Everything You Need to Know About Beijing Fashion Week 2021

I have had the honor and privilege to attend Beijing Fashion Week (BJFW) two years in a row now, and have also had the pleasure to see a few different shows early this year at the China Fashion Week (CFW). Each year, each show, and each event that I have been able to attend was full of amazing memories, and awesome fashion moments. In many ways, Beijing Fashion Week (BJFW) is still only in its infancy, but every year that passes it seems to take baby steps in the right direction, and one day it will hopefully reach something closer to an international level, with a larger and more global scale, similar to the Shanghai Fashion Show, which has now been often mentioned on the top 10 list of international fashion weeks.

Though the hierarchy of the most renowned global fashion weeks might be a subject of hot debate, most would agree that the “Big Four” are New York, London, Milan, and Paris, and they always show in that order. New York kicks things off on Sep 8 and Paris is the finale of the four shows in late September. Here in China, the Beijing Fashion Week officially kicks off on Sep 15, with hundreds of events planned for the stage at eight different landmarks. But in fact, all the fun has already begun, and things are already feeling more fashionable here in the capital.

On Sep 3 the BJFW press conference was held in Shougang Park, and activities will continue to be held in every corner of Beijing, both online and off. The plan of the BJFW is to create a pattern from the North, South, East, and West, that will invigorate the urban fashion world in every direction of Beijing. The eight landmarks that have been announced are: “Zhangjiawan Design Town, Beijing Future Design Area, Shougang Park, Longfu Cultural Center, Sanlitun, Wangjing Street, Jinggong Fashion Innovation Park, and other capital fashion and cultural landmarks.” This press conference and launch party in Shougang Park was already a huge success, and together with well-known designers like Fang Ying, who presented a "good time" as the theme of this national style show, was said to have been “a perfect fusion of Oriental culture and modern fashion feast.” This opening show is not only important because it is the opening and premiere show of the 2021 Beijing Fashion Week, but also because this is when the official schedule of the 2021 China International Trade Fair on Services drop, which is also said to be the beginning of the "2021 Beijing Consumer Season International Fashion Festival."

Understanding and Navigating the BJFW

I have to admit, that even though I have been following Beijing Fashion Week for over 5 years and have attended for 3 years, many things can sometimes still be tricky to navigate, schedule, and understand; especially because many of the shows are very exclusive, the locations are spread out, and almost all of the show info is in Chinese.

So I will share a few things that I have learned over the years and am slowly starting to understand, based on experience, meetings, conversations, visits, and discussions with the staff at BJFW (Beijing Fashion Week) and CFW (China Fashion Week), that might help you watch, attend, and appreciate the Beijing Fashion Week scene.

1. Getting Invited, Getting Involved, and Getting It

The best way to get an invite, as with anything in life, is to know someone; and chances are that if you live in Beijing, you already might know someone who is connected to the show. Whether it is a designer, model, media personnel, or one of the many other people involved in making these large-scale shows come to life, there is a chance that you know someone involved. Many of the personnel even come from outside of Beijing, so if you're interested, start talking with friends and people you know to see who might have the hookup.

Do some digging, get online, get on WeChat, etc. and send some messages and emails to try to get an invite, it is sometimes hard to get an invite still, but you will definitely have better chances than doing nothing at all. Dress the part, and who knows what might happen. Worst case scenario you get to be a part of the event from outside, but will still be in the center of the action, fashion, and festivities.

2. BJFW and CFW are not the same.

I still get confused about this every year, and every season; and even often will see friends post it wrong as to which show they are attending. But when I asked staff at BJFW if they are the same as CFW, I was told, “They are two different institutions. We have different backgrounds and different positions. CFW focuses more on the designers, and BJFW focuses more on the brands.”

Either way, both shows are great and always fashionable, entertaining, well-done, and have wonderful backdrops and locations for the shows.

3. When did BJFW begin

The first BJFW opened in 2016, but its roots are a little deeper. According to BJFW, “In order to build the brand publishing platform of the Beijing Fashion Capital, the Beijing Garment and Textile Industry Association has held the "Fashion Beijing Night" brand launch and awarding since 2005.” Next was the inception of the Beijing International Design Week, a platform designed to create additional activities, which led to where we are today as the Beijing fashion scene continues to grow, change, and inspire us all. And BJFW continues to keep its promise for the “scale, quality, social influence, and internationalization level to increase year by year.” This year was another year of importance, and a new milestone as the cities development strategy will quicken the cultivation of the fashion industry in Beijing, by enhancing the cultivation of fashion consumption, stimulating consumption in the post-epidemic era, increasing domestic demand, implementing the deepening of supply-side structural reform, development of new concepts, and for the capital to build an international consumer center city “to go all out.”

4. Each year the theme of BJFW changes.

As I mentioned, I have gotten to go and see a few of the shows over the years and have seen some of the different themes. In 2019 the theme was "Crossover, Fusion and Consumption," focusing on “the convergence of design and commerce as well as trends and technology.”

