Future Bloom

Dressing the Future of Shanghai’s Womanhood

I’ve always wondered how it feels to live in China now – in 2026 – after so much rapid change. Is transformation something you only see from the outside, in skylines and smartphones? Or does it shift something inside you too – the way you think, dress, move through the world?

Shanghai sits right at that edge. A city where old lilong alleys meet glass towers. It’s become a magnet for young people chasing something new – especially women. Almost 40% of its residents are internal migrants.

For this generation, womanhood is full of contradictions. They’re the daughters of the one-child policy – raised under pressure, yet offered possibility. They’re ambitious, hyper-connected, independent, but still pulled by the gravity of tradition. You can see that tension in how they present themselves: fashion as negotiation, rebellion, self-definition.

This story brings together four women, a voice actress, an industrial designer, a nursing student, and a creative, alongside designers imagining what it means to dress for the future. They blur boundaries, reshape silhouettes, and open new space for femininity to exist on its own terms. In them, Shanghai’s future doesn’t look like a break from the past, it looks like a remix.

Future Bloom

Dressing the Future of Shanghai’s Womanhood

I’ve always wondered how it feels to live in China now – in 2026 – after so much rapid change. Is transformation something you only see from the outside, in skylines and smartphones? Or does it shift something inside you too – the way you think, dress, move through the world?

Shanghai sits right at that edge. A city where old lilong alleys meet glass towers. It’s become a magnet for young people chasing something new – especially women. Almost 40% of its residents are internal migrants.

For this generation, womanhood is full of contradictions. They’re the daughters of the one-child policy – raised under pressure, yet offered possibility. They’re ambitious, hyper-connected, independent, but still pulled by the gravity of tradition. You can see that tension in how they present themselves: fashion as negotiation, rebellion, self-definition.

This story brings together four women, a voice actress, an industrial designer, a nursing student, and a creative, alongside designers imagining what it means to dress for the future. They blur boundaries, reshape silhouettes, and open new space for femininity to exist on its own terms. In them, Shanghai’s future doesn’t look like a break from the past, it looks like a remix.

PHOTOGRAPHY PRISSILYA JUNEWIN
STYLING CVALDA
MODELS OUYANG MAI, XINTING ZHANG, QINGSHUO, 2XING
HAIR TONG
MAKE-UP AGAZZI
PRODUCER BECKY MA
CASTING ZEREK CASTING
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT ELLIOTT LI
STYLING ASSISTANT 李睿
HAIR ASSISTANT ASH, JASE
MAKE-UP ASSISTANT AMIN

WEARING MOMONARY, SAIS, WMWM, MARINE SERRE, CHOKE, YVMIN, G, DOSIS G6C JEWELLERY, YUEQI QI, AQUA LIXUN SU, BUERLANGMA