Oh, Shanghai Fashion Week–at times you make us feel like we’ve seen it all, catwalk after horsewalk, until our thumbs nearly tapped out from déjà vu—ok, we admittedly have a flair for the dramatic over here. But just as we were about to write it off as “fashion, on repeat,” German sportswear superbrand Adidas suddenly waltzed in with a 20th-anniversary march on the sidelines. Cue the dramatic eyebrow raise. We had to ask: Was this a confident three-striped strut, or were they one stripe short of a stumble?
Promo poster for the October 16 “POWER OF THREE” Adidas showcase during Shanghai Fashion Week Spring/ Summer 2026. Image: superduper popular lifestyle and e-commerce app Xiaohongshu (RedNote)
Let’s be real. When a global titan like Adidas rolls out some sartorial sass on the sidelines of Shanghai Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026 (October 9-16), it’s not just another runway moment. It’s a strategic power move in a market that’s rewriting the rules. And we dare argue Adidas isn’t just playing the game…
It’s probably helping set the pace for global brands eager to follow in its tracks(uits).
High Temper time get our sporty stomp on.
An example of Adidas’ POWER OF THREE runway revelations in Shanghai on October 16. Packing some punchy panache, indeed–in our humble opinion. Image: RedNote
The “POWER OF THREE” showcase on October 16, held at the historic Shanghai Old City Hall, wasn’t just a celebration–it was a declaration. For two decades, Adidas’ Creation Center Shanghai, starring a 35-person designer team and more than 100 creative personnel, has been quietly (and cleverly) crafting the blueprint for what it means to be a global brand with a local soul.
For years, this “hyper-localized” hub has been quietly orchestrating what international brands now recognize as essential survival tactics: Collaborating with local designers, nurturing homegrown talent and, most importantly, creating products specifically for Chinese consumers.
The POWER OF THREE bets big on retro flair, i.e, neo-Chinese style (新中式| xīn zhōng shì or “new Chinese style”). Emerging in 2023, this trend features traditional Chinese fashions mixed with modern elements. Here, we see elements of the Zhongshan suit jacket, originally often worn by Sun Yat-sen (Sun Zhongshan), a founding father of the Republic of China (1912-49) but becoming de rigueur when Mao Zedong came into power, seamlessly coexisting with oversized street slash sports cool. Image: RedNote
In early 2024, for instance, Adidas teamed up with designer Samuel Gui Yang to produce an eco-friendly sneaker honoring the Year of the Dragon. With the classic Chinese knot button design, Chinese tailoring and contour re-integrated within modern design styles and unique fabrics, the collection ended up showing a subtle interpretation of Chinese aesthetics.
Or think early 2025 collections like the label’s neo-Chinese style (新中式| xīn zhōng shì or “new Chinese style”) line–a stunning fusion of Tang-inspired jackets, the Tang Dynasty (618-907) being a period of cultural and economic prosperity and Adidas paying tribute to the satin garments spotted on its royalty figurines, and qipao details that had us all double-tapping.
This isn’t just localization; it’s cultural curation at its finest.
Related
Close-Up: The Sweat & The Swag, Unraveling The Very Fabric of China’s Sports Economy
A Calculated Shoe Spectacle
Remember in March, when the German giant designed that four-story tower of shoeboxes on Shanghai’s Yongyuan Road? That wasn’t just a photo op–it was a love letter to street culture, Adidas-style. And while some brands build monuments to their own egos, Adidas built a moment that mattered. But let’s not forget the brains behind the street dance battles and Pharrell Williams collaborations, aka a more pragmatic story: Seven consecutive quarters of growth in China, with a tidy 10.3-percent revenue bump last year.
All this flashy brand theater isn’t just for show; it’s a calculated play in a market where, as we’ve noted before, people don’t just buy products, they buy ideologies.
The question isn’t whether Adidas can throw a great party, but whether stacking boxes higher actually builds deeper connections in an era where Chinese consumers are increasingly building their own cultural narratives. The Shell Toe Street event was impressive, no doubt–but in today’s Chinese market, even the slickest experiential marketing can’t guarantee tomorrow’s loyalty.
So, why the relentless push? They’ve read the memo. They know that in today’s China, the “Three Stripes” can’t just be a foreign status symbol; they have to mean something local. The market is now defined by guochao (国潮| guócháo, “national wave” of hip heritage, i.e., products ranging from fashion to food to toys ‘n tech infused with traditional Chinese elements), and its more profound successor, zixin (自信| zìxìn)—that fierce cultural self-confidence driving consumers to proudly choose homegrown brands.
