebalancing toward a consumption-driven economy, after an investment-led economy.
- 3.
Phygital is understood as a system of interaction in the new world when digital space penetrates the physical and integrates with a person. In marketing it describes blending physical and digital experiences.
- 4.
Interview with Mrs. Margaux Lhermitte, Interior Designer, former GM of Naço Architectures Agency in Shanghai, Shanghai, 2018.
- 5.
The British Council defines creative hubs as physical and digital spaces that attract people from a range of backgrounds with a focus on developing digital technology, enterprise and social innovation. These hubs facilitate collaborations.
- 6.
Interview with a classic music shop owner, Huai Hai Road, 2020.
- 7.
In the fashion business, the value chain starts with the choice of material used to make the final product. The next steps in the chain consist of production, distribution and retail until the item reaches the end users.
- 8.
Smart materials can be called intelligent materials. They are designed to have specific properties in reaction to the environment. They can adapt to the body temperature, and to external stimuli such as moisture, light and electric fields. They are incorporated in a wide range of products for their level of functionality, and the use of energy and communication technology. They can be used in fashion and other industries. The Chinese government is investing heavily in this research.
- 9.
Omnichannel refers to distributing to multiple channels, whether in physical stores, online platforms, and mobile phones, thus providing the consumer with a uniform and seamless shopping experience.
- 10.
Interview with Mr. Xavier Brochart, Consultant in Digital Marketing, November 2021.
- 11.
Interview with Mr. Xavier Brochart, Digital marketing consultant who worked in China for 14 years, November 17th, 2021.
- 12.
The term “metaverse” was coined in 1992 by novelist Neal Stephenson. Currently it refers to an immersive virtual world, computer generated, where people can gather, work, and will be able to buy. In October 2021, Facebook founder Zuckerberg announced that his company will be called Meta.
- 13.
Interview with Mrs. Jade Camus, Strategic Planner, Adventi PR Agency in Shanghai, November 21st, 2021.
- 14.
Interview with Mrs. Lu Ming, Fashion Designer, Shanghai, 2020.
- 15.
Acculturation is a process that results in changes occurring when cultures come into contact.
- 16.
Balenciaga unveils its ‘CLONES’ show Spring/Summer 2022 (2021, June 27), BALENCIAGA Clones spring 2022 digital show—Bing video.
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Chrétien-Ichikawa, S. (2022). Shanghai Fashion and Post-1990s Youth Through the Phygital Lens. In: Chrétien-Ichikawa, S., Pawlik, K. (eds) Creative Industries and Digital Transformation in China. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3049-2_6
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