Shanghai Week was probably the first fashion week to be held entirely
digitally. Initially cancelled after the coronavirus outbreak in China, the
event took place on Tmall, the online marketplace of Chinese e-commerce
giant Alibaba. Born out of necessity, the ‘fashion week on the cloud’ fused
catwalk shows with entertaining teleshopping, and above all demonstrated
how Alibaba’s livestream-shopping works.
You didn’t have to be an influencer, a journalist or other VIP to gain
access to Shanghai Fashion Week. You just needed a command of the Chinese
language and a customer account on Tmall to see the shows of more than 150
designers and brands. US fashion house Diane von Furstenberg presented her
collection, along with fast fashion retailer H&M and up-and-coming Chinese
designers like Shushu Tong and Angel Chen.
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Image: Screenshot Tmall Shanghai Fashion
Week
At a time when shows and trade fairs are being cancelled and postponed –
from the fashion weeks in Paris and Milan to Pitti Uomo – Shanghai Fashion
Week offered a digital test case for one of the most physical and sacred
fashion rituals. But above all, the digital shows which ran from March 26
to 30 demonstrated how fashion can be brought closer to consumers.
“For this edition of Shanghai Fashion Week, we have integrated some of
Alibaba’s most-advanced technologies to bring a new and elevated experience
to consumers,” said Mike Hu, head of Tmall Fashion, Luxury and Fast Moving
Consumer goods, in a story on Alibaba’s website.
The art of livestreaming
Visitors to the Shanghai Fashion Week on Tmall were offered an exciting
twist on traditional physical shows, getting to see different designers and
brands presenting their collections in a variety of ‘rooms’. Customers
could switch between runway shows at any time or watch recordings of the
livestreams of past shows. And it wasn’t just the collections presented in
a livestream, models and presenters also commented in real time ‘Which
materials were used to increase the comfort of the wearer?’ and ‘Which body
shapes would the items suit?’ Viewers could also use the comment section to
ask questions that would be picked up by the presenters.
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icon with ‘i’ for more information.
Image: Screenshot Tmall Shanghai Fashion
Week
While watching the show on their mobile phones, customers could also see
items from the collection that were immediately available for purchase. For
some, the multitude of interactive experiences of Shanghai Fashion Week
could have initially felt overwhelming. Maybe it’s helpful to know that a
certain ‘buzz’ – paired with a fair amount of noise and an abundance of
colours – is often regarded as a must-have to boost sales in China;
something has to be constantly going on to make for a good atmosphere.
This also helps to explain why livestreaming in e-commerce has already
gained a strong foothold in China. The country had the largest
livestreaming market in the world in 2018 with a value of 4.4 billion
US-dollars, according to a report by consultancy firm Deloitte. The study
estimated the number of livestream viewers in China would reach 456 million
in the same year.
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Move your mouse over the images and click on the round yellow
icon with the ‘i’ for more information. Click on the arrows to navigate
through the slideshow.
Image: Screenshot Tmall Shanghai Fashion
Week
Rewriting the rules of e-commerce
In China, fashion and beauty are still the most important livestreaming
categories, while almost every product is suitable for sale via video
streams, according to Alibaba. Tmall generated more than 100 billion yuan
(15.1 billion US dollars) in gross merchandise volume in 2018 through
livestreaming sessions. This represented an increase of almost 400 percent
over the previous year, according to Alibaba’s website.
The internet retailer is no stranger to the fashion world either.
Alibaba promotes emerging designers from China regularly and has brought
Chinese talent to fashion weeks like Milan and New York in the past. Many
of these designers showed at the digital Shanghai Fashion Week – some also
operate their own shop on Tmall.
In Europe, it would be almost inconceivable that up-and-coming high
fashion brands would sell on Amazon. But the market in China works
differently. Western luxury brands like Chanel and Prada have long
recognized the importance of Tmall and opened their flagship stores there
as China continues to rewrite the rules of e-commerce.
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Image: Screenshot Tmall Shanghai Fashion
Week
Ms. Min is one of the Chinese brands that first began selling through
Tmall, gradually garnering international recognition and is now stocked at
Hong-Kong luxury retailer Lane Crawford. The label is using traditional
Chinese influences and luxurious materials in its minimalist designs. The
garments cost between 4,500 and 9,500 yuan (635 to 1340 US dollars). After
its Shanghai Fashion Week show on Tmall, Min Liu, the designer behind Ms
Min, appeared on livestream to answer questions from the audience. “There
are no phases without creativity as long as there is life,” she replied
when asked if she has ever experienced phases without inspiration.
Compared to the livestream shopping experience on Tmall, European online
shops appear puristic, static and almost retro. Perhaps, Shanghai Fashion
Week on Tmall offered a glimpse into the future, if the success of the
video app Tiktok with Gen Z is anything to go by. Perhaps the entire
presentation of the fashion week would be too overwhelming for fashion
aficionados outside of China – perhaps too commercial. Either way, the
event managed to offer an insight into a different, and therefore inspiring
world.
Picture: Shushutong HW20/ Screenshot Tmall Shanghai Fashion
Week