Dominating brand collaboration headlines this week in China, CLOT, the streetwear label founded by Kevin Poon and Edison Chen, has opened visually delicious pop-ups to promote its McDonald’s capsule collection. Fans can enter lifesize versions of the fast-food brand’s Happy Meal box located in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai from March 14 to 19, and in Shenzhen from March 14 all the way to May 12.
Our Collabs & Drops highlights of the week include Doe Shanghai dropping another Levi’s capsule collection, William Chan’s Canotwait collaborating with Taglioni, and mega-influencer Grace Chow becoming the latest to incorporate NBA intellectual property (IP) into a clothing collection.
For our verdict on these, read on below and subscribe here to receive these weekly updates straight to your inbox.
Doe x Levi’s
Doe and Levi’s collection is dedicated to the multi-brand retail store and streetwear brand’s hometown, Shanghai. Photo: Doe
Date: March 17
Verdict: Coming together once again, Shanghai multi-brand retailer and clothing label Doe has launched a clothing capsule with Levi’s. The collab is a way for the all-American denim brand to connect with local consumers who are into streetwear, while simultaneously showcasing its affinity to Chinese culture.
Made In China products are increasingly popular among Gen Z and millennial consumers, which makes this tie-up a wise choice for Levi’s — especially as this collection is dedicated to Shanghai’s beauty as a city. The tie-up’s social media campaign has not generated a high level of engagement, though that’s to be expected as this is more of a niche collaboration targeting a narrow set of consumers who could become long-term fans of Levi’s in China.
Grace Chow x NBA
Bringing some glamour to the NBA IP, the Grace Chow is the latest to utilize China’s favorite basketball league. Photo: Grace Chow
Date: March 27
Verdict: The NBA has almost lost its association with sport in China. It’s become a signifier of casual-wear style due to the IP being frequently used for both high and low-end collections. Major key opinion leader (KOL) Chow is the latest to collaborate with the basketball IP. The star has 2.2 million followers on Instagram and 11 million on Weibo, and her personal hashtag of #gracechow# has to date generated 55.97 million reads on Weibo.
Chow’s fast-fashion business, which has 4 million subscribers on Taobao, builds on her primary fanbase and proves the power of KOL-led brands. That said, her posts on the Grace Chow x NBA collection all have fewer than 1,000 likes, suggesting that this is not a hyped-up collab. It’ll connect the NBA IP to national fans, though, and burnish the prestige of Chow’s brand in return.
Canotwait x Taglioni
Aimed at Generation Z, the Canotwait x Taglioni collaboration aims to fuse streetwear and high fashion. Photo: Canotwait Weibo
Date: April 2
Verdict: Hong Kong singer and actor Chan’s Canotwait, another KOL-led brand, is a collab leader in the mainland; his brand has been compared to Justin Bieber’s Drew House, and has made a name for itself in the local streetwear space.
Taglioni is quite small in China, though, with just 16,000 organic discussions of the official #Taglioni星闻# hashtag on Weibo, despite the brand having dressed multiple celebrities. Canotwait is actually larger, having generated 176,000 discussions on Weibo — this collab is, therefore, a way for Taglioni to reach Gen Z and millennial consumers who might now see the brand from a streetwear perspective.
