Brands Think Beyond Traditions For Year of the Dragon
Whether the cultural connotation of this festival will lead to a surge in consumption remains to be seen.
For the Year of the Dragon — the only imaginary animal in the 12 Chinese zodiac signs, as well as one of the most auspicious creatures — luxury and fashion brands let their imagination roam free with holiday collections that reflect brand value and showcase localization know-how.
"From the consumer's point of view, Chinese New Year remains the most important milestone of the year. It provides an opportunity to self-reward or invest in yourself before the family gathering, in addition to gifting," said
Pablo Mauron, partner and managing director of China at DLG, a Shanghai-based luxury digital marketing agency.
"Based on our research, luxury brands haven't changed their approach to this milestone in 2024, especially considering that this is the Year of the Dragon, symbolizing good fortune and greatness," Mauron said. "The question beyond the cultural connotation of this festival is whether there will be a surge in consumption in 2024."
With a less-than-rosy economic outlook, brands are taking to the Year of the Dragon with collections and campaigns that aim to surpass customer expectations. This year, the Chinese New Year will land on Feb. 10.
Referencing the dragon symbolism, Louis Vuitton's Vivienne mascot is seen riding the clouds on a dragon in a series of videos, which came out as whimsical gifting objects. Five larger-than-life dragon installations were also set up at pop-ups and flagships in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.
At Gucci, with the fire-breathing beast already a definitive house code, it arrived in a festive capsule collection highlighting the Dionysus handbag. The brand also tapped its global brand ambassador and actress Ni Ni and Taiwanese actor Chang Chen, marking a reunion of the two protagonists of the Chinese television series “Love and Destiny.”
Meanwhile, brands' extravagant retail displays at key flagship locations aim to generate more "key opinion consumer" exposure on Chinese social media.
"These installations in stores have been proven to be the most efficient strategy to achieve a high level of word- of-mouth through striking visual presentations and interactive experiences, especially on platforms like Xiaohongshu," Mauron explained.
Channeling the dragon's feisty and bold energy, luxury labels have doubled down on Lunar New Year capsules that feature cartoon or anime characters.
At Dior, men's creative director Kim Jones worked with Otani Workshop, a Japanese contemporary artist, to create a bubbly dragon character that adorned sweaters, scarfs and sneakers.
Fendi womenswear, also overseen by Jones, brought out Pokémon's beloved characters, including Dratini, Dragonair and Dragonite, for its dragon year Fendi x Frgmt x Pokémon three-way collaboration, which celebrated with traveling pop-ups in London, Chengdu and Tokyo, and a Pokemon Go virtual outfit release.
Mulberry's collaboration with Mira Mikati, Marni's dragon doodles, and Swatch's five-watch collection also presented zany products aimed at tapping into a more Gen Z-friendly mentality.
So far, Chinese netizens haven't condemned brands for their dinosaur-like dragon interpretations, but Leaf
Greener, partner at LiamLeaf, a brand-building agency, said companies could take a more cautious stance.
"For example, Chinese women don't want to be seen wearing a dinosaur, because 'dinosaur girl' contains negative connotations," Greener said.
Steering clear of sensitive issues, designer brands Self-Portrait and Samuel Gui Yang celebrated heritage and rituals with dedicated collections that could spark another wave of Chinese old-money aesthetics.
This year, Samuel Gui Yang was tapped by Adidas to work on a Lunar New Year collection that celebrated both movement and festival dressing. "The prompt from Adidas was 'dragon dance,' a ritual performed during the spring festival," said Guidong Yang, half of the designer label Samuel Gui Yang.
"The powerful movements seen in another traditional dance ritual, the Yingge Dance of my hometown, the 'be like water' of Bruce Lee and the confidence of China's nascent vogueing community were all moments that appeared on my mood board. They had unlikely commonalities and empowered me to formulate a present-day expression of cultural lineage," Yang said.
Continuing its exploration of sisterhood and new traditions, Self-Portrait tapped famed actress Carina Lau and model Ling Tan as leading characters in a campaign lensed by longtime brand collaborator Leslie Zhang.
"Having Carina Lau and Ling Tan, acting and fashion icons I have long respected, is a dream come true," enthused Han Chong, Self-Portrait's founder and creative director. "A campaign [that] honors the tradition of togetherness and family feels incredibly special and symbolic to what we set out to achieve with our brand."
For Greener, Loewe and Bottega Veneta came up with the most thoughtful Lunar New Year campaigns.
With craftsmanship in mind, Loewe ventured into the unfamiliar territory of Chinese fine jewelry with jade pendants that come in small editions of five. "The pricing could be more ambitious, but the idea of letting go of the dragon figure is freeing. Bravo," Greener said.
At Bottega, a short film showing different characters, including brand ambassador Shu Qi, welcoming a new dawn in various panoramic settings "helped the brand break free of the stereotypical Chinese
New Year narrative," Greener said.
"Bottega Veneta also used the opportunity to promote its homeware collection," said Greener, who consulted with Bottega on previous projects. "A personal favorite has to be the dragon spine shoulder bag."
Tapping deeper into emotional topics, the Chinese fashion designer platform and retailer Labelhood created a photography series that explored family history.
Through the lens of Chinese landscape photographer Ma Hongjie, the stories of makeup artist Valentina Li, fashion editor Chuyu Wang and ancient Great Wall preserver Yang Na unfold as Ma organizes the families' belongings, including furniture and memorabilia, out in the open.
The photo series and a special installation will travel to Harrods this month.
With a similar theme in mind,
Balenciaga celebrated the topic of togetherness by naming its new year series "Paris Is Home," which is phonetically the same as Balenciaga in Chinese. Friends of the House, including Eliza Douglas, Chen Zhuo and Ming Xi are dressed in doodle logo marks resembling a flying dragon.
As Chengdu becomes an increasingly important luxury hub in China, the city served as the backdrop for holiday campaigns for Rimowa and Burberry.
Fresh-faced brand ambassadors Tang Wei and Chen Kun, and models He Cong, Wang Xiangguo and Alex Schlab were captured by Ryan McGinley as they roam the streets lined with weeping willows, covered in vibrant hues of red checks, rose and houndstooth.
With a campaign that depicts a family trip through Chengdu's diverse landscapes, Rimowa highlighted its luggage and Champagne case, carrying a family on an adventure through Chengdu's diverse landscapes, including The East Gate of Old Chengdu, Dujiangyan's Anlan Suspension Bridge, the snowy mountains of western Chengdu and Honghaizi Lake.
While the majority of brands are fully committing to the once-a-year lucrative gifting opportunity that is Chinese New Year, top-tier players like Chanel and Hermès continue to remain apart. Given their continued growth in China, their focus on one brand narrative and retail expansion seems to be working.
Chanel this week unveiled a sizable temporary store in IFS Chengdu while its original location within the popular shopping complex undergoes renovation. Hermès last week returned to Wuxi, a lower-tier city in Jiangsu province, with a two-floor store inside Hang Lung Properties' Center 66 after a 10-year hiatus. Both locations generated long queues as observed by WWD on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.