Asia Fashion Heritage Foundation

Asia Fashion Heritage Foundation is dedicated to supporting the development of Asian fashion archives and raising global awareness of cultural diversity and alternative narratives within the fashion industry through the lens of Asia’s fashion heritage.
We believe that fashion archives hold untapped historical treasures. While history cannot be fully reconstructed, Asian fashion archives offer critical perspectives that enrich and complicate dominant historical narratives. By uncovering these layered stories, we aim to contribute to a more inclusive and multidimensional understanding of fashion history, while providing lasting inspiration for the global fashion industry.

About

We support the development of Asian fashion heritage by redefining the meaning and possibilities of fashion archives within Asia’s diverse cultural landscapes.

Current Projects

The Foundation hosts an annual academic conference each spring and a roundtable series each autumn, aiming to foster knowledge-sharing, critical dialogue, and cross-disciplinary exchange in the field of fashion archives and heritage. By bringing together fashion scholars, archival professionals, curators, designers, and industry leaders from around the world, these events serve as platforms for engaging with diverse methodologies, cultural perspectives, and archival practices. Through keynote panels, roundtable discussions, and collaborative case studies, they encourage new conversations on the roles of archives in shaping identity, memory, and the evolving narratives of fashion culture. These initiatives not only strengthen academic research and professional practice but also broaden public understanding of fashion heritage. By facilitating dialogue between different regions and institutions, the Foundation works to connect global and local knowledge systems, enabling inclusive and meaningful exchange across cultures. It is a space where theory and practice meet—where archives are not only preserved and studied but continuously reimagined for future generations.

Future Strategy

In the next three years, the Asia Fashion Heritage Foundation (AFHF) aims to integrate AI technology into fashion archiving through the development of the Asia Fashion Archive Digital Map. This pioneering initiative will leverage AI-driven algorithms to catalogue, analyze, and enhance access to Asian fashion archives, creating a dynamic, interactive platform that supports both research and industry engagement. As part of our long-term vision, we are actively exploring opportunities to build connections with European fashion archives, with the goal of fostering reciprocal knowledge exchange and greater cultural integration. Through this effort, we hope to serve as a bridge between Asian and global fashion heritage networks—providing Asian brands with access to international archival resources, while offering global brands meaningful entry points to collaborate with Asia’s rich and diverse fashion traditions. By bridging tradition with technology, the platform will not only advance archival innovation but also become a key resource for academic research, brand storytelling, and sustainable growth across Asia’s fashion landscape.

Our Team

With expertise and professionalism at our core, we collaborate to shape thoughtful and effective initiatives that advance the understanding and visibility of Asian fashion heritage.

Mo Shi

Dr. Mo Shi holds a PhD in Fashion History from the Royal College of Art, specializing in fashion archives and their role in shaping cultural memory and identity. Her research focuses on creating space for Chinese fashion archives in the academic field, addressing how sociopolitical contexts influence the way of understanding history and writing the history.
With experience working with prestigious institutions like the Victoria & Albert Museum, Vivienne Westwood, and Net-A-Porter, she contributes to the curation, consulting, and development of both physical and digital fashion archives.
By co-founding the Asia Fashion Heritage Foundation, Mo aims to strengthen the position of Asian fashion archives within the global research landscape, expanding their visibility and cultural relevance through academic exchange and cross-regional dialogue.

Marta Franceschini

Marta serves as the Executive Secretary of the European Fashion Heritage Foundation, a partner organization with whom we collaborate.