By: Agence France-Presse

Italian fashion giant Prada said Thursday its upcoming men’s collection will hit the catwalk in Shanghai rather than Milan, in a nod to the importance of China for the luxury world.

The Men’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection will be held in the coastal metropolis on June 6, during Milan fashion week, to mark the 40th anniversary of the twinning of the cities, Prada said in a statement.

“China has always occupied a prominent place in Prada’s imagination: in particular, the city of Shanghai and its rich cultural life,” Miuccia Prada was quoted as saying.

“The attitude and identity of Shanghai, its dynamic fusions of past and present, old and new, are sources of constant exchange and interest,” she added.

Prada, Italy’s biggest luxury group in terms of turnover, said it wanted to develop its presence in China through “new and original experiences”.

A third of all luxury goods worldwide are purchased by Chinese consumers.

Prada’s fashion rivals Dolce & Gabbana are reeling from a boycott in China after a calamitous advertising campaign featuring a Chinese woman struggling to eat spaghetti and pizza with chopsticks that was decried as racist.