Editor’s Note
This article highlights Kering’s strategic shift in China, moving beyond commerce to foster creativity through its new CRAFT residency program. Partnering with Shanghai Fashion Week, the initiative underscores the luxury sector’s growing role as a catalyst for local talent and innovation.
With the presentation of the Advisory Board for Kering CRAFT, a residency program dedicated to craftsmanship, fashion, and technology, Kering confirms a strategic evolution already perceptible in the luxury industry: transitioning from the role of a commercial player in China to that of a catalyst for a creative ecosystem.
Developed in partnership with Shanghai Fashion Week, the initiative aims to support a new generation of Chinese designers while consolidating links between the historic fashion capitals and the emerging Asian scene.
For this first edition, the group brings together twelve personalities from complementary fields, illustrating a cross-sectional approach to contemporary creation. Among them are creative director Demna, couturier Guo Pei, gallerist Carla Sozzani, and fashion commentator Camille Charrière. Alongside them, key figures from the Chinese cultural and digital landscape, such as Miranda Qu, founder of Xiaohongshu, Hung Huang, an influential figure in the creative industries, and Lv Xiaolei, executive vice president of the Shanghai Fashion Designers Association, embody the link between local innovation and international visibility. The committee also includes Dennis Chan, founder of Qeelin, Susan Cohn Rockefeller, artist and committed producer, Simone Marchetti, European editorial director of Vanity Fair, Zang Yingchun, interim dean of the Tsinghua Arts & Design Institute in Milan, and Cai Jinqing, president of Kering Greater China.
Beyond the diversity of profiles, this selection reveals a precise strategy: positioning China not only as a key market, but as an engine of cultural innovation capable of influencing global fashion.
As luxury houses seek to renew their narratives and strengthen their relevance with new generations, investment in training and transmission appears as a lever for lasting influence.
The program’s format, deployed between Milan, Paris, and Shanghai, underscores this desire to create bridges between creative scenes and foster international trajectories for emerging designers. By integrating artisanal know-how, technology, and intercultural dialogue, Kering CRAFT reflects the sector’s evolution towards hybrid models where creativity, innovation, and cultural strategy interact.
In a context where competition between luxury groups also plays out on the ability to unite creative communities and anticipate cultural transformations, this initiative illustrates a gradual redefinition of the role of major players: no longer just brand producers, but architects of ecosystems capable of shaping the future narratives of fashion.