With a record-breaking grand womenswear show, LV told two stories | LV | Shanghai | 2022 Spring and Summer Collection_Sina Fashion_Sina

Reprinted from: WWD International Fashion News

Original title: Special | With a record-breaking grand womenswear show, LV told the story of “Betting on China” and “Building High Fashion”

In Paris Fashion Week last month, Louis Vuitton held a grand and gorgeous “dance party” at the Louvre. This 2022 spring and summer womenswear collection not only allows people to once again see the strong style imprint and profound cultural connotation of Louis Vuitton’s high-end ready-to-wear women under the control of Nicolas Ghesquière, but also makes people realize that the once-familiar luxury brand of leather goods is led by Nicolas Ghesquière. Next, in the pace of each season, the advanced transformation to a high-end fashion house brand has been completed.

On the 17th of this month, this new series traveled across the oceans to Shanghai, China, and “landed” at the ship repair wharf along the Huangpu River. Louis Vuitton said that he chose Shanghai’s ship repair terminal because the Huangpu River symbolizes Shanghai’s rich and long shipping trade history, which fits well with the brand’s travel culture. In addition, Nicolas Ghesquière also designed 19 sets of new models and two exclusive handbags for this Shanghai show. This shows the brand and Nicolas Ghesquière’s emphasis on the Chinese market.

Louis Vuitton lit up the brand’s logo on the Bund and Lujiazui Financial Center’s many iconic buildings, creating momentum for this Shanghai show

On the day of the big show, brand spokespersons Liu Yifei and Zhou Dongyu, as well as brand ambassadors Zhu Yilong, Gong Jun, Di Lieba, Zhong Chuxi, Jin Chen, etc. were all present.

Before the writing of this article, the total number of live video broadcasts of the show on Weibo, Douyin, WeChat video account and other platforms was up to 160 million times, and the amount of discussion on the two topics #LV春夏22女子秀# and #LV大秀# was as high as 8.1 Billion, creating a new record in the industry.

　　

　　

　

In the design of the show scene of the Shanghai show, the brand reproduced the grandeur of the Paris show. Nicolas Ghesquière, the artistic director of women’s clothing, continued to design the second chapter of the Paris fashion show, the Shanghai show, and turned the show into a luxurious ball scene, recreating the Paris show venue-the Louvre Richelieu channel (Passage Richelieu) classic and gorgeous, and the charming light radiated by the three rows of antique crystal chandeliers above the passage is also reflected in the Shanghai show. The guests on the scene feel like they are in a time dance party and experience together The surreal intersection of “modern” and “classic” in real space.

　　

This series is inspired by Nicolas Ghesquière’s production of HBO series Irma Vep directed by French director Olivier Assayas (adapted from the 1996 movie of the same name starring Maggie Cheung). According to HBO, this series shows the themes of fiction and reality, tricks and reality, art and life boundaries.

　

And this undoubtedly has a strong appeal to Nicolas Ghesquière. Since becoming the artistic director of the brand’s women’s clothing in 2013, Nicolas Ghesquière has been integrating inspirational elements of the past, present and future in his fashion design. In looking back to the golden age and conceiving futurism, Nicolas Ghesquière has always been able to find To a good balance point. Therefore, in the series, the beaded decorations, wide skirt silhouettes, tunic tops, and double-breasted tops derived from men’s morning dresses correspond to the classical and gorgeous fashion styles from the 18th to the early 20th century; and the denim clothes inspired by the 1990s The flight jacket reflects the present; the mix and match of open-toed boots, exaggerated glasses, and polka dot tulle are the concrete manifestations of the retro future style.

　

The 43 sets of high-end custom fashion styles on the Paris show also appeared in the Shanghai show this time. In addition, Nicolas Ghesquière also designed 19 sets of new styles for the Shanghai big show, of which 4 sets of styles displayed the “scarf print” composed of the iconic gold chain and leather belt. In addition, Nicolas Ghesquière also created three exclusive handbags for the Shanghai Big Show, among which Dauphine handbags and Petite Malle handbags are made by laser cutting leather craftsmanship.

　

Although this is not the first time that Louis Vuitton has launched limited products or new designs for a fashion show held in a certain city, for example, in the 2018 early spring vacation series held at the Miho Art Museum in Kyoto, Louis Vuitton has launched a series of Designer Yamamoto Kansai’s exclusive series of products, but the “complete re-creation” of the Paris show in the Shanghai show and the launch of up to 19 sets of new styles are enough to see what the brand has placed on this big show. High hopes and attention to the Chinese market.

