Time was the starting point for URBAN GRACE: Leather & Light, the third season of HUBING SELECTS, presented by Hu Bing during London Fashion Week.
The collection moved between three imagined moments — 1930, 2030 and 3030 — tracing a dialogue between Shanghai and London, heritage and technology, protection and exposure.
Leather provided the common thread.
In the opening chapter, matte white leather appeared alongside silk and gauze; by 2030 it had become structured and protective, before transforming in the imagined world of 3030 into something closer to a metallic second skin. Across the collection, that transformation became central to a wider question: not simply where fashion is made, but how material, craftsmanship and technical expertise bring an idea into its final form
It is a question that Hu Bing addresses in his latest proposition, “Finishing in China.” For URBAN GRACE, the collection was developed through Haining’s leather supply chain in Zhejiang province, taking the process from material selection and sampling through to final garment production. Rather than focusing only on where a garment is manufactured, the proposition considers the final stages of making as part of the creative act itself. “Finishing in China is not a claim about where materials originate. It is about who finishes the work — Chinese craft and supply chains turning design into garments the world can see, wear and buy.”— Hu Bing
Three moments in time
The opening chapter, Ritual White, looked towards the visual language of the 1930s, drawing on elements of Eastern and Western fashion aesthetics from the period. Matte white leather from Haining was paired with silk and gauze, creating a restrained, almost ceremonial silhouette.
The second chapter, Flexible Armor, moved into 2030. Collaborating designer Aya drew on Roman gladiatorial armour, translating protective structures into contemporary tailoring. Black leather formed the foundation, worked through with wine red and cognac tones, while sculpted shoulders, chest and waist gave the silhouettes an architectural quality.
The final chapter, Gown of Light, imagined 3030. Leather became a metallic second skin, while gauze appeared almost weightless around the body. The clothes suggested a future in which fashion might be less about dressing for a particular place than carrying something of that place with you.
Key runway moments featured models Qi Qi, Dongna Xie and Yun Xiang Hao, highlighting some of the collection’s defining looks across its three chapters.
Across the three chapters, Haining leather was developed to appear lighter, softer and more fluid than the heavy, rigid or highly polished interpretations often associated with the material. Its transformation became part of the collection’s wider argument: that making is not simply the execution of an idea, but part of the creative process itself.
Finishing in China
With URBAN GRACE, Hu Bing introduces “Finishing in China” as a central idea for the first time. Rather than redefining Made in China, the phrase shifts attention towards what happens at the point where material, technique and design are brought together — and to the level of craft and aesthetic judgement that shapes the finished piece.
Leather provides the clearest expression of that idea this season. Working through Haining’s leather supply chain, the collection moves from material development and technical experimentation to final garment construction, allowing craftsmanship to become visible in the clothes themselves rather than remaining behind the scenes.
For Hu Bing, Finishing in China is intended to extend beyond a single collection. The longer-term ambition is to build it into a recognisable expression of contemporary Chinese craft, connecting different categories and industries while giving greater visibility to the skill, knowledge and aesthetic values behind the finished work.
Sound and light between eras
The show’s visual and sonic language extended the collection’s exploration of time.
Live piano by Chinese pianist Yangyang Ruan established a restrained ceremonial mood before the atmosphere gradually shifted with the collection.
For Ritual White, cool white light was layered with wind, birdsong and fragments of ambient sound evoking Shanghai and London. Flexible Armor moved into warmer side lighting, revealing the depth and surface of the leather against a British deep-house rhythm. By Gown of Light, the music had been stripped back again as structured beams of cool white crossed the space, closing on the resonance of a single piano note.
The effect was cinematic without becoming theatrical for its own sake — a runway suspended between memory and speculation.
Beyond the runway
URBAN GRACE was supported by a range of partners across fashion, technology, beauty, wellness and lifestyle, including Parodontax, AITO, Yoseido, Viee, Loch Lomond, Scabal and Junshi. The presentation also featured a creative contribution from multidisciplinary artist Darren Johnston. Their participation added further dimensions to a presentation that brought together Eastern and Western creative perspectives while connecting tradition with the future, and reflected HUBING SELECTS’ wider ambition to create a stronger international platform for Chinese brands within the global creative and cultural landscape.
The next decade
Founded by Hu Bing in 2024, HUBING SELECTS was created to bring Asian designers onto international stages, supporting independent design with global potential while creating connections between Eastern and Western fashion cultures.
The platform forms part of 100 ICONS in Fashion, launched in September 2024 by Hu Bing in collaboration with the China Fashion Designers Association and the Chinese Costume Culture Research Association. The initiative aims to create a more systematic pathway for Chinese fashion talent onto the world’s major fashion stages.
Hu Bing’s relationship with the international fashion calendar stretches back 38 years. In 2015, the British Fashion Council named Hu Bing as the first International Ambassador for London Collections: Men. In 2024, he was appointed a British Fashion Council Ambassador and founded HUBING SELECTS.
His attention is now shifting from personal representation towards a wider generation of designers, craftspeople, manufacturers and brands. “Ten years was a threshold; the eleventh marks a new beginning. In the next decade, I want to represent Chinese craft, Chinese supply chains, Chinese brands and the young designers walking this road with me.” — Hu Bing
With URBAN GRACE, that journey moves between Shanghai and London, 1930 and 3030, craftsmanship and technology. At its centre is a simple proposition: fashion is defined not only by where it is made, but by the craftsmanship, technical knowledge and material innovation that bring it to completion.
