Zhao Liying appointed brand ambassador for Christian Dior in China
PARIS: Parisian fashion powerhouse Christian Dior has appointed actress Zhao Liying, 29, as its brand ambassador for China.
The new appointment came less than five months after the appointment of actress Angelababy, 28, which had unleashed fierce criticism from consumers of high- end cosmetics in China.
In China, Angelabably is very unpopular because of the widespread perception that she had leveraged the fame of her husband, actor Huang Xiaoming, to her own advantage.
However, a Dior spokesperson in China has denied speculations that Zhao is being groomed to replace Angelababy.
She added: “Actually we have two China brand ambassador which (who) are Angelababy and Huang Xuan before Zhao Liying.
“We are happy to welcome Zhao Liying to join Dior China Family.”
A critical post that accompanied Dior’s announcement read: “What is Dior thinking about? Does it only look at the number of celebrities’ zombie fans?
“I am not against Zhao or Angelababy, but their profiles really do not fit the brand!”
However, Brian Buchwald, Cofounder of the New York-based KOL marketing agency Bomoda, interpreted Zhao’s appointment as a further aggressive push made by Dior to appeal to a Chinese millennial audience, regardless of her ability to drive sales.
“A majority of Zhao’s fans are Millennials and Generation Z, who are inspired by her successful rise from a rural girl to an influential actress, and can easily relate to Zhao,” said Buchwald.