Louis Vuitton said that the women’s wear show held in Shanghai is not only to pay tribute to the timeless design, but also to review the brand’s long-term development in the Chinese market, and also demonstrates the determination to continue the 30-year history of cooperation. Michael Burke, Chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton, said in an exclusive interview with WWD before the start of the Shanghai show: “This is a new vision for our future fashion communication methods.”

Louis Vuitton’s choice to hold the 2022 Spring/Summer Women’s Collection show in Shanghai has also sent a clear signal to the market that the Chinese market is becoming more and more important.

After the outbreak of the epidemic, the weight of various regional markets in the global luxury goods consumption pattern has been re-shuffled. The Chinese mainland market, which has taken the lead in recovering, has become the world’s largest and fastest-growing luxury goods consumer market. one. Betting and continuing to deepen the Chinese market has become a common consensus among luxury brands.

On October 25th, Tencent Advertising and the Boston Consulting Group released the “Grasp the Changes and Unchanging of Generations: An Insight Report on Digital Trends in China’s Luxury Market (2021 Edition)”, which pointed out that with the further improvement of consumer awareness As well as the continuous upgrading of the consumption environment, the scale of the luxury goods market in mainland China is expected to continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 23%-25% on the basis of last year’s 27% growth, and reach 630 billion yuan in 2022. Market size.

At the same time, the report also pointed out that young people born in the 90s and 95s are becoming the backbone of luxury consumption. At present, the post-90s consumers account for 50% of the luxury consumer market, and the market contribution has reached 46%. In the luxury goods market, 25% is post-95, half of the annual consumption power of new customers is more than 50,000 yuan, which further shows that the generational effect of the luxury goods consumer market in mainland China is entering a key turning point.

The two characteristics of the younger consumers of the Chinese luxury goods market and the market is still on the rise are the underlying logic for attracting luxury brands to continue to bet on the Chinese market. Especially for head brands like Louis Vuitton, young consumers have made them the main source of increment.

From the perspective of the third-quarter financial report released by Louis Vuitton’s parent company LVMH Group last month, the Asia-Pacific market dominated by China (except Japan) once again continues to lead the market in various regions. Financial report data shows that in the first nine months of this year, the Asian market except Japan has become the largest source of revenue for the LVMH Group. Its sales have increased by 34% compared with the same period in 2020 and accounted for 36% of the group’s revenue, of which the Chinese market contributed Up to 26% of income.

The ability to maintain growth in the Chinese market after the epidemic has something to do with Louis Vuitton’s long-term development approach and quick response to changes.

As early as 2018, Louis Vuitton launched e-commerce services on its official website in China. In the e-commerce channel of the official website, consumers can purchase a wealth of products that are consistent with offline stores. In 2019, Louis Vuitton launched its WeChat applet. In this small program, the brand not only provides a wealth of interactive items, such as a limited series of wallpapers and emoji downloads, but also includes men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, accessories, bags, shoes, and travel homes and hard cases. Jump to the mini program purchase service on the new page.

　　

In the early stages of the epidemic, official website e-commerce and WeChat mini-programs replaced physical stores and became the most important sales channels for the brand. This seemingly “advanced” move by Louis Vuitton also proved the necessity of its implementation. And forward-looking.

In addition, in order to broaden communication channels and reach more potential young consumers, Louis Vuitton also settled in Douyin and Xiaohongshu last year, forming a social media communication integrating WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu. matrix. In this matrix, Louis Vuitton will not only simultaneously broadcast the new season conference globally, but also release a series of local original content aimed at spreading brand culture, such as product and style analysis.

　　

Thanks to these advanced layouts, Louis Vuitton will not cut off the interaction with Chinese consumers due to the stagnation of offline marketing activities in the early stage of the epidemic. On the contrary, in these online channel platforms, Louis Vuitton has opened up a whole new situation. The accumulation of this kind in the field of digitization also promoted its subsequent rapid step into the trend of resuming growth.

Although in terms of business nature, Louis Vuitton’s various digital initiatives in the Chinese market are based on considerations of commercial interests, but in other market actions, we can also see the perceptual side of a luxury brand. Its interaction with consumers is no longer limited to the purpose of promotion and marketing, but more about the dissemination of corporate culture and the establishment of corporate image.

In October last year, Louis Vuitton announced the first stop of the “Seeing LV” global touring exhibition in Wuhan. In the early stage of the epidemic, Wuhan was under tremendous pressure as the “eye of the storm” in the development of the global epidemic. Therefore, Louis Vuitton chose Wuhan as the first stop of the global tour exhibition, also because it hoped to use this event to review the brand’s 160-year history. To participate in the rebirth process of this city, and to establish a stronger emotional connection with the Chinese market that transcends commercial interests. On the other hand, Wuhan is also an important luxury consumer market in Central China, with great potential for development. Therefore, Louis Vuitton’s exhibition here is also in line with its long-term development philosophy.

