Anderson Bell makes his catwalk debut at Shanghai Fashion Week

Anderson Bell is on the rise. Founded in 2014 by Dohun Kim, it followed its 10th anniversary celebration in Milan last year with an unexpected debut at Shanghai Fashion Week.

Seven months in the making, the show marked a significant step in the brand’s global expansion plans and produced local agency Boh Project – headed by Bohan Qiu. A week before the event, the Seoul brand teased its stunning location (Shanghai Postal Museum) on Instagram with a quirky Wes Anderson-inspired video that shows an elevator leaving Venus and entering the city’s dramatic skyline.

A profusion of American and Western references were obvious – whether as fringe, suede and rancher shirts or, more literally, seen in cowboy prints – brought a futuristic rodeo to the city. Referencing simple muses like Kurt Cobain and Chloë Sevigny, the grunge line featured distressed fabrics, patchwork denim, oversized knits, lace and layered looks, all well executed in an accessible riff on the Y2K aesthetic. It didn’t break any new ground, but it will certainly fill a gap for the cool crowd in China next year.

Local KOLs like Yonne Du, Wiwen Wang, Beijing Auntie and fashion designer Lucia Liu sat front row alongside Korean influencers like Seung Ju Han, Cherim Yun and Lee Sa Bae. Speaking after the show, Kim explained why she chose to show in the city given its importance to the brand.

“We decided to hold a fashion show here to meet buyers, press, media, fans and so on. It’s a big market for us and sales here are very healthy,” he said. The founder of Shanghai-based marketing agency Plush.Consulting, Lucrezia Seu, who attended the show, confirmed that Andersson Bell is “very well received in China” with a “stable following” on social media, making a spot during SHFW an logical choice. The brand has been profitable since its launch and generates $15 million in annual revenue, according to Vogue Business. Kim told the publication that growth was “significant” in 2022.

The brand is currently stocked in many leading Chinese multi-brand stores such as Tag, Turight, Knotify and j1m5. “It will be interesting to see if it will progress by opening its own e-commerce direct in China, for example,” Seu added. However, Kim hinted that Anderson Bell has even bigger plans – a brick-and-mortar store could be on the horizon next year.

Still, Kim seemed amused by his label’s popularity in China. Flying to Shanghai for the second time, the designer had difficulty explaining the brand’s popularity in China. “I don’t really know why we’re popular here, but I think people follow us for our strong and very special aesthetic.” It looks like Shanghai is ready for this.