3,000 graduates from 59 universities, 21 provinces, Macau, Russia, South Korea, Italy and the UK — 91 events in 6 days.

As reported by CCTV+, the China Graduate Fashion Week 2026 opened in Beijing. The event highlighted the growing role of digital technologies in student creativity.

The six-day forum brought together more than 3,000 graduates from 59 universities. Participants came from 21 provinces and regions of mainland China, the Macau Special Administrative Region, as well as design schools from Russia, South Korea, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Organizers stated that this year’s event is the largest in its history. The program includes 91 events: from 44 fashion shows and educational achievement exhibitions to innovative masterclasses and job fairs.

This year’s main theme is the integration of art and engineering. Design actively uses artificial intelligence, 3D modeling, virtual clothing and intelligent pattern making. The goal, according to the organizers, is to break down traditional boundaries of fashion and promote the integration of technology and aesthetics.

Zhu Shaofang, Vice President of the China Fashion Association, noted: “The creative approach of young students is more in tune with the spirit of the times. They keep pace with the digital era and use AI-powered tools, 3D modeling and digital pattern making in many of their projects. Whether it is creating traditional patterns, optimizing fabric textures or virtually modeling clothing, digital visual creativity uses intelligent technologies to bring ideas to life.”

Fashion is no longer just about fabric and thread. It is about code and algorithms. Chinese students are sewing dresses that do not exist in reality and modeling fabrics that have not yet been invented. Artificial intelligence has become not just a tool, but a co-author. The Beijing Fashion Week is not a collection showcase. It is a demonstration of how the new generation of designers thinks. They do not ask: “What is fashionable?” They ask: “What is possible?” And they find answers where there were only questions before. Would you wear a dress made by a neural network? Or for you, is fashion still about craftsmanship and a living soul? The question is not about technology. The question is whether we are ready to embrace it.