■ Gucci announces Song Weilong as its newest brand ambassador
Image source: GUCCI's official Weibo
Gucci, a Kering brand, has announced Chinese actor Song Weilong as its newest ambassador. Song Weilong is known for his breakthrough acting style and multifaceted appearance, and he won the Most Media Attention New Actor Award at the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival Film Channel Media Awards. Song Weilong starred in the award-winning TV series "Next Stop is Happiness" and "In the Name of Family", and won the love and admiration of the audience with these two works. In January this year, Song Weilong participated in the brand's Fall/Winter 2024 menswear show in Milan. Subsequently, he attended the opening event of the "Gucci Ancora" offline space in Shanghai. These moments mark important milestones in the development of his relationship with the brand.
Commenting on his new role as a Gucci Brand Ambassador, Song said: "It is a great honor to be a Gucci Brand Ambassador. I love the multifaceted artistic aesthetic that Creative Director Sabato De Sarno has built and the preservation of classic craftsmanship. Gucci has opened my eyes to more possibilities in fashion and I am looking forward to many more exciting collaborations with the brand in the future." ”
■ The 2024 annual event Met Gala in the global fashion industry kicked off, with a star-studded gathering of fashion styles
The 2024 Met Gala fashion event, known as the "Spring Festival Gala" of the global fashion industry, was officially held on the evening of May 6, US time, and the star-studded scene was indeed a visual feast. The theme of this year's edition is "The Garden of Time", inspired by the British writer J.G. Ballard's 1962 short story of the same name explores the ephemeral nature of beauty. Loewe Creative Director Jonathan Anderson and TikTok CEO Shouzi Zhou will be the honorary chairs of the event, while stars such as Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth and others will co-chair the event with Anna Wintour. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's School of Costume in New York will also open its annual exhibition, featuring about 250 costumes under the title "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," which will be open to the public from May 10 to September 2.
In this "Fashion Proposition Essay", many guests who "reviewed the topic" were selected as the best dressed this year. For example, this year's Met Gala co-chair Zendaya presented two looks on the red carpet, the first of which was inspired by the Maison Margiela Artisanal haute couture collection designed by Creative Director John Galliano. Zendaya's second look, still designed by pirate John Galliano, is a gown from his Haute Couture debut Givenchy Spring/Summer 1996 haute couture collection, paired with Alexander McQueen's Spring/Summer 2007 bouquet hat. And Tik Tok CEO Zhou Shouzi, who is out of the circle with his appearance, also attended with his wife this year. On the red carpet, Zhou Shouzi wore a white suit, full of elegance, while his wife Gao Weiyan wore a blue dress from the Chaumet Josephine Coronation Love series, and the long tail of the swaying skirt showed nobility. At the same time, Michelle Yeoh, Liu Wen and other celebrities also appeared one after another, star-studded.
■ Lanvin and Benjamin Millepide join hands to embark on a journey in the art of dance
Recently, Lanvin teamed up with renowned French choreographer, dancer and filmmaker Benjamin Brown. Milliperide embarks on an artistic journey. Benjamin · Known for his innovative fusion of classical ballet and contemporary dance, Millepide created a choreographic short film for Lanvin that captures the freedom of the body during dance and the unique feminine power and artistic essence that Lanvin represents. In the film, dancer and model Coline Omasson dances in Lanvin's signature bud dress and Ballerina shoes, bringing the iconic Lanvin woman to life. "I wanted to create a holistic work of art (Gesamtkunstwerk) with this film," says Millead. Omarson's spectacular performance showcased the charm of Lanvin. He was referring to the idea of German Romanticism, a totality of art that encompassed all forms of art.
As the founder and artistic director of the L.A. Dance Project, he has co-created Romeo and Juliet, Reflections and Hearts and Arrows as part of his global tour. Before delving further into the creative process behind the choreography, Millepide said: "French elegance, refinement and innovation are fully demonstrated in the free rhythm of the dancer's body. Through dance, she blends in with the music, the steps and the hem of her skirt. Her inner emotions and free expression were revealed in that moment of elegance. This dance is largely improvised. Colleen danced as she pleased, and we tried to capture it in the most appropriate, lowest-key, and most subtle way possible. ”
■ The International Woolmark Prize 2025 is newly launched to meet the needs of future fashion
The 2025 International Woolmark Prize was officially launched, and the International Woolmark Prize is a globally renowned original fashion competition for the fashion industry's top creative stars. The award continues to evolve to recognise forward-thinking design talent who are helping to shape the future of fashion. Since its inception in 1953, the award has been dedicated to enhancing and strengthening the professional capabilities of emerging designers through educational support, funding and industry integration, and to harness the limitless potential of wool in their collections.
Compared with previous editions, the award has been extended to two years, giving designers more time to focus on innovation – encouraging them to experiment, experiment, learn and improve their design concepts; The judging criteria will be more focused on sustainability and innovation; The International Woolmark Prize winners will receive an increased amount of $300,000 to provide the necessary funding to turn ideas into reality; For the first time, the Karl Lagerfeld Innovation Award has been expanded to an industry award that will be presented to brands that have made an outstanding contribution to driving Merino wool innovation.
■ Chinese tourists swept through Japanese luxury goods, and Chanel and LV were bought out of stock
As the exchange rate is at its lowest point in 34 years, going to Japan to "buy, buy, buy" has become a happy moment for many Chinese tourists. It is reported that Chinese consumers gather in LV stores in Japan, once again dominating the Japanese luxury market. Counting all kinds of discounts, a 20,000 handbag can be about 4,000 yuan cheaper. Analysts point out that many Chinese tourists, who buy luxury goods in Japan, have taken advantage of the weak yen to buy Louis Vuitton handbags and other expensive goods, thus saving a lot of money. Under the depreciation of the yen, many luxury goods in Japan will be purchased at a discount of 10% to 50% compared with those in China.
According to the 2024 May Day Travel Trend Insight Report released by Ctrip, Japan ranks first among China's top outbound destinations this year. According to data from homestay platform Airbnb, Japan topped the list of popular search destinations this spring. As of April 30, more than 1,300 domestic passenger flights to and from Japan are planned to be carried out during the May Day holiday, and more than 130,000 domestic air tickets to and from Japan have been booked. According to data from the Japan Tourism Agency, the per capita spending of Chinese tourists in Japan in the first quarter of this year was about 300,000 yen, or about 13,700 yuan, ranking first among foreign tourists. In March alone, 450,000 Chinese tourists visited Japan.
■ Gemfields has partnered with Midnight Opera House to launch the "Flower Time Painting" series of emerald beads
Colored gemstone miner and promoter Gemfields has teamed up with Chinese jewellery brand MidnightOperaHouse to launch the MidnightOperaHouse x Gemfields collaboration. This collaboration with Midnight Opera House is Gemfields' first collaboration with a Chinese designer brand, and the collection features three pieces with a distinctly oriental Art Deco style at the heart of Gemfields' ethically sourced Zambian emeralds.
Founded in Beijing by designer Yu Gengyi, MidnightOperaHouse cleverly blends classical and modern classics to create an interesting dialogue between Oriental and Western styles. Flowers have always been a favorite design element of Gengyi, and this "Flower Time Painting" collaboration series presents the rich color of Gemfields Zambian emeralds. Emerald has been loved for its breathtaking beauty since ancient times, and their radiant brilliance is rich and green, symbolizing hope, growth, life, rebirth and peace. Emily Dungey, Director of Marketing & Communications at Gemfields, said: "Each piece is designed to reflect the brilliance and vibrancy of emeralds and oriental aesthetics. ”
■ The world's first Peacebird brