First in Shanghai is our column series documenting the rise of Shanghai's "debut economy," a model built on being first, fast, and everywhere at once. What started as a policy initiative has morphed into a citywide phenomenon: part economic strategy, part cultural spectacle. In this series, we'll explore how brands – both local and global – are choosing Shanghai not just to launch products, but to create moments. It's retail as ritual, commerce as event, and we're here to unpack what it all means.

Shanghai loves a good buzzword, and "debut economy" is the latest one making the rounds. It started life in 2015 as the city's "first-store economy" policy, a polite way of saying: please open your first flagship here.

With its endless appetite for the new, Shanghai is a natural playground for international labels. Lately, the ones making the most noise are Korean. They're not just dipping a toe in; they're setting up camp, combing the city block by block for the next untapped corner to occupy.

Take Gentle Monster. In May, the eyewear heavyweight dropped its 2025 "Pocket Collection" in its Shanghai shop, plus a Bratz® tie-in for good measure. The result? A mob of hype-hungry shoppers and one more reminder that Korean brands aren't here to test the waters – they're here to try and own the pool.

A Surge of Korean Brands Hits Shanghai's Streets

A growing number of popular Korean brands, once labeled "must-buy" for tourists, are now opening their first stores directly in China – with Shanghai as the launchpad.

Korean labels such as Emis, Rest & Recreation, Raive, Fakeme, CONECT X, Ader Error, and Satur have all set up shop in Shanghai. For five of these brands, this marks their debut in the Chinese mainland.

For instance, Fakeme, a cutting-edge eyewear brand founded in 2015, opened a "slow pop-up" at Jing'an Kerry Center in March. The brand prides itself on offering unconventional perspectives on eyewear design, challenging mainstream fashion norms.

Over on Huaihai Road, April saw the China debut of Emis – short for "Every Moment Is Special," a name that sounds like it came straight out of a Pinterest board. The Korean accessories label is already all over Weibo and Xiaohongshu, its hats and bags tagged on both K-pop idols and C-drama leads, with prices low enough to make "add to cart" an easy reflex.

The 160-square-meter shop is part lifestyle set, part shopping trip: wood and greenery for the Instagram shot, racks of canvas totes and baseball caps for the haul. They've even thought about the dogs – literally – with a pet house by the entrance and a lounge area so you can browse without abandoning your Shiba. The vintage-style caps with the chunky appliqué are the top sellers, and the steady stream of twenty-somethings suggests they'll keep flying off the shelves.

Tapping Untapped Markets: Korea's Bet on the Chinese Mainland

For Korean brands eyeing China, Shanghai isn't just a city – it's the launchpad. The logic is simple: if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere (or at least anywhere east of Xi'an). First stores in high-traffic neighborhoods aren't just retail spaces; they're billboards, test labs, and Instagram backdrops rolled into one.

Take Yoajung, the Korean F&B import that quietly planted its flag in the iapm mall. The mall's young, mall-loving crowd guarantees a steady stream of curious foot traffic, and the polished setting offers a safe sandbox for trying out ideas before rolling them across the country. It's a soft landing with a hard edge: fail here, and you fail in front of everyone who matters.

Young, Bold, and Designer-Driven: The Rise of New Korean Labels

What's striking about this wave is the profile of the brands entering the Chinese market. Most are relatively young, independent designer labels born in the past five to ten years. They rely heavily on distinctive aesthetics, creative marketing, and strong digital presence to fuel growth.

Take CONECT X, for example – a brand founded in 2019 and known for its handcrafted tie-dye designs. It opened its first China store at TX Huaihai. Or Raive, a brand founded in 2017 that only opened its first physical store in Seoul in 2022. Raive recently launched its Shanghai location in Xintiandi, replicating the coastal summer party vibe of its Hannam-dong flagship, complete with swaying palms and breezy beach decor.

Meanwhile, Piv'vee, a Korean athleisure golf brand founded in 2020, kicked off a pop-up at LMDS (Le Monde de SHC) on Shanghai's Taojiang Road, running from June 28 to September 28.

Its name combines "positive" and "lovee," symbolizing "a positive person who is loved." With a playful cartoon logo and vibrant aesthetic, the brand has carved out a niche among younger golf enthusiasts by introducing an energetic lifestyle through fashion-forward designs.

Known for its macaron-inspired color palette, playful prints, and flattering silhouettes, Piv'vee brings a fresh, youthful perspective to golf apparel – one that blends fashion and functionality for the modern female golfer.

Rounding us off is Rest & Recreation, a newer brand which launched in Seoul in 2022 by designer Jieun Kim (also of Fleamadonna), opened their Shanghai flagship at West Bund's Gate M in April. That's a three-year springboard into Shanghai, after opening their very first store. In its home market of Korea, Rest & Recreation has already opened three stores, with Shanghai being its Flagship store for China.

The brand rejects rigid gender norms, something Gen Z would appreciate, and blurs the lines between casual wear and stylish design, promoting sustainability, comfort and innovation.

These brands we've just mentioned all target urban consumers in their 20s and 30s, leaning into casual, fashionable, and youth-centric aesthetics. Their designs often merge street culture with artistic elements, and genderless fashion has become a major draw across the board.

Location, Location, Location: High-End Districts Are Key

Step one: flood social media with your stuff until people think they've already been to your store. Step two: rent a pop-up somewhere fashionable so people can actually be seen buying it. Step three: sign the lease you knew you were going to sign all along.

For Korean brands, "somewhere fashionable" usually means a mall with more glass than structural steel, or a street where you can't swing a camera without hitting an influencer. Shanghai has a lot of both, and more importantly, a lot of twenty-somethings who believe "retail therapy" counts as cardio.

Rest & Recreation did a little toe-dip on Yuyuan Road in 2024 before cannonballing into a flagship this year. Emis played the same game – testing Xintiandi before locking down a Huaihai Road store big enough to double as an art installation or a minimalist spaceship hangar.

These aren't shops, they're content farms with cash registers. Wide angles for your Stories, curated playlists, furniture you're not sure you're allowed to sit on – all designed to get you posting before you even remember what you came in to buy.

Looking Ahead: Will the Korean Wave Stay the Course?

Sometimes the fastest way into China isn't a pop-up or a flagship – it's finding a local partner who already knows where the potholes are. Hazzys, the mid-to-high-end Korean fashion label from LF Group, hitched a ride with China's Saint Angelo Group and rolled straight into the market like they owned the lane. Stories like that make other Korean brands think, "Hey, maybe we can do that too."

But for every smooth landing, there's a cautionary tale parked in the clearance section. China's retail scene doesn't care if you're "trendy" in Seoul; if your brand identity is fuzzier than your logo embroidery, you're just another shop with nice lighting.

Yes, the Korean wave has made a stylish splash here. The question is whether it's a tidal shift or just another ripple in Shanghai's bottomless pool of Next Big Things. Gen Z here doesn't pledge allegiance to flags – foreign or otherwise. They pledge to things that feel real, good value, and worthy of their feed.

If Korean labels want to stay powerful, they'll have to grow with their audience. And if they don't? Well… Shanghai will be ready for the next wave before the last one even dries.

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