Shanghai’s Tube Showroom Ventures Into Experiential Retail
LONDON — Dia Creative Communications, the parent company of Tube, one of Shanghai’s most prominent fashion showrooms, ventured into experiential retail last week with the opening of Dia Underground at the basement level of Xintiandi Style II, a trendy shopping mall in downtown Shanghai.
Taking over the space of a former upscale supermarket, the store has about 24,750 square feet of retail space featuring more than 30 designer brands represented by Tube. It will be the first-ever stand-alone retail space for most of these labels.
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Notable tenants include Marrknull, one of this year’s LVMH Prize semifinalists; Shie Lyu, who is launching a collaboration with Stella McCartney; Mark Gong; Xu Zhi; Vii Victor X Wang; Jacques Wei; PH5; Office H, and Yvmin.
Mark Wang, cofounder of Marrknull, said Dia Underground provides the brand “with an opportunity to experiment directly with consumers and offers a new way of thinking about brand development” and he “wants people to experience our take of contemporary Chinese culture in a simple and clean space that allows everyone’s attention on our products.”
For Zewei Hong, cofounder of Office H, a brand for those who enjoy a 9-to-5 lifestyle as much as the great outdoors, Dia Underground “provides a vital off-line venue for consumers to try on our products, which will help us reach more customers and markets in the future. Our products are so much more than good-looking photos on shopping websites.”
Victor Wang, founder of Vii Victor X Wang, said his space evolves around the V shape, which can be seen from the floor to the walls, extending to sofas, fitting rooms, and even on glass. Product-wise, he is offering popular styles in exclusive colorways and innovative materials.
Zemira Xu, cofounder of Tube, called Dia Underground “an organic evolution” of its showroom business, which has helped local designer brands like Shushu/Tong, Calvin Luo, Caroline Hu, and Ming Ma reach dozens of fashion boutiques across China since 2015.
“It aims to provide an open platform for independent designer brands and creative partners from different fields and unique cultural backgrounds to grow together and express their voices freely,” added Xu, who used to head communications at 10 Corso Como Shanghai, which was closed in 2019, before launching Dia.
The interior was done by Sò Studio, a Shanghai-based emerging spatial design office founded by Mengjie Liu and Yifan Wu that has worked on a dozen trendy retail and restaurant projects.
Xu said Dia Underground wants to create “a relaxed and distance-free retail atmosphere with specially selected outdoor tiles to mimic the everyday street-side store’s experience. While the lighting can be switched between day and night scenes to create a more lively and immersive retail space for consumers who care about fashion, as much as design and lifestyle.”
The space was first teased during the fall 2023 edition of Shanghai Fashion Week, where buyers and the press came and met with the designers who are selling via Tube Showroom.
Xu noted that while the space so far only caters to brands that are working with Tube, the goal is to welcome more designer labels to join Dia Underground and utilize the space provided to tell the brand’s story to consumers.
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