The Clot x Supreme announcement by founder Edison Chen proves that Instagram’s Twitter-esque app Threads has already become a fixture in brands’ social strategies — that’s unsurprising as the app set a record of 100 million sign-ups in five days after it launched. Fans of both brands in China and the West are keen to see what the collection entails.
Another sought-after collab coming up is Givenchy’s tie-up with Chinese fashion household name with fans, Mr Bags, which is arriving later this month.
This week has seen Li-Ning join hands with its partner, Chinese e-games champion League of Legends, on a clothing and accessories capsule dedicated to summer fun.
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Clot x Supreme#
Date
TBC
Product
TBC
Social context
#ClotxSupreme has been read 275,000 times on Weibo at the time of writing, and there are just 21 posts so far on Instagram with the same hashtag. Clot's Instagram post has attracted 21,601 likes.
Verdict
Adding to the brand’s 20th birthday roll-out of celebratory brand collaborations, Clot founder Edison Chen took to Instagram’s new Twitter-esque Threads platform to say, “If I told u we doing a Clot x Supreme collab ... Would u even believe me?” The reactions indicate it’s going to sell out.
Both Supreme and Clot are arguably streetwear leaders in their respective markets, despite other more niche labels taking over the hypebeast arena in recent years. Because of that, their fan bases cross over a lot — it’s a reliable pairing.
As the brands already share consumers and are in competition, this can be viewed as a larger, more disruptive collaboration than one emanating from contrasting industries. The product offering is yet to be revealed – watch this space.
Givenchy x Mr Bags#
Date
July 25
Product
100 China-exclusive Voyou bags sold via Mr Bags' WeChat mini-program
Social context
Givenchy has not posted anything about the drop on Weibo, whereas Mr Bags (6.68 million fans) has received more than 4,000 likes combined for his three posts about it. The announcement on WeChat received 51,000 views and 232 likes.
Verdict
Givenchy’s social strategy behind this collaboration reflects how it is targeting Mr Bags’ following in China, rather than setting out to impress existing clients.
Mr Bags is one of the mainland’s most prolific fashion bloggers, boasting over 10 million followers across Chinese social platforms. He is known for curating lists of his favorite handbags, so releasing an exclusive collaboration with Givenchy enables the maison to instantly make that list.
Influencer tie-ups can be risky, especially in a market as unforgiving as China’s. But this is not the first time that Mr Bags has designed limited edition designer bags for labels, and his work is extremely focused on fashion, without much association with his personal life. He’s one of the more reliable options for KOL partnerships.
Li Ning x League of Legends#
Date
July 17
Product
Pool Party clothing and accessories collection
Social context
Li-Ning currently has 1.65 million fans on Weibo, where the hashtag
#Liningyingxionglianmengyongchipaiduilianmingxilieshangshi (#李宁英雄联盟泳池派对联名系列上市) has 5.47 million views at the time of writing.
Verdict
Li-Ning is already a partner of the League of Legends professional league, making this an unsurprising tie-up that strengthens the brands' associations.
Thanks to fan culture, which has been turbocharged by social media, merchandise is another leading trend that this feeds into. League of Legends is able to tap into the popularity of some of Li-Ning’s popular silhouettes such as the running sneaker, producing esteemed merchandise that’s streetwear-certified.
Li-Ning, on the other hand, is able to connect with the millions of millennial and Gen Z consumers who play League of Legends in China.