The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Dior will bring Maria Grazia Chiuri’s pre-fall 2021 collection on tour, with its runway debut to be staged in Shanghai on April 12.
The date coincides with Shanghai Fashion Week, which runs from April 6 to 13. As with its October 2020 edition, China’s largest fashion week is running entirely offline, with catwalk shows, trade shows and showrooms proceeding as they did pre-Covid.
Dior’s colourful Pre-Fall collection was originally unveiled last December with a video presentation. The French luxury giant has regularly staged shows in Shanghai in recent years, often reshowing its haute couture collections here after their initial Parisian outings.
These shows have regularly featured additional looks designed specifically with the China market in mind, but it’s still unclear as to whether the upcoming show will also feature any new looks. A spokesperson for Dior told BoF there were no further details available at this time.
The French beauty giant’s two latest deals are part of a wider M&A push by global players to capture a larger slice of the China market, targeting buzzy high-end brands that offer products with distinctive Chinese elements.
Post-Covid spend by US tourists in Europe has surged past 2019 levels. Chinese travellers, by contrast, have largely favoured domestic and regional destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
While travel to Europe remains muted, Chinese shoppers are flocking to Singapore, Thailand and other Southeast Asian destinations where fashion retailers are hoping Lunar New Year marketing investments will pay off.
Local fashion designers experimenting with puffers and other down clothing have scored collaborations with outerwear companies like Moncler and attracted the attention of prominent international retailers like H.Lorenzo.