K-pop, livestreams and luxury: dissecting Paris Fashion Week on Chinese social media

Data from the Hylink Group revealing which brands at Paris Fashion Week (PFW) generated the most buzz on China’s social media is out. The top seven brands were, in order, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Loewe, Miu Miu, and Alexander McQueen, which saw Sean McGirr debut his first collection as creative director for the house. While snappy Instagram reels of FROWs and brands harnessing TikTok as a “backstage pass” resonated across the West, livestreamed content prevailed in China. Moreover, the most popular platforms for domestic audiences to discover runway content included Weibo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu. But, which brand won overall? Dissecting data from Beijing-founded digital advertising agency Hylink, Jing Daily deep dives into which brands caught netizens interest, the most popular catwalk livestreams, and how China’s social media platforms fought to come out on top. Chanel, Dior and K-pop brought in buzz Overall, Chanel emerged as the leading brand among the top seven at PFW, which finished earlier this month. It generated a total of 1.058 billion tag views across social platforms Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin. This number combines both seasonal and always-on tag views. Dior’s seasonal tag (#Dior 2024 Fall Winter ready-to-wear Show) came second with 434.9 million views, followed by Louis Vuitton (#LV Women’s Fall-Winter 2024 Show#) with 288.8 million views. Balenciaga’s tag (#BalenciagaWinter 24 Show) attracted 246.2 million views, while Loewe (#Loewe Women’s 2024 Fall Winter Show#) achieved 173.4 million views. Miu Miu (#Miu Miu Fall/Winter 2024 Fashion Show#) clocked up 46.3 million views, and Alexander McQueen (#McQueen Fall/Winter 2024 Fashion Show#) generated with 16.4 million views. The presence of K-pop idols including BlackPink’s Jennie and Jisoo at Chanel and Dior, alongside Stray Kids’ Seungmin and Aespa’s Giselle at Loewe, helped light up social media buzz. As is often the case with PFW, the calendar’s influx of Asian talent is a key driver of brand exposure on China’s social channels. Weibo, Douyin, Xiaohongshu social media sensations Among the leading social media platforms of Weibo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, the PFW tags were most viewed on Weibo, attracting 7.77 billion views. Douyin followed with 4.44 billion views and, on Xiaohongshu, the official event’s tag received 241.9 million views, while the regular tag generated 885.7 million views. Weibo also led the way in amassing the most views on each individual brand’s tags, compared to Douyin and Xiaohongshu. Chanel (1,040 million), Dior (360 million), Loewe (170 million), Balenciaga (180 million), Miu Miu (46.3 million), and Alexander McQueen’s official tags (16.4 million) were viewed the most on Weibo, while Louis Vuitton’s (200 million) was viewed the most via Douyin. The impressive metrics demonstrate the power of tags in increasing visibility across China, emphasizing the importance of brands establishing their own official tags to attract audiences. Luxury livestreaming lives on China’s livestreaming frenzy was felt during the PFW season, with brands opting to livestream their catwalks, mostly via Weibo, to tap into local preferences. Among the seven top-performing brands, five opted to host official livestreams on Weibo. Louis Vuttion honed in on its exclusivity by livestreaming via its official website, while Chanel went against the grain and hosted its livestream on WeChat. Among the five brands that streamed on Weibo, Loewe received the most views (35.4 million), followed by Dior (31.4 million), Balenciaga (26.7 million), Alexander McQueen (23.5 million), and Miu Miu (20.1 million). The livestreaming format in China is a lucrative e-commerce tool. But it’s also a popular form of entertainment among netizens; with over 660 million active viewers of general livestreams across China in 2023, according to Gentlemen Marketing Agency, brands are adapting their marketing strategies wisely to suit the mainland’s digital-savvy audience. All data provided by Hylink.

K-pop, livestreams and luxury: dissecting Paris Fashion Week on Chinese social media

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Published March 14, 2024

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K-pop, livestreams and luxury: dissecting Paris Fashion Week on Chinese social media