Kering CRAFT: discovering China's new creative guard

Luxury group Kering announced on Monday the selection of the ten fellows for the inaugural edition of its Kering CRAFT (Creative Residency for Artisanship, Fashion and Technology) programme. Developed in partnership with Shanghai Fashion Week, this residency scheme aims to support the emergence of a new generation of Chinese designers by fostering exchanges with international creative communities.

In March 2026, a committee of experts from Kering, Shanghai Fashion Week and an international advisory board evaluated the applications based on criteria of creativity, artisanal excellence, growth prospects and the embodiment of future luxury trends. In a statement, the group specified that more than 100 candidates have applied for the programme since applications opened in December 2025.

The programme offers an immersive journey between Milan, Paris and Shanghai. Residents will benefit from hands-on learning and mentoring by world-renowned experts. One such expert is Demna, artistic director of Gucci and a member of the advisory board, who expressed his fascination with the technical know-how and innovation in China.

The ten talents of the 2026 class, specialising in fashion and jewellery design, were selected for their ability to reinterpret Chinese culture and philosophy in an international context. Many of them are graduates of European fashion schools, such as Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art.

Ten Chinese designers selected for the CRAFT programme:

• Cai Jiaen (Je Cai): Proposes a modular and seasonless system that encourages long-term use.
• Hu Nan (Nan Knits): An expert in contemporary knitwear, he explores new garment structures.
• Longhong Ziwei (Soft Mountains): Transforms endangered crafts of the Yi ethnic group into minimalist designs.
• Qi Yueqi (Yueqi Qi): The designer combines narrative design with an exclusive bead-weaving technique.
• Wang Fengchen (Feng Chen Wang): Known for her futuristic and deconstructed aesthetic.
• Wei Donghui (Jacques Wei): Balances artistic expression and commercial sense with an East-meets-West vision (a graduate of Atelier Chardon Savard).
• XIA Rong (macro'Senses): Explores high-end women's ready-to-wear through sensory perception.
• Xu Hao (qiqi): Works on the intimacy between the body and the object through natural materials.
• Yu Gengyi (Midnight Opera House): Translates the aesthetics of oriental opera into jewellery.
• Zhong Zixin (Zhong Zixin): A lifestyle brand inspired by the concept of 'home', at the crossroads of sculpture and fashion.

This article was partly written with the support of an artificial intelligence tool before being supplemented and edited by a FashionUnited journalist.