Shanghai Fashion Week with Alibaba to live stream all runway shows, making it first fully digital fashion week of its kind

Shanghai Fashion Week has teamed up with Alibaba’s online marketplace Tmall to broadcast all its runway shows online on Taobao Live

Viewers will be able to buy items online while they watch and make comments on shows in real-time

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Models for Caroline Hu at Shanghai Fashion Week March 2019. Photo: Getty Images for The Business of Fashion

Published: 2:00pm, 24 Mar 2020Updated: 2:10pm, 24 Mar 2020

Shanghai Fashion Week (SHFW) has teamed up with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s online marketplace Tmall to broadcast its entire roster of runway shows online from March 24 to 30 on Taobao Live, Alibaba’s live-streaming channel, making it the first fashion week event to go fully digital.

The organisers had announced earlier this year that the event would not take place due to the coronavirus outbreak but instead of completely forgoing fashion shows and presentations, they decided to make them accessible to buyers, media and the public at large through the digital service.

Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week last month also experimented with live streaming but only for some key shows to accommodate Asian editors and buyers who couldn’t travel to Europe amid the outbreak.

Many industries – from gyms to night clubs – have turned to live streaming since the coronavirus outbreak, which has already led to the cancellation of global events such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Met Gala, both scheduled to take place in May.

Models for PH5 at Shanghai Fashion Week March 2019. Photo: Getty Images for The Business of Fashion

SHFW is one of the industry’s most anticipated events of the year, showcasing more than 100 brands and 100 designers from around the world, including rising independent Chinese designers Angel Chen and Shushu/Tong.

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