French luxury group Kering announced on Monday the selection of ten scholarship holders for the first edition of its Kering Craft (Creative Residency for Artisanship, Fashion and Technology) program. The residency program was developed in partnership with Shanghai Fashion Week. It aims to support a new generation of Chinese designers by promoting exchange with international creative communities.
In March 2026, a committee made up of experts from Kering, Shanghai Fashion Week and an international advisory board evaluated the applications. The criteria were creativity, craftsmanship excellence, growth prospects and the embodiment of future luxury trends. In a statement, the company said that more than 100 candidates have applied for the program since the application phase began in December 2025.
The program offers an immersive journey between Milan, Paris and Shanghai. Participants receive practical know-how and mentoring from world-renowned experts. One of them is Demna Gvasalia, creative director of Gucci and member of the advisory board. He expressed his fascination with the technical know-how and innovation in China.
The ten talents of the class of 2026 specialize in fashion and jewelry design. They 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.
The ten Chinese designers selected for the Craft program:
- Cai Jiaen (Je Cai): Offers a modular and seasonal system that promotes long-term use.
- Hu Nan (Nan Knits): As an expert in contemporary knitwear, he researches new clothing structures.
- Longhong Ziwei (Soft Mountains): Transforms endangered Yi ethnic crafts 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): Balancing artistic expression and commercial sense with an East-West vision (Atelier Chardon Savard graduate).
- XIA Rong (macro’Senses): Explores high-quality ready-to-wear for women through sensory perception.
- Xu Hao (qiqi): Works on the intimacy between body and object through natural materials.
- Yu Gengyi (Midnight Opera House): Translates the aesthetics of oriental opera into jewelry.
- Zhong Zixin (Zhong Zixin): A lifestyle brand inspired by the concept of ‘home’, at the intersection of sculpture and fashion.
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