Balenciaga’s CEO on luxury’s new frontiers in China

Since stepping into the role of CEO at Balenciaga in 2016, Cédric Charbit has become a transformative figure in the luxury fashion sector. Charbit has leveraged bold digital strategies and innovative design collaborations to skilfully propel the storied Parisian label into contemporary relevance. His previous experience at luxury powerhouses Saint Laurent and Pucci (where he served as General Manager) provided him with a keen insight into the critical dynamics of high fashion marketing and operations. At Balenciaga, Charbit has skillfully balanced audacious creative endeavors with astute business acumen, securing the brand’s position at the forefront of an ever-evolving industry. In 2022, under his leadership and Demna's artistic direction, Balenciaga was included in Time’s 100 Most Influential Companies ranking. Balenciaga has not only seen growth in its traditional markets, but has also significantly penetrated newer, digital-first spaces, continually engaging with a global audience. Charbit and Demna made particularly impressive inroads in the China market, becoming one of the country’s most influential fashion brands and expanding its brick-and-mortar retail footprint from six stores in 2007 to almost 60 today. Here, Charbit talks to Jing Daily about his China strategy. Jing Daily: Few living high fashion designers have redefined the landscape as dramatically as Demna. What do you find so unique about Demna's vision for Balenciaga? Cédric Charbit: Demna has an amazing sense of “the now.” If you look, it might have been the same as with Cristóbal [Balenciaga]. Demna created a silhouette, product and codes with the ambition to propose something new in our industry. The success was instantaneous. With the reintroduction of Couture in recent years at Balenciaga, what is interesting is that what felt disruptive here in Paris was just something new and cool in other countries, and vice versa. Demna makes fashion, makes Couture, but is ultimately a cultural phenomenon. JD: Balenciaga leads the luxury/streetwear intersection, but is also focusing on Couture again. How are Chinese consumers responding? CC: Couture is, in fact, who we are and where we are coming from. In November 2021, we organized a five-day Couture exhibition in Shanghai. It was a worldwide exclusive, where for the first time, our Couture collection was showcased outside of Paris to celebrate Balenciaga's return to couture. It was and still is, an honor to share the heritage of the house and Demna’s creative vision with our highly sophisticated Chinese audience, who have the utmost understanding of luxury and craft. At Balenciaga, we are one. Our central and Chinese teams worked seamlessly together on bringing this event to life. I was proud to share with China this very important moment, celebrating the culture, craftsmanship, and heritage of Balenciaga in that exhibit. JD: How do you strike the right balance between the creative director's brand vision and Balenciaga’s heritage? CC: There is a space and time for both. When Demna arrived, we focused on the now and the future. We were working to build the teams, the aesthetic, the platforms for our future. At some point, the time came in July 2021 to reconnect with heritage. We relaunched Couture after 50 years of absence; we created exhibitions that traveled the world and celebrated our heritage through content more broadly. JD: What has been the most exciting part of what you and Demna have achieved at Balenciaga? CC: Working with Demna is unique, because he really is different and is somehow an artist. You better expect the unexpected and embrace the new. I am a very curious person and I love to explore learning new things; with Demna, we did so many amazing projects that propelled the brand to new heights, some to affirm our forwardness, some others to empower the beauty of our heritage. I enjoy working with him and his team so much. They are true creatives, and that means so much to me. What we are proud of is our size, and being relevant from a business standpoint, and at the same time being true to our vision and uniqueness. This is what I call being “brand right.” After eight years, I can also praise the mutual trust we have for one another. JD: Fashion has changed much since you joined Balenciaga in 2016. What opportunities and challenges have you seen in the past years? CC: In the past 10 years, fashion and luxury went through a lot of profound changes. First, craft and innovation are more than ever the backbone of the game; this has been true for a while, but the expectations are getting higher. Second, the ties with art, culture, music, sport, and other fields are extremely important. We are somehow in the entertainment business; we create content constantly and sell emotions. Lastly, when I look back, all our touch points were changed, shifted or revolutionized in the past 10 years. That is true and applies to the supply chain, digital, influence, AI, and product development. JD: You’ve been forward-thinking in terms of digital and new tech activations, especially in China. Tell us more. CC: We launch our collections and products in diverse types of locations and formats, from fashion shows in couture salons, digital landscapes to video games … always with an aim to provide a unique experience for our viewers. For our Chinese audience, in 2021 and 2022, we created dedicated video games in celebration of 520 [China’s Valentine’s Day], and our exclusive series allowed us to connect with the digital audience and embark our customers on our own gaming experience. We constantly aim to create different experiences for our audience; so, for our Spring 2025 show in Shanghai, we developed an NFT Lucky Draw in partnership with Tencent for our 10XL Sneaker, as an exclusive pre-launch that was available days before the show on a WeChat mini-program. JD: What surprised you most about how Chinese consumers have responded to Demna's Balenciaga? CC: China is where we have the highest share of top clients. The ability for the Chinese to embrace newness and sophistication is impressive. The will to try and discover is very striking in China, and I see this with our innovation, new launches, but also with our teams: they are fantastic to work with. The last point is how informed our clients are about us, and how Chinese socials provide product information and feedback; on Red [Xiaohongshu, China’s answer to Instagram] platform for example, the data is really stunning that is generated by the community. In addition, our Douyin [China’s TikTok] followers understand the brand’s innovation and creative aesthetic. JD: What defines luxury for you today? CC: Often in luxury, the biggest ideas and enterprises start with one innovator, or one innovation, and this is pretty much true for all luxury brands and products. What most defines luxury today is innovation, creativity, and quality. This is what Balenciaga has been about since its beginning, 107 years ago, and is still today. With respect for tradition and quality, and being continuously innovative, we explore the idea of what luxury is and redefine it in a modern way: our way. We continue to push boundaries, and expand the notions and possibilities of what luxury is and can be in the future. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity. Jing Daily presents Jing Masterminds — a regular, exclusive interview series profiling today’s most iconic names in art, fashion, commerce and culture. Delving deep into their personal journeys, creative processes, business strategies and societal impacts, the series offers readers an intimate look at the lives and minds shaping our industries.

Balenciaga’s CEO on luxury’s new frontiers in China

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Published August 13, 2024

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Balenciaga’s CEO on luxury’s new frontiers in China