　　

Before the opening of this exhibition, Louis Vuitton also held the 2021 spring and summer menswear collection fashion show in Shanghai in August. This first luxury brand fashion show with live audiences after the normalization of China’s epidemic prevention and control not only sent a strong signal to the world to restart the fashion order, but also greatly boosted the confidence of Chinese consumers. On the other hand, the holding of the first fashion show in China after the epidemic also reflects the fact that the balance of the global luxury consumer market has begun to tilt towards China.

Counting the different projects and activities of Louis Vuitton in China after the epidemic, it is not difficult to find that its localized original thinking has been running through. Whether it is interacting with netizens on social media, or choosing to hold an exhibition in Wuhan, Shanghai, or producing promotional materials for the Chinese market, the Louis Vuitton China team plays an important role in this.

In a conversation with WWD, Michael Burke pointed out that when brands hold events in different regions and cities, they will entrust regional teams to conduct localization planning based on local market conditions, “including location selection, finding models, and conceiving hairstyles and makeup.” He went on to say: “This requires the local team to maintain close cooperation with the Paris headquarters, and be at the same level, so as to ensure the unity of the brand narrative. We have a lot of creative talents in China, and they all Can plan and execute these international-level marketing activities and fashion shows in a localized manner.”

Therefore, we can also understand that Louis Vuitton’s marketing activities in China will not “lazyly” copy the form of the headquarters, but will add more creative elements according to the local situation, so that it can be localized with Chinese consumers. communication. To some extent, Louis Vuitton dared to do so because it has confidence in the Chinese market and consumers, and its vision of establishing closer ties with the Chinese market will also help it further explore this incremental market.

Louis Vuitton can sit firmly in the top spot of luxury brands in the Chinese market and even the global market, and even become a luxury symbol because it has already built a sufficiently high wall. Since its establishment in 1854, Louis Vuitton has developed into a comprehensive luxury brand that includes luggage, men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, accessories, watches, jewelry and perfumes.

Although Louis Vuitton, which started with leather goods, did not have the foundation of ready-to-wear fashion or high-level customization, after the launch of the ready-to-wear collection in 1994, it began to expand in the field of ready-to-wear business. If Marc Jacobs is the founder of Louis Vuitton’s ready-to-wear business, Nicolas Ghesquière, who succeeded Marc Jacobs as the artistic director of women’s clothing in 2013, is the realization of the brand vision of Louis Vuitton’s transformation from a luxury leather goods brand to a high-end fashion house brand. Promoter.

　　

When people ask the question “What should Louis Vuitton’s women’s clothing look like?”, the answer given by Nicolas Ghesquière may be the “art of travel” loyal to the brand. As mentioned above, he is a designer who is good at integrating inspirational elements of the past, present and future. His narrative style in ready-to-wear design is essentially in line with Louis Vuitton’s travel spirit. “Traveling back to the past and imagining the future” has something in common with the brand’s culture that emphasizes the charm of travel.

　　

Nicolas Ghesquière has led Louis Vuitton ready-to-wear clothing to penetrate the global market more widely, and has already deeply tied his personal style with the latter’s image of women’s ready-to-wear clothing. As a designer trained in the Paris haute couture system, Nicolas Ghesquière has helped Louis Vuitton transform into a fashion house brand with the spirit of high fashion.

It is undeniable that leather goods and bags are still the core source of income for Louis Vuitton, but Nicolas Ghesquière’s high-end women’s ready-to-wear products have established a clearer brand image for Louis Vuitton. At the same time, he also launched a number of luggage works based on the brand’s classic old flower designs and creative new bags. While taking care of traditional customers, Nicolas Ghesquière has not forgotten to inject more new ideas into the brand, so as to maintain the attractiveness and freshness of the young generation.

In business, Nicolas Ghesquière proved his commercial transformation ability through the explosive effect of core leather products, and in ready-to-wear, Nicolas Ghesquière proved the rationality of Louis Vuitton in telling high fashion stories.

In an increasingly complex and ever-changing market environment, Louis Vuitton knows that leather goods alone cannot maintain its position as a benchmark in the industry. Only through continuous deep cultivation of different products and different fields can it build its own walls. Relying on a single product or only telling classic stories is currently unable to provide sufficient development potential for a luxury brand that has an absolute right to speak in the market. This also means that Louis Vuitton must continue to strengthen its classic stories and new fashions. Create dreams to empower the next stage of development.

With this Shanghai show as the dividing line, the development of Louis Vuitton in the Chinese market will enter a new 30-year history. In the world, it will also maintain its vision and keenness. The wall built by Louis Vuitton will help it to cope with the next uncertainty and continue to rise. WWD