It’s what happens when cultural self-confidence evolves from a trend into a default setting, making Chinese identity itself the ultimate marker of credibility in everything from streetwear to tech. The conversation has shifted. As we explored in our analysis of China’s sports fashion economy, Close-Up: The Sweat & The Swag, this seismic move from status-seeking to self-defining is rewriting the rules of engagement for every brand hoping to stay relevant in the Chinese market. Western labels are no longer the aspiration; they’re just options in a marketplace where homegrown alternatives now set the standard. Temper’s fave fashion artist Yvan Deng and an exuberant example of one of his live runway sketches from the POWER OF THREE FROW in Shanghai on October 16. Image: Yvan Deng POWER OF THREE snapshot. Image: Yvan Deng Music, maestro, please, at the POWER OF THREE showcase. Image: Yvan Deng This brings us to the critical observation of the Shanghai Fashion Week sideline spectacle: Can a foreign brand truly integrate into the essence of China’s new fashion narrative? If nothing else, the Adidas show was a public declaration that the old model of simply distributing global products in China is officially dead. The brand is making its boldest bet yet: that a German sportswear giant can successfully localize not just manufacturing, but creative authority itself. They’re trying to move from being a seller of products to a keeper of cultural codes. And frankly, they’re putting in the work. This is where Adidas gets extra points. They’re not just observing the guochao tide and zixin wave, they’re swimming in it. They’re embedding themselves in the fabric of Chinese culture, sponsoring Olympic athletes like snowboarder Su Yiming and swimmer Pan Zhanle, backing China’s national volleyball team, and partnering with the Chinese Wushu (martial arts) Association. They’ve even launched college running and dance competitions to ride the wave of China’s health-related initiatives. Allow us to elaborate on that (a little–just click the links and behold, knowledge is yours!)… “If you don’t lose weight, even the government is side-eyeing you,” joked one netizen three months ago. “The country says it’s time to slim down–guess I don’t have a choice,” quipped another. “Do I get a bonus for every dumpling I skip?” a third asked. The memes practically wrote themselves when the National Health Commission dropped its latest policy during a press conference on March 9, where the commission’s Chief Lei Haichao announced plans to establish more weight loss clinics at medical and health facilities nationwide, aiming to help people shed pounds safely and transition to healthier lifestyles. The announcement, made on the sidelines of the Two Sessions, the annual gathering of national lawmakers in Beijing, sparked animated debate across social media like microblogging platform Weibo and RedNote. At its core, it is an intensification of the three-year “Weight Management Years” campaign (2024-26), launched by the commission last August, which pushes for a fitter, more nutritious approach to daily life to prevent weight-related illnesses. Related Fashion Artist Yvan Deng: From Ceramic Tradition To Topical Temptation Bearing in mind all that, one might say Adidas truly knows how to read the room — and walk the talk. The brand has, unlike many of its peers, executed the Middle Kingdom marketing playbook with precision, from the shoebox stunt to the most recent POWER OF THREE. They are, by every metric, strutting. In an ecosystem defined by authentic cultural confidence, the line between a confident stride and a catastrophic misstep is perilously thin–but for now, Adidas is walking it with swagger. Circling back to the question that beckoned: To strut or to stumble? 
The Bet Gets Bolder
Right now, Adidas is choosing to strut.
FEATURED IMAGE: ADIDAS POWER OF THREE REDNOTE COLLAGE
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Perpetually in pursuit of the greater good that is “China Fashion”, van Paridon set up The China Temper to help promote the dynamite dynamic fashion scene sprouting within Beijing, Shanghai, and China overall. Catering to anybody and everybody who reads English and/or Chinese, Temper covers all the basics and bases. From China's street style scenery to its budding photographers, internationally renowned designers, and underground quirks plus phenomena: We present one hot-hip-happening current collective weaving The New "Made in China" tag.
The term “Made in China” is undergoing the ultimate 21st Century makeover. Escorted by the increasingly strong influence of a new thinking among China’s younger generations, regarding individuality and the expression thereof, the fashion scene in the Middle Kingdom is exploding. And stretches far beyond what meets the eye. It’s appliqué, one might say.