An Insider’s Guide to Dining, Shopping, and Art During Shanghai Fashion Week

Shanghai is shaking off the winter doldrums. Between a new Prada restaurant, Loro Piana’s first exhibition, an Anne Uddenberg exhibition, and several new dining venues, the city’s fashion scene is increasingly intertwined with local art and culture, in turn helping to solidify its position as one of Asia’s foremost fashion, art and commerce hubs.

Here are some of the latest restaurants, shops and exhibitions to visit in Shanghai.

Where to Eat

Prada, as serious about food as it is about fashion, is bringing a slice of Italian cuisine to Shanghai, with the opening of Mi Shang at Rong Zhai, its restored historical mansion in downtown Shanghai. The project was conceived by renowned Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, whose cinematic style influenced the eatery’s interior decor. Located on the second floor of the four-story Rong Zhai, the Prada eatery will offer an all-day café service alongside a fine dining experience. The yet-to-be-unveiled menu will feature breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and evening cocktails. The opening date will be March 31, available for booking on the brand’s WeChat Mini Program.

For a hearty meal after a long day in the Xintiandi area, head to Lu Style, which serves the northern coastal Lu Cuisine — one of the four traditional cuisines in China. The restaurant is renowned for its wide selection of seafood, its generous dose of aromatics such as leek and garlic, and its love of jian bing, a savory crepe with textured fillings. At Lu Style, the delicious street food is made more extravagant with six homemade dips that reflect the local culinary palette. Other dishes include braised sea cucumber with soy bean sauce and Spanish mackerel dumplings.

Over at the Xintiandi retail complex, the Balenciaga-approved Nu Xiang Mu Dou has been serving updated Shanghainese cuisine, in particular the delicate soup dumpling, since it opened almost two years ago. Its fusion dishes, including charcoal-grilled beef, scallion pancakes with pistachio and foie gras, Iberico ham steamed bun, and fish-flavored eggplant with honey beans, are not only memorable dim sum stories but will surely put a smile on your fashion face.

The upscale lifestyle block at Rock Bund, home to Labelhood’s neighboring Pioneer Fashion Art Festival, recently welcomed a New Chinese Style dessert shop, Tangsuo, or jade palace. Specializing in precisely crafted desserts resembling jade carving or auspicious ancient Chinese symbols, the menu revolves around 24 solar terms highlighting Chinese tea and seasonal fruit.

It’s also worth crossing the bridge to explore the Suzhou Creek area, which is increasingly dotted with al fresco bistros and art galleries. Cometa, a restaurant blending classic Italian cuisine with flavors inspired by Shanghainese street food, is nestled in a breezy corner along the historic waterway. Its cheeky take on Italian classics incorporates Chinese ingredients, resulting in dishes like parmigiana spring rolls, black chicken popcorn, drunken shrimp carpaccio, and saffron risotto.

Prada Mi Shang:

No.186 West Shaanxi Road

Open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Lu Style: 

Room 207, 2F, Uni Elite, Lane 838, South Huangpi Road

Open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Nu Xiang Mu Dou:

No.388 Zizhong Road

Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Tangsuo:

No.169 Xiejin Building, Building 1, AM103

Open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Cometa:

No. 1405 South Suzhou Road

Open Tuesday to Friday, 3:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.

What to See

For fashion nerds, Swedish artist Anna Uddenberg’s office-siren-meets-dystopia performance is more relevant than ever; for art world insiders, it’s a chance to witness the latest chapter of her “Premium Economy” series in real life. In this performance, a group of airline stewardess-like performers guides viewers through a queue, executing ritualistic, Japanese rope bondage-inspired movements within the sculptures. A critique of capitalism and consumer culture, the sculptural work lives within Tank Shanghai’s cavernous space with an accompanying video combining scenes from previous renditions. 

For the first time in Shanghai, Prada Rong Zhai is bringing together two prominent figures in postwar Italian art to Shanghai. Titled “Mirroring: Lucio Fontana and Michelangelo Pistoletto,” the exhibition creates a conceptual dialogue between the pair and gathers 26 works from the late 1940s onward.

Loro Piana’s “If You Know, You Know” is not only the first fashion exhibition at the imposing Museum of Art Pudong overlooking the Bund, it is also one that fully engages the senses. Guests are invited to explore, or touch some of the fabrics displayed in the large gallery space, which tells a captivating story of the brand’s history and its mastery of luxurious fibers. Highlights include over 30 new fashion looks specifically created for the show and a mix of artworks that reflect the brand’s cultural know-how.

As a part of the official celebration to mark the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, “Ahmed Mater: Antenna” features over 100 works that survey the career of the renowned Saudi contemporary artist Ahmed Mater, whose research-based practice outlines an unofficial history of Saudi Arabia via photography, film, sculpture and performance. 

“Premium Economy” to June 1

Tank T, Tank Shanghai

2380 Longteng Avenue, Shanghai

“Mirroring: Lucio Fontana and Michelangelo Pistoletto” to June 15 

Prada Rong Zhai

No. 186 North Shaan Xi Road, Shanghai

“If You Know, You Know. Loro Piana’s Quest for Excellence” to May 5

No.2777 Binjiang Avenue, Pudong New Area, Shanghai

“Ahmed Mater: Antenna” to June 8 

2F, No. 88 Xizang Bei Lu, Jing’an District, Shanghai

Where to Shop

Tucked away on a quiet street in the former French Concession, Uma Wang’s latest Maison store, which is the local designer’s largest to date, also boosts an Astier de Villatte and Rigards eyewear store-in-store, a café and art gallery, as well as its latest ready-to-wear and accessories collections. Having designed the store herself, which shows off her growing vintage furniture collection, the new store provides an entrée into Wang’s aesthetic, which often melds together Renaissance opulence with oriental restraint. 

As Loewe’s largest store in Shanghai, the “golden box” structure is a sight to behold in the popular Jingan Temple retail corridor. Spanning over 7,000 square feet, the space offers Loewe’s ready-to-wear, leather goods, accessories, jewelery and home fragrance goods. Like other Casa Loewe stores, the Shanghai one is also home to an impressive collection of artworks and antique furniture by the likes of Ken Price, Han Dong, Axel Vervoordt and George Nakashima.

Located along the former West Bund art corridor, Gate M. offers an eclectic mix of charming retail fronts, delectable eateries, bars and sporting facilities — such as a skate park and a bouldering gym. At the heart of the retail complex is Bloomarket, a concrete structure billed as “China’s first waterfront market.” The airy space offers up to 30 dining brands focusing on flavorful Southwestern, Northwestern, and Cantonese cuisine. 

Baixin Bookstore, Shanghai’s century-old bookstore, has been refurbished into a “cultural and lifestyle” hub, while the paper store inside has been updated into a posh stationery shop filled with handmade paper, art paper, and designer homeware.

Maison Uma Wang

No.299 Fuxing Xi Road, Shanghai

+86 21 6431 8019

Casa Loewe

1515 West Nanjing Road, Shanghai

Gate M.

No. 2266 Longteng Da Dao, Shanghai

Super Paper Sonic

No. 620 Fuzhou Road, Huangpu district