Shanghai Fashion Designer Association and Council of Fashion Designers Tokyo recently inked a strategic partnership that will help foster greater exchange and communication in a post-COVID-19 world.
During the three-year partnership, designers from both organizations will be able to engage in various exchange programs, including connecting designers with traditional manufacturers in Japan, hosting educational workshops on sustainability materials, retail pop-ups in major retail outlets in both cities, livestreaming sessions on Chinese social media and more.
The official signing ceremony was hosted at the Consulate-General of Japan in Shanghai during the spring 2025 edition of Shanghai Fashion Week.
During the event, supply chain company Kane Top’s chief executive officer You Hongyan; Chinese fashion retailer ENG’s founder Sherry Huang; commercial real estate Xintiandi Shanghai’s deputy general manager of the Taipingqiao Project Tao Ran; Japanese designers Yasutoshi Ezumi of Ezumi and Kentaro Tamai of Aseedoncloud, and Suzusan’s sales director Chaehana Inoue introduced their brands and projects to an audience of industry insiders.
SFDA is a relaunched initiative to fuel the next stage of growth for Chinese designers, led by Shanghai Fashion Week’s secretary-general Lv Xiaolei.
CFD Tokyo was founded in 1985 by six Japanese designers, including Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo, Mitsuhiro Matsuda, Hanae Mori, Kansai Yamamoto and Yohji Yamamoto. Current chairman Masahiro Kubo is also the owner of GR8, a Japanese fashion incubator and retailer.
