The Italian luxury fashion house is to re-introduce its men’s and women’s Autumn 2022 collection in the Chinese city of Beijing on 5 August, according to the Chinese independent magazine Caijing on 26 July.
This will be the first physical fashion show to be hosted by a luxury brand in China in 2022 and it is reported that Prada could also be the only luxury brand to stage an offline runway show this year in the country. No other brands have revealed plans to host similar events for the rest of the year, according to local PR agencies.
It is understood that the show will be hosted at Beijing Junwangfu (Prince Jun’s Mansion), a courtyard hotel with a traditional Chinese horticulture ambiance, and is nestled downtown. The location used to be the residence of Prince Jun during the Qing dynasty. The historic venue is deemed a “perfect setting to celebrate the ongoing dialogue and commitment to Chinese culture the brand has pursued with different activities throughout the years,” as said by co-creative directors at Prada, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons in a press release.
The showcase would also mark the luxury label’s return to the capital city, 11 years since its first runway show outside of Europe in Beijing in 2011 after collaborating with the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where Prada debuted the brand’s Spring 2012 collection.
Since then, fashion shows have become significant for Prada to maintain a close relationship with the Chinese market. Despite the pandemic, its Spring/Summer Womenswear 2022 Show synchronised in its home city of Milan and Shanghai thrilled not only its fellow citizens but also residents in China, with the runway show livestream drawing in over 63 million live views on China’s largest microblogging site Weibo.
The fashion show also signals a crucial step taken by luxury brands looking to resume their offline engagement in China. With the country seeing a strong bounce back in luxury consumption following China’s relaxation of COVID lockdowns over the past few months, bringing back physical activities could further drive the recovery of the luxury sector. Despite this, some caution has been exercised by the industry considering the country’s commitment to a zero-COVID policy.
