Bai Jingting turns box-office hit into fashion brand momentum

As Chinese actor Bai Jingting’s (白敬亭) sci-fi comedy “Keep Real” (特立独行) hits its stride in the summer box office, the 32-year-old star is quietly using the film’s visibility to reposition his fashion label Goodbai from a celebrity side project into a structured apparel group. Released in China on July 3, 2026, “Keep Real” quickly became one of the season’s dark horses. The film — directed by Xing Wenxiong, the writer-director behind the 2022 hit “Too Cool to Kill,” and co-starring Wei Xiang and Zhang Guoqiang — crossed 100 million RMB ($14.8 million) in cumulative box office within seven days of release, ranking among the top domestic titles for July and earning a spot in the year’s top-25 grossers. Previews and advance sales had already topped 10 million RMB ($1.48 million), and professional forecasting platforms now project a final total of just over 200 million RMB ($29.6 million). From celebrity merch line to clothing company The timing is strategic for Bai’s broader business ambitions. In the weeks surrounding the film’s release, Chinese business and entertainment media have increasingly framed Goodbai as a “clothing company” rather than a standard celebrity merch line. The label, founded in 2021 with designer Shangguan Zhe, now spans apparel, offline stores, IP projects and overseas channels. Goodbai shoes have become a breakout category in their own right: the label’s 459 RMB ($68) sneaker sits ninth on Tmall’s casual-footwear repurchase rankings, and a collaboration with Salomon has lent the line credibility beyond Bai’s fanbase. A Shanghai flagship and a Shen Teng joint venture Key milestones in the past month underscore that shift. In late June, press coverage highlighted the opening of a street-level concept store on Yanqing Road in Shanghai’s Xuhui district — the first standalone national flagship for Goodees World, Goodbai’s spinoff IP line, complete with a café and 24-hour vending machines. Then, in mid-July, a wave of articles revisited the May 12 establishment of Shanghai Kai Men Jian Shan Brand Management — the name (开门见衫) puns on the idiom “kai men jian shan” (“get straight to the point”), swapping the character for “mountain” with the homophone for “shirt.” The joint venture pairs Bai’s holding company, Zhetinghao (Shanghai) Brand Management, with Beijing Kaola Culture Media, the firm owned by comedian Shen Teng and his wife, with registered capital of 5 million RMB ($739,000) and Shangguan Zhe as legal representative. Headlines such as “Bai Jingting turns a celebrity streetwear brand into a clothing company” explicitly position the move as an inflection point from single-name label to multi-talent platform. From ‘liuliang’ to lasting brand For Bai, “Keep Real” provides both narrative and reach: interviews and stage performances around the film reinforce a “professional, sincere actor” persona that he is now mapping onto Goodbai’s identity. The combination of a 100-million-RMB-plus box-office title and a consolidating fashion business makes Bai one of the more credible cases of a Chinese celebrity transitioning from “liuliang” (“traffic,” or fan-driven fame) to a more institutionalized brand portfolio.

Bai Jingting turns box-office hit into fashion brand momentum

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag

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Bai Jingting turns box-office hit into fashion brand momentum

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag