“New York Fashion Week: Men’s” will feature Tmall China Day this year in an initiative to help Chinese fashion talent break into the international market. Activities during the week will include designer-buyer matchmaking, ecommerce collaborations and showcases at its fashion week events.
Looking to put Chinese fashion brands on the map, Alibaba’s B2C e-commerce platform Tmall will bring four fashion labels to showcase their designs on the runway to the event. The four designers include leading Chinese fashion brand Peacebird, local sportswear giant Li-Ning, individual designer Chen Peng—who recently had his brand’s puffer jacket worn by Lady Gaga and Hong Kong pop icon Edison Chen’s streetwear brand CLOT.
Tmall and NYFW: Men’s announced a partnership last September. As part of that agreement, Chinese brands will showcase their new 2018 autumn-winter collections on the runway and at showrooms during the fashion event from Feb. 5-8 in Manhattan. They’ll be showing off their style in front of the approximately 300 fashion editors, retail executives, buyers and the industry’s thought leaders expected to view each presentation.
“China Day allows us to further expand the scope of NYFW: Men’s by showcasing the most exciting Chinese fashion talent to the American fashion community. The initiative is part of CFDA’s overall strategy to build international ties, which will in turn help us strengthen the impact of American fashion globally.”
– Steven Kolb, President and CEO, Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)
n October last year, Tmall invited three CFDA brands to participate in its annual “See Now, Buy Now” fashion extravaganza, giving their latest clothing lines first-time exposure to the half-billion Chinese consumers who visit Alibaba’s platforms. For NYFW: Men’s, Tmall plans to use the same model, allowing consumers to instantly purchase some of the outfits as they watch the runway shows streamed on the platform.
Alibaba continue to forge closer ties with US ecommerce, despite the USTR for adding Taobao to the Notorious Markets list. They are both looking to open up western markets for Chinese retailers and brands with initiatives such as this NYFW: Men’s Tmall China Day partnership as well as making it easier for US merchants to trade with China with programs such as the Taobao Global US Merchants Network.
