Fragrance x Accessory: How Chinese Brands Create Unexpected Collaborations

Overview On July 13, homegrown fragrance brand Documents announced its collaboration with Chinese accessory brand Yvmin ahead of the Qixi Festival, dropping a limited-edition gift box that includes a perfume and a necklace. Named “Heart Waves,” the campaign spotlights what it's like to have a crush, encouraging consumers who are in various stages of relationships to express their feelings. Campaign visuals are presented in a retro Japanese comics art style, casting both avatars and real models. Priced at 230 (1,550 RMB), the set is now available on Documents’ WeChat Mini Program, Tmall flagship, Xiaohongshu store, and offline boutiques. Netizen Reaction This is not the first collaboration between the two brands. Their inaugural crossover for last year’s Qixi impressed netizens with their black-and-pink themed campaign. Their offline pop-up opened in August 2021 attracted local fashionistas to post their in-store snapshots on Xiaohongshu and Weibo. However, with just online initiatives this year, there is less social traffic compared to last year. Verdict Launched in 2015, Yvmin has become a go-to partner for local fashion and beauty brands, joining hands with names such as Shushu/tong, Didu, and Le Fame. These co-branded series were mostly necklaces and earrings combining Yvmin’s avant-garde DNA and its collaborator's iconic design elements. Founded in 2020, Documents is a high-end fragrance label recording rapid growth in the local market, attracting investments amounting to thousands of yuan. In addition to edgy visual merchandising at offline stores, the startup company is agile in content marketing. It recently kicked off an editorial initiative named “Smell Forward,” which interviews consumers and shares their stories. As younger generations want to make personal statements with their appearance beyond apparel and cosmetics, fragrance and accessories have become two of the most promising categories in the Chinese market. In the Documents x Yvmin case, both parties share a target audience with similar tastes and aesthetics, making the tie-up a sweet-smelling success.

Fragrance x Accessory: How Chinese Brands Create Unexpected Collaborations

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Published July 30, 2022

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Fragrance x Accessory: How Chinese Brands Create Unexpected Collaborations