What Happened: According to leading influencer marketing platform Lefty, the top five luxury brands’ EMV (earned media value) on Weibo during New York Fashion Week (NYFW) reached $9.72 million (67.95 million RMB). Fendi topped the list with $3.78 million (26.4 million RMB) in EMV, Tory Burch finished second securing $1.95 million (13.6 million RMB), and Coach came in third with $1.89 million (13.2 million RMB). American brands Michael Kors ($1.11 million or 7.76 million RMB) and Caroline Herrera ($1.01 million or 7.06 million RMB) filled the final two spots.
The Jing Take: Almost three years since the outbreak of COVID-19, China is still suffering from the complications of the pandemic, making it even more difficult for the industry to connect with local audiences. Fendi’s unexpected move away from Milan Fashion Week to the American schedule paid off, making it the clear winner of the event. The show secured over 13 million views, amplified by Chinese actor and ambassador Xu Guanghan — who managed to attend the event for the first time since the pandemic started. Fendi China’s collaboration with celebrities like Sun li, Song Zuer, Li Si Danni, and Wen Yongshan on Weibo further boosted engagement.
Chinese actor Xu Guanghan wears pieces from Fendi’s Fall/Winter men’s 2022 collection. Photo: Fendi
For its latest collection, Coach teamed up with Chinese fashion influencer Mr Bags 包先生 who was also present and posted a vlog series documenting his time in New York and at the brand’s show, which generated an EMV total of $244,000 (1.7 million RMB). Meanwhile, despite being missing from the top five, Tommy Hilfiger’s strategy was also notable and could help it break out of its deadlock on the mainland following the Xinjiang cotton controversy. As well as metaversal initiatives with Roblox, the company joined forces with virtual idol 锘亚 Noah and created a “see now buy now” retail experience for consumers on Tmall where the latest looks were available for purchase on the day of the show.
So far so good for the kick-off of Autumn 2022’s fashion week season.
The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.
