Spanning fast-fashion, luxury, and streetwear, this week’s Chinese brand collaboration spotlights cover a range of brand strategies.
Firstly, there’s Clot and Nike’s final drop, which has recently taken over the news feeds of sneakerheads and fashion fanatics alike, with Edison Chen publishing a sneak preview of the upcoming “What the Clot” Dunk Low — the finale of a partnership that has gripped the resale market since 2006.
In other news, jumping on the KOL-collab wave, high-street brand Lavaland is releasing a collection with Rap of China star Jennifer (Zhou Ziqian). Also this week, Staffonly’s opened a pop-up to promote its League of Legends collection.
For our verdict on these brand collaborations, read on. Subscribe here to receive these updates straight to your inbox every Tuesday via the Collabs & Drops newsletter.
Clot x Nike#
Date
August 2023
Product
“What the Clot” Dunk Low sneaker
Social context
On Weibo, #ClotxNike# has amassed 9.73 million reads, which spiked at 293,000 on June 21.
Verdict
Since 2006, Clot and Nike have frequently come together on cult sneaker drops. One of the pair’s earliest, the Air Max 1 Kiss of Death, is on StockX at a 900% markup — they retailed for $100 in 2006, yet now sell for over $1,000.
And the upcoming “What the Clot” drop may generate the reselling power, seeing as it’s reportedly to be the final co-release from the two streetwear leaders. Industry sources say the Edison Chen and Kevin Poon-owned brand is moving onto a new partnership with Adidas, though that’s not confirmed.
Over almost two decades, Clot and Nike have been an exemplary brand collab-marriage, connecting East and West in streetwear design. This upcoming drop wraps up the partnership how it started, from the Clot signature silk fabric to the popular Nike Dunk Low silhouette.
Lavaland x Zhou Ziqian (Jennifer)#
Date
July 6
Product
“I’m Not Your Plan B” clothing collection of T-shirts, crop tops, skirts and more.
Social context
Lavaland has 427 fans on Weibo and Jennifer has 2.5 million. On Xiaohongshu, the brand has 2,040, reflecting its Gen Z consumer base, and the hashtag #Lavaland has 537,900 reads.
Verdict
Creatively conceptualizing the collection drawing on rapper Zhou Ziqian’s persona, the collection of T-shirts, crop tops, skirts, and more reflects a confident female attitude merged with the trending Y2K style of the moment.
Seeing as Zhou rose to fame through TV show Rap of China in 2020, she doubles as both a music artist and TV personality — the perfect match for a clothing collection that wants to capitalize on influencer-fandom.
KOL Zou xiang shi jie de peng mei li’s (走向世界的彭美丽) brand Lavaland has a miniscule online following in comparison to the star's, which explains why she has 11,000 likes on the Weibo post promoting the collection, compared to Lavaland’s three likes on the video about the collaboration. It’s an example of how brands can borrow reach from celebrities to gain exposure and make sales.
League of Legends x Staffonly#
Date
June 20 to July 11
Product
"Player Uniform" collection interactive “Expansion Player Club” pop-up event.
Social context
League of Legends has 15.8 million followers on Weibo, and Staffonly has 2,429.
Verdict
The collaboration was launched in March this year during Shanghai Fashion Week. It’s the first time an independent designer has worked with the most-played video game in the world, League of Legends (LoL).
The project provided LoL with access to Shanghai Fashion Week, and Staffonly with extended exposure to the mainstream public, while leveraging the cultural capital of a household name.
To promote the launch, the two brands have curated the “Expansion Player Club” experience. The interactive gaming pop-up invites consumers to play on a device to complete various missions. The digital game merges with physical reality as consumers can create their own DIY pieces in a workshop and enjoy co-branded refreshments.
Gamified shopping has been having a heyday in China for a while now – this collaboration is an opportunity for Staffonly to tap that retail trend, and meet the desires of high-tech Chinese shoppers.