Xiamen Fashion Week blends runway, retail, and urban culture

The 2026 Xiamen International Fashion Week uses the century-old Zhongshan Road as a key venue. [Photo provided by Lin Yuyang to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 2026 Xiamen International Fashion Week, held from Oct 16 to 19, used the century-old Zhongshan Road as a key venue, combining fashion shows, brand launches, live music, trendy sports, and distinctive consumer experiences. 

The event featured eight fashion shows and promoted the integration of culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions, exploring new paths for the fashion industry to develop alongside urban life and tourism-driven consumption.

The fashion week opened on Oct 16 at the Qiaopi Culture Square on Zhongshan Road, followed by a series of brand shows spanning international streetwear and sportswear, local knitwear, and contemporary womenswear, showcasing diverse design styles and the innovative energy of Xiamen's apparel industry.

A "Sweet Release" themed day on Oct 18 brought romance into fashion, featuring a Western-style gown show and a new Chinese-style show that blended traditional culture with modern aesthetics.

A show held on the Zhongshan Road. [Photo provided by Lin Yuyang to chinadaily.com.cn]

Xiamen K11 Select wrapped up the runway schedule on Oct 19 with a collective show featuring multiple brands.

Beyond the runway shows, the western section of Zhongshan Road hosted an open-air fashion carnival, with five themed zones — spanning apparel, coffee, craft beer, sports, and arts — bringing together more than 100 quality brands.

The fashion week has partnered with commercial platforms to launch a "Free Xiamen" fashion lifestyle map, covering four themes — apparel, coffee, craft beer, and travel — and linking five major commercial districts with 76 partner merchants, with plans to distribute 60,000 no-threshold spending vouchers exclusive to the event.