The biggest drop on China’s sneaker scene this week has to be Edison Chen’s Clot teaming up with Hiroshi Fujiwara’s Fragment and Nike on a new Dunk Low. It was first teased to fans in late February, so the anticipation has simmered for a while, and has all the ingredients for high resale market price premiums.
We also delve into Shang Xia’s crossover into beauty with leading C-beauty brand Florasis, and the brand collaboration opportunities presented by Shanghai’s Strawberry Music Festival.
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Clot x Fragment Design x Nike
Edison Chen and Hiroshi Fujiwara have joined forces once more, launching a Nike Dunk Low. Photo: Clot
Date: May 19
Verdict: The collaboration between Edison Chen, Hiroshi Fujiwara and the Swoosh is another addition to Clot’s 20th anniversary celebrations. Made available to raffle winners, the white/black colorway made available on May 1 is on StockX with a 261 percent price premium – expect similar things from this next drop. Set with an all-white silk upper patterned with Clot’s Silk Royale, the Nike Dunk Low was inspired by Fujiwara’s love of pandas.
Even though the hashtag #ClotxFragmentDesignxNike has under 100 posts on Instagram, it has 357,000 reads on Weibo to date. Although, like with any sneaker drop, the opinions online are varied, many love the design and are excited for the release.
Florasis x Shang Xia
Cult beauty brand Florasis has collaborated with Paris-based brand Shang Xia. Photo: Florasis Weibo
Date: May 5
Verdict: Using collaboration to venture into new product categories, Chinese Paris-based label Shang Xia has worked with Florasis on a jade gift box and accompanying products. For those who cannot afford the brand, it’s an opportunity to still enjoy it at a more accessible price. Though, this joint series also emphasizes the beauty brand’s commitment to representing Chinese culture, as Shang Xia is a brand that does just that.
Seeing as, on Weibo, Florasis has 342,000 followers, and Shang Xia has 150,000, so the beauty brand will still be lending Shang Xia reach with hope of expanding the consumer base with this product launch. So far, there’s been no dedicated hashtag, so online conversation is at a minimum.
Shanghai Strawberry Music Festival x Biotherm
Shanghai’s Strawberry Music Festival is often used as a collaboration platform for brands. Photo: Biotherm
Date: April 30 to May 2
Verdict: Organized by China’s biggest independent record label Modern Sky, Strawberry Music Festival in Shanghai is a great opportunity for brands to connect with the public in person — for example, Loewe hosted a castle installation. The festival saw over 50 different music artists and bands perform. Capitalizing on the occasion, Biotherm produced merchandise moisturizers for the event.
Biotherm L’Oreal’s owner has had its sights on the Chinese market for a while. But sales dipped in China in the beginning of this year, and the company says it’s yet to benefit from China’s reopening after years of Covid 19-induced restrictions. Strawberry Music Festival is an efficient way to connect with consumers in a new and exciting way, while demonstrating support of the Chinese music industry.
