Creative Advisor, keynote speaker, board member, influencer, distinguished professor, writer, broadcaster Simon Collins is a former Dean at Parsons in New York and creative director at Nike in Asia. He has worked with leading global brands, spoken at prestigious conferences (TED, United Nations, Alibaba, Cannes Lions), and been featured in Forbes, Business of Fashion, WWD, SCMP, China Daily, and The New York Times.
After working as design and creative director with Nike, Polo, and Zegna, he spent seven years as Dean of the School of Fashion at Parsons where he turned the respected design school into a global mega-brand. Featured in The Business of Fashion’s Global 500 and Fast Company Magazine’s 100 Most Creative People in Business. Assouline published his book “The School of Fashion” in 2014 and he joined the Parsons Board of Governors. He chaired the Advisory Board for Global trend group WGSN, was advisor for both New York and China Fashion Weeks.
In 2016 he established the House of Collins international consultancy to advise industry, academies, and governments on how to shape their creative visions. HoC continues to advise Chinese and global brands on how to innovate and expand into new markets.
He is currently Chief Creative at Design Innovation Institute Shanghai, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tsinghua and Donghua Universities, and Academic Lead for Parsons Executive Education in China. He has built collaborations with Kering (Gucci, YSL), Diesel, Marni, and Anta Group.
Through his Shanghai consultancy Simon Collins helps leading Brands and Academies to create innovative solutions.
4.2H - Hall B1
Global brand design expert Simon Collins, former Creative Director for world-leading brands such as Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Zegna, and former Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design, has helped transform the once-obscure design school into a global superbrand, collaborating with luxury conglomerates like Kering Group and LVMH. Currently based in Shanghai, he serves as the CCO of Design Innovation Institute Shanghai.
When discussing the topic of Chinese brands "going global," Collins, who has collaborated with numerous international and local fashion brands, remarked: Some local designers always hope that international consumers can perceive Chinese culture or elements through their designs; ironically, these local designers themselves rarely, if ever, wear those designs, yet they hope foreign consumers will choose them.
- Do Chinese brands need to incorporate "Chinese culture/elements" when going global?
- What insights can Chinese brands glean from internationally successful brands?
Collins will further elaborate on these questions and share his perspectives. We have extended the Q&A session to half an hour after the speech. Feel free to bring your questions for discussion!