In 2020 the theme was “Light Chasing,” and the show and concept behind it was full of light, expressing that, “light is the desire from deep in our heart, representing hope and direction.” It was a perfect theme for the uncertain 2020 that we all had gone through in Beijing.

And this year, for 2021 the theme is, “Dreaming,” which seems on point in a time where the uncertainty is not yet absolutely gone, but the whole world is looking ahead, ready and dreaming of peace, prosperity, and a vision of better years to come.

5. What’s the Future for BJFW?

Since the very beginning of the BJFW the goal has been to position and develop Beijing into leading the fashion forefront, as well as a “leading the industrial transformation and upgrading the capital cities renewal efforts."

The country has huge plans to continue to keep Beijing at the top in many areas, and culture is one of them. In 2020, BJFW was “formally incorporated into the Beijing National Cultural Center construction plan.” And at the core of this plan are "four centers." Which include construction, strategic flag raising, cultivation, and the formations of a unique core of competitiveness which is on track with sustainable development.

As many of us who move to China, and especially to Beijing know, the Five-Year plans are a big deal here and cover planning in every part of the country’s development, including fashion. The "14th Five-Year Plan" of 2021 carries a envision to continue building Beijing into a world-class, harmonious, and more livable city, and BJFW is a part of that city plan.

6. Summit Forums

I have gotten to go to a few forums over the year, and they are always fun, informative, and sometimes full of surprises. And although these forums don’t usually have formal fashion shows, you are sure to see some high fashion looks, whether it is the hosts, attendees, occasional models, and sometimes those other surprises that I have seen pop up from time to time.

The main forum is set to be held on September 15th, and will be the highlight of the 2021 Beijing Fashion Summit Forum. The Summit Forum will be held in what is said to be the future design area of Beijing, in Zhangjiawan. The forum will focus on the “New Beijing Model" of the capital’s fashion industry, as well as the enabling of urban renewal and development. Zhangjiawan design town is at the forefront of a new era of innovation, and its vision is to be “a smart town, a dynamic town," with its modern construction and development.

On the evening of the event, the opening ceremony will also be presented, by some of the capital’s elite, including famous clothing designer Liu Wei, who jointly created the "dream-by-dream" technology fashion launch. The opening ceremony will also include the signing ceremony for the "Beijing Fashion Week Permanent Venue," "Beijing Fashion Industry Research Institute," and "Future Fashion Design Innovation Alliance."

7. Exhibitions and Other

Often times these exhibitions and other events are the easiest way to get access to the events, and can still really make you feel part of the BJFW. These presentations, displays, pop-up-shops, and more are fun, often free, and can be a way to see the events from another angle that others might not get to see.

There are too many to name them all, but one thing that I can mention that will take place during this part of the fashion week is in cooperation with the Xinjiang and Tianjin municipal governments, and will be the launch of "Adeles Love - Hetian City National Specialty Clothing Exhibition." 

Some of these forums will also let you participate in both online and offline interaction, so even if you can’t get to the location, there are still ways to catch what’s going on. Something else exciting will be the 2021 Beijing Fashion Week International Video Show, which will combine more than 20 artists to present new trends and many exciting visual designs. 

8. Competitions

One of the competitions will be the 2021 Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Top 100 Young Fashion Designers Selection. This will debut the “Outstanding Works Release Series,” and will feature aspiring designers from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei development collaborative. Other competitions include: The 5th "Snow Lotus Cup" cashmere clothing and hand-crafted creative invitation contest, the 2021 Beijing Fashion Week photo contest, the future fashion design competition, The Chinese and Italian future fashion design competition, and many other influential events which will display original designs from up-and-coming talent in order to build a first-class international fashion ecosystem.

9. Cloud and Digital Summit

In this post-pandemic era, fashion has changed globally, and the BJFW is keeping up with these industry changes, stating that, “Beijing Fashion Week actively embraces the digital trend of the fashion industry,” and in 2020 the "cloud-to-line" strategy was first introduced. This new trend is designed to open new modes for fashion in Beijing to connect with global brands, designers, and fashion lovers around the world to participate in the "fashion online trend release."

This digital summit was built to help Beijing continue to grow its global digital economy and create a new benchmark for international consumers. This digital summit will feature new technologies which are envisioning a better, more convenient, and simpler fashion life and will include many digital consumer experiences. One is a virtual dressing room, with online ordering, as well as other fun and interactive technology experiences.

10. Closing Ceremony 

The finale and closing ceremony is sure to be amazing, and on September 26th, the well-known, international designer Lawrence Xu's glamorous show will take place. More than 30 stars will be on the red carpet and will be shared live by many media platforms, including, Xinhuanet, Beijing TV news channel, Tencent video, Sina News, etc. As in any big show, the finale is always the best, so keep your eye out on the many ways to try and attend, view online, or read about in more articles to come.

READ: Fashion Icon Sam: "Beijing Has a Laid-Back Attitude on Fashion"

Images: CGTN, news.cn, Beijing Fashion Week