Week In Review: March 4-9

Jing Daily’s Top Posts for the Week In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of March 4-9: Cartier Gives Nod To China, BRICs In “L’Odyssée” Short Film Making its small-screen debut this weekend, Cartier’s new three and a half minute advertisement/short film “L’Odyssée de Cartier” is the French luxury brand’s attempt to not only dazzle established (and jaded) customers, but also to introduce its history and heritage to a new generation of consumers in emerging markets. Tracing some of the key points in Cartier’s 165-year history, the film follows the brand’s historical symbol, a panther, as it traverses the globe and comes across a variety of symbolic characters on its journey. DSQUARED2 Launches Chinese E-Commerce “Flagship” Coming off a year in which major luxury and fashion brands continued to build new and increasingly lavish brick-and-mortar stores throughout China, it appears that 2012 could be the year of the online flagship in China. Looking to take advantage of China’s booming (but crowded) e-commerce market, which is expected to surpass the US by 2015 to become the world’s largest, brands like Armani and Coach have launched their own official e-commerce initiatives, while multi-brand online retailer Net-A-Porter recently announced plans to launch Outnet.cn for the China market. Meanwhile, the number of domestic Chinese e-commerce platforms duking it out at the higher end of the market continues to grow, led by the likes of Taobao’s T-Mall, VIPStore, and Xiu.com. Though the luxury e-commerce market in China still lacks a clear leader, the Italian global player Yoox has — since its China debut in the fall of 2010 — been among the most successful in launching individual stores for brands operating in (or eyeing) China, as well as adding local features for the market via thecorner.com.cn. Mandarin Oriental Taps Facebook Fans, Hong Kong Foodies To Choose New Menu With the luxury hotel marketplace becoming more crowded in cities like Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing over the past three years, several five-star properties have turned to social media to interact with potential guests and encourage more two-way communication. Recently, Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental kicked off a marketing campaign harnessing the power of its more than 11,000 Facebook fans, encouraging them to vote on a new menu at the hotel’s Café Causette. As part of its promotion of Executive Chef Uwe Opocensky’s mini-pulled burgers at Café Causette, the hotel asked guests to vote on the burger variety they’d like to see added to the menu on a permanent basis, helping the restaurant gauge local interest in different ingredients. As voting continues, the hotel is offering a tasting menu of five mini burgers from March 12-25, priced at HK$88 (US$11.33) between 7:00-9:30 PM. Unknown But Ubiquitous, China’s Fashion Elite Take Place At Paris Fashion Week Names like Huo Siyan, Li Xiaolu, Wan Baobao and Lin Peng might not rank among the best-known in the global fashion industry, but the presence of these women and other members of the Chinese style elite at this year’s Paris Fashion Week indicates their country’s importance to major brands and designers. In recent years, Chinese celebrities, designers, bloggers and photographers have gradually become ubiquitous at Fashion Week not only in Paris but also in London, Milan and New York, with most staying off the radar while others — such as actress Fan Bingbing — opting to make a splash with stand-out designs. But Paris Fashion Week is becoming more than a way for Chinese celebs to hobnob with the European fashion set, or appear to, on Weibo, it’s becoming a critical way for brands to actively market themselves to China. Chinese Artist Zhang Huan Designs “Confucian” Label For Italian Winemaker Two months after wrapping his solo show “Q Confucius” at Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum, the Chinese contemporary artist Zhang Huan will soon exhibit his work not at a gallery but on bottles of Italian wine. According to WineSino (Chinese), the Tuscan winery Tenuta Dell ‘Ornellaia has invited Zhang to create a special edition of labels for its Vendemmia d’Artista 2009 wine. Featuring a Confucian theme similar to “Q Confucius,” Zhang’s collaboration with Tenuta Dell ‘Ornellaia goes beyond only labels, and includes a specially made steel sculpture of the ancient Chinese philosopher, which the winery has placed in its courtyard. In all, Zhang’s limited-edition partnership with Tenuta Dell ‘Ornellaia features a series of 100 750 mL bottles and 10 one-liter bottles, along with a single 9-liter bottle onto which a one-of-a-kind oval-shaped portrait of Confucius is fixed. Since its first release in 2009, Tenuta Dell ‘Ornellaia’s Vendemmia d’Artista wine series has worked with artists in an attempt to hearken back to the Renaissance tradition of cultural sponsorship. Tweet Follow @JingDaily

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Week In Review: March 4-9