Fashion Scoops
Times Three
Coach is partnering with Tmall in China for the third time coming in September, according to market sources.
The Tapestry Inc.-owned brand has had a complicated relationship with Alibaba’s business-to-consumer platform. It made its debut on Tmall in 2011, but exited in less than two months due to a disagreement over a counterfeit crackdown arrangement.
The American handbag maker entered Tmall again in September 2015, but left the platform after a year and revealed it would instead build its own shopping platform on WeChat.
The pressure of growth might have been the behind the decision.
“We are expanding globally with the focus on the Chinese consumer,” said Victor Luis, chief executive officer of Tapestry, adding that business in China once again outperformed for the quarter.
Besides Tmall, there are other options to sell online in China such as JD.com, VIP.com and Secoo, and its WeChat mini-programs features products from a capsule collection for Qixi, the Chinese Valentine’s Day.
Some of the biggest players such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci opted for independent operations in China, while brands like Dior and Fendi experiment within WeChat’s ecosystem.
Coach’s American rival Michael Kors also unveiled plans to enter Tmall in September earlier this month.
Coach could not be reached for comment at press time.
— TIANWEI ZHANG
New Campus
Van Cleef & Arpels will open a Hong Kong branch of L’Ecole, its school of jewelry arts, the first permanent campus outside of Paris. The venture will be in developer Adrian Cheng’s massive new Victoria Dockside art and design district along the city’s Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront.
Spread over two floors inside the K11 Musea section of the project, L’Ecole will comprise 7,000 square feet with exhibition space, a library, five classrooms and workshops, and a large terrace overlooking Victoria Harbor.
Van Cleef has operated a Paris campus since 2012, but L’Ecole has also traveled the world, offering courses and lectures in Tokyo, New York, Dubai and Hong Kong.
“We had that vision to take it abroad in this nomadic version, and Hong Kong was one of the first cities we came to and we immediately had a very high level of response,” Van Cleef chief executive officer Nicolas Bos told WWD.
The brand expects a permanent staff in Hong Kong of about 10, including teachers from Paris at least for the first year or two, in addition to local experts. The firm tapped award-winning Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, with whom they collaborated on a 2017 Kyoto exhibition, to design the space.
They found Hong Kong participants making repeat visits each time, and realized that the interest in L’Ecole’s courses was sustained, rather than just a bump due to curiosity. That led to a decision to search for the right location for a permanent school, although that was not the original plan.
“Due to that response, we felt it could be something very, very strong for the whole project to have this sister location that would be really for Hong Kong and also could be — we’ll see in the future — a kind of base of operations for us for Asia,” Bos said.
He added that the location made sense for the school not only because of its accessibility, but because it’s one of very few projects in the world that incorporates cultural and commercial elements at a very high level.
Bos declined to disclose the costs for the L’Ecole Hong Kong project, but said the region has shown tremendous growth over the last ten to 20 years, and they continue to see great potential for development.
“Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China, [South] Korea, Taiwan and Singapore have become major markets for international luxury, for fine jewelry, for haute couture, and they’ve been growing at a higher rate than Europe or historical markets,” he said.
He added that customers in these markets now have the same level of sophistication and taste as those in more mature markets.
“From a brand perspective, for a house like Van Cleef & Arpels, which is very much about quality and expertise, it’s quite a satisfaction that we engage in a quality of conversation with clients today in Asia that’s exactly the same level as what we have in New York or in Geneva where we’ve been present for decades. It’s not a new market anymore, it’s not a different market anymore in terms of the expectations of the clients.” — BENNETT MARCUS
Building Beauty
London Beauty Week will make its debut in Covent Garden in September with a series of masterclasses, workshops and panel discussions on sustainability and the state of the industry. A competition titled “Britain’s
Next Big Brand” will also launch during the week where start-up companies will compete for the chance to secure mentorship.
The showcase is a partnership between Covent Garden and the British Beauty Council and will be held from Sept. 11 to 15. It will coincide with London Fashion
Week, which runs from Sept. 13 to 17.
“Covent Garden has London’s biggest selection of global beauty brands per square meter, so this is an opportunity to celebrate and look at new innovations in this increasingly valuable industry as it continues to grow,” said Michelle McGrath, director of Covent Garden.
The area is home to a number of brands including Charlotte Tilbury, Tom Ford, Jo Malone and Deciem. Boots also unveiled its new beauty concept store there last month.
“Beauty is a buoyant sector and contributes significantly to the U.K. economy. As a growing industry that is a force for good, we are focused on supporting brands and creating jobs via our three pillars: reputation, education and innovation,” said Millie Kendall, ceo of the British Beauty Council.
Earlier this month, the council released its first report ‘The
Value of Beauty,” which quantifies and classifies the value of the industry to the U.K. economy.
In 2018, the beauty sector generated 27.2 billion pounds in consumer spending, contributed to 28.4 billion pounds to the nation’s gross domestic product and supported 590,500 jobs. It also showed an upward trend in high-steet retail, with an increase of 1,394 beauty service spaces over the past year, however, retailers of beauty products did decline by 169. — FIONA MA
Going Platinum
Celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger has been named official ambassador for Platinum Guild International USA, a marketing board that supports the platinum jewelry industry.
Erlanger — stylist for Meryl Streep, Lupita Nyong’o, Shailene Woodley and Diane Kruger and who last year released a book dedicated to accessorizing
— will also be the face of the guild’s Platinum Born jewelry collection. She will make personal appearances and will feature in marketing materials related to the promotion of platinum jewelry.
“I’m passionate about accessorizing, I wrote a book last year about the topic,” Erlanger said of her decision to sign on with the platinum guild. “I think jewelry and accessories really represent your personality and jewelry is such a key component of self-expression and transforming one’s style.”
Erlanger recently became engaged, an occasion that she and her new fiancé marked with — of course — a platinum ring.
“Micaela is known for providing a fresh perspective on styling and turning her clients into fashion icons, so she will undoubtedly inspire women everywhere with her accessory advice. Plus, she has an authentic passion for the metal platinum, so it is a perfect pairing,” said Platinum Guild International USA president, Jenny Luker.