As the leading global technology platform for the luxury fashion industry, Farfetch continuously explores opportunities to expand its fashion offer and to partner with brands in fresh and exciting ways. In this spirit of collaborative innovation, Farfetch and Balenciaga have launched an exclusive capsule collection comprised of limited editions across ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories for women, men, and kids in previously unseen colors and fabrics.
The collaboration with Balenciaga was an obvious choice for Founder, Co-Chairman and CEO, José Neves. “At Farfetch, Balenciaga is extremely popular with our global customers, so we are thrilled to launch this new capsule collection in collaboration with the brand, consisting of exclusive pieces that cannot be found anywhere else. We think the collection will delight people who are existing fans of the brand, as well as capturing the imagination of new fans as well.”
The concept of the collection was born out of a shared vision of a more sustainable future. All items were created entirely without leather, fur or down, and select ready-to-wear and bag styles feature illustrations of threatened animal species with a portion of the proceeds going to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) — the world’s largest environmental network.
Of the capsule, Cédric Charbit, Chief Executive Officer of Balenciaga, said: “Balenciaga is pleased to launch this exclusive collection. Bringing awareness to threatened species and supporting the conservation actions of IUCN is part of our vision.”
While the collection was made available for Farfetch global customers, dedicated offline and online activations were planned to introduce the exclusive capsule to Farfetch customers in China, including an exclusive trunk show for Farfetch VIPs, who were invited to preview the collection and purchase the limited-edition items onsite.
The capsule launch was accompanied by a creative campaign directed by the Balenciaga team and shot against natural landscapes. This bespoke digital environment was brought to life for the China market across the entire Farfetch ecosystem, immersing customers in an interactive, rich digital environment designed to evoke peace and serenity. To support the online activation, Farfetch launched a WeChat banner campaign leading to a dedicated mini program to purchase items from the capsule.
The solution, developed by the CuriosityChina division, is the latest in Farfetch’s B2B offerings and enables brands with existing e-commerce to integrate seamlessly with the WeChat ecosystem, and engaging with customers where they are most active. Built on the mini-program platform, the innovative technology is able to import a brand’s product catalog from Farfetch, or any other e-commerce system thereby providing a one-stop solution for sales, marketing, and customer engagement.
Of the China activation, Farfetch China VP of Commercial, Alexis Bonhomme, said: “We are thrilled to launch this exclusive capsule collection in collaboration with Balenciaga and to deliver a unique experience to the existing fans of the brand as well as engage with new ones. The activation was an excellent example of how the Farfetch China Gateway Solution is designed to work. From creative content production to digital marketing and e-commerce, it gives to our brand partners an enviable combination of maintaining their independence and brand personality and at the same time benefitting from peerless capabilities by leveraging the power of the Farfetch platform.”
It is precisely this desire to engage with customers that motivates Farfetch to continuously seek out fresh ways to leverage its technology and expertise at the service of brand partners.