Shanghai Fashion Week fall/winter 2019: Haizhen Wang, Xu Zhi, Minnan Hui, and more top collections from Chinese designers

We came, we saw, and we conquered. Fashion writer Ryan Sng rounds up the best shows daily from Shanghai, below. 

TWO MOST SURPRISING MOMENTS
1. Xu Zhi's show was soundtracked by rain, with a glittering runway — presumably intended to resemble wet pavement — echoing the Swarovski-crystal accents sprinkled throughout the collection. The overall effect was one of hypnotic tranquility.
2. Meanwhile, post-real downpour at Shanghai's Columbia Circle — which used to house a naval club and a haunt for Jazz Age American expatriates — guests were treated to a delightful showing by Haizhen Wang. The designer's fall/winter offering served up streamlined tailoring with '40s and '50s flair, but crucially, rendered with a light hand for 2019; the smaller, more intimate scale of Shanghai Fashion Week's tertiary venue lent itself to close-up appreciation of the collection's deft seaming and shaping. 

FOUR TRENDIEST ACCESSORIES
1. Minnan Hui's ski masks, for looking cute while — completely non-anonymously, with popping eyeshadow, no less — robbing banks.
2. Ditto the designer's cuddly tote bags, which offer ample storage for stolen goods.
3. Xu Zhi's earrings prettily array Swarovski crystals as a shower of glittering raindrops.
4. Wanacessory x My Little Pony's collab is wonderfully childish, cotton candy-craziness; carry it with you always, to remind ill-intentioned and totally unawakened men that you are (like literally every woman every born) somebody's daughter.

SEVEN FAVOURITE LOOKS
1. The subtly layered effect of Haizhen Wang’s skirt suit (look #2) took a backseat to restrained, geometric Swarovski-crystal embellishment that was densest at the midsection.
2. With its massive, almost Pilgrim-esque collar, look #3's zippered wool sheath dress reads devastatingly sophisticated; the edgy, sinister bite of its historical proportions seeps through only when layered over a bishop-sleeved shirt, trousers and flat riding boots.
3. Quilted dresses have bubbled under for a few seasons now, with Moncler Genius, Oscar de la Renta and Cecilie Bahsen all taking their shots. Haizhen Wang's ballgown contribution (look #23) harmonised classically architectural proportions with deconstruction.
4. There were several riffs on sheerness throughout Xu Zhi’s collection, where pleated organzas or inserted strips of fabric created the illusion of stripes. These made star players of usually nondescript items, like look #10's button down shirt.
5. Xu Zhi’s suite of cut-thread fabric looks — best exemplified by look #16 — added yet another texture to an already compelling mix of tassels and fringes.
6. The preciousness of Minnan Hui’s midnight-blue, bell-shaped coat (look #34) — cut in what looked like a springy, plush bonded velveteen — was offset by quirky, almost juvenile bright red buttons and generous bellowed pockets.
7. In motion, At-One-Ment's ruffled trench (look #24) is a swaying, fluid joy to behold.

All coverage from Shanghai Fashion Week fall/winter 2019.