Shanghai’s TX Huaihai, the “epicenter of youth culture”, is giving a new face to the shopping mall

In the heart of Shanghai there is a decades-old shopping space that bills itself as the “epicenter of youth culture.” At a time when e-commerce is all the rage, it promises to revitalize in-store shopping. It houses local fashion brands that were previously sold only online.

The 27,000-square-meter (290,000-square-foot) Texas Huaihai Youth Energy Center is located on Middle Huaihai Road, one of the two main shopping streets in downtown Shanghai and the address of the upscale IAPM Shopping Center and K11 Art Center.

Until 2008, the six-story building housed a branch of the Japanese department store chain Isetan, which closed many of its overseas stores as shopping habits evolved.

Texas Huaihai is home to nightclubs, restaurants, exhibition spaces, and a curated selection of new wave fashion stores.

The six-story TX Huaihai building was formerly home to the Japanese Isetan department store. Photo: TX Huaihai

“The Chinese garment industry does experienced a change from “made in China” to “designed in China” over recent years, and on this basis we wanted to present the products of young designers in stores so that customers can see, touch and feel them,” says King Yip, brand director of TX Huaihai.