K-Fashion Pushes into Shanghai as China Restrictions Ease
Creatrip Team
7 months ago
K-fashion brands are accelerating expansion into China, especially Shanghai, amid hopes for easing of the hanhanling (limits on Korean cultural imports). LF opened its premium HAZZYS flagship ‘Space H Shanghai’ in Xintiandi, following its Seoul flagship, aiming to reposition the label upmarket. Musinsa launched its first overseas store and a curated Musinsa Store in Shanghai to support smaller Korean labels with market entry, logistics and marketing. Gentle Monster’s operator and other brands like Marting Kim, IMIS, and MLB already run multiple stores in Beijing and Shanghai or plan mainland openings. Even school-uniform maker Hyungji Elite signed an MOU with a Shanghai robotics firm to develop wearable robots for the Chinese market. With Korea’s domestic fashion growth slowing and China remaining the world’s second-largest fashion consumer market, companies view China — and trend-setting Shanghai — as key for new growth.
