Chic changes its name and incorporates Chic Young Blood

By

Bruno Joly

Published
May 15, 2014

Chic is taking advantage of its move from Beijing to Shanghai to do some redecorating. The trade fair has been taking place in the Chinese capital for more than twenty years and will be held in Shanghai in 2015, as previously announced.

The efforts are a way to revamp the show's offer for a country that is rapidly changing with e-tailers and smaller retailers seeking more designer products. Organizers announced that the show will be renamed the China International Fashion Fair instead of the China International Clothing & Accessories Fair.

The new name is meant to stress the market's transformation, from "useful" clothing produced by large groups to a more fashion and design production for a middle class that has quickly moved from buying clothes as a necessity to an impulse buy.

Incidentally, the organizer company, whose majority owner is the China National Garment Association, is working on a more lifestyle segmentation for the fair, whereas Chic historically divided its show into menswear, womenswear and international fashion.

Along these lines, Chic Young Blood, a niche show for young fashion that took place in October, will now join its older sister and be held in March. The trade fair initially had high ambitions and was trying to get Chinese buyers used to attending two sessions per year, instead of the traditionally one-time annual event. Chic will be held simultaneous with Intertextile Shanghai from March 18–20, 2015.