In “Chinese Whispers,” we share the biggest news stories about the luxury industry in China that have yet to make it into the English language. In this week’s edition, we discuss:
- Louis Vuitton to hire additional 1,500 employees to meet strong demand in China
- Top 50 most influential KOLs in China by Forbes
- Chinese supermodel Liu Wen absent from global fashion week this year
Louis Vuitton to hire additional 1,500 employees to meet strong demand in China - Sina#
In order to meet the demand in China, Louis Vuitton will add 1,500 new manufacturing positions in Paris, in the next three years. Although Louis Vuitton already has factories in Italy, Spain, and the U.S., its CEO, Michael Burke, made it clear that the brand will still keep most of the supply-demand chain in France. So far Louis Vuitton has 16 leather good making factories with about 4,300 full-time staffers.
Top 50 most influential KOLs in China by Forbes – Forbes China#
On September 5, Forbes published their latest rankings on the most influential KOLs in various industries — beauty, fashion, maternal, lifestyle, and e-sports. A dark horse KOL in beauty is Li Jiaqi, who quickly claimed top beauty KOL spot. He is best known as a lipstick expert, and by the end of June his followers on Douyin and Little Red Book exceeded 26 million and 5.8 million. In the fashion category, Becky Li dominated the rank. One of her highlights was her collaboration with Secoo, in April, named Becky’s Choice, a pop-up event recreating her closet for fans to shop. Sales grew to 20 million USD within 15 days. Other KOLs listed in fashion included Shiliupo’s report, Mr.Bags, Taobao livestreamer, Weiya, Xu Fengli, gogoboi, Zhang Day, Xu Yan (深夜徐老师), Zhang Xinwen and Zhang Xinxin(原来是西门大嫂).
Chinese supermodel Liu Wen is absent from global fashion week this year - Fashion Business Daily#
Chinese netizens buzzed about Chinese supermodel Liu Wen’s absence from the 2020 Spring and Summer fashion shows. It's the first time she's missed the shows since 2008. Liu Wen made headlines after stepping down as Coach’s ambassador after the brand’s involvement with the T-shirt controversy. Moreover, it seems her career peaked after she walked for luxury brands Chanel, Dior, Bulgari, Loewe, and more. She was also the first Asian Victoria Secret angel. In the global Model Salary report for 2017, Liu Wen ranked No.8 with an annual salary of $6,500,000, and she has kept a positive public image in China with devoted fans on social media: 24,610,000 followers on Weibo, and 4,900,000 on Instagram.