Harrods opens Chinese designer pop-up as it deepens China ties

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 8, 2021

Luxury London department store Harrods has opened an Emerging Designers: China pop-up in its Knightsbridge store, featuring London College of Fashion graduate Chenpeng, winner of this year’s prestigious Yu Prize. It’s the retailer’s first dedicated showcase of China’s emerging fashion talent.

The opening comes after a Shanghai Fashion Week (SFW) event “focused on building closer networks across the fashion industry” and sees the retailer celebrating Shanghai’s most “sought-after emerging designers”.

Harrods is hosting the inaugural collection by Chenpeng on the first floor of the flagship. 

The pieces available include the designer’s puffer jackets and Knightsbridge customers also have exclusive access to collections from Shushu Tong, WMWM and Ruohan from the Labelhood collective until mid-December.

Poppy Lomax, Buying Manager for Womenswear at Harrods, said: “Over recent years, there has been a huge increase in creative output from the Chinese luxury industry, and this growth has been really exciting to watch. Our local and international customers are always eager to learn of younger brands in the industry and trust us to bring them the best, and that is what the Emerging Designers: China pop-up achieves.”

The annual Yu Prize was launched by Yu Holdings chief Wendy Yu in collaboration with Shanghai Fashion Week, with Harrods as a strategic partner.

At SFW, the retailer’s Harrods Hive incubator programme included networking events and expert-led panel discussions. And post-SFW, The Harrods Hive will be sustained both online and offline.

In Shanghai, Harrods will “continue to harness a community of like-minded and driven talent, with a schedule of community events planned through the duration of the year, aimed to connect the next gen of leaders with established mentors, continuing dialogues and building strong support networks and industry contacts”.

Over the past 12 months, Harrods has increased its presence in China substantially. In October 2020, it opened The Residence Shanghai, its first private shopping space dedicated to its Chinese clients, which was followed by another in Beijing this June. This month, it will open its first Harrods Tea Rooms concept in Shanghai, a space “designed around bringing Harrods traditional British afternoon tea to Shanghai in an entirely innovative, contemporary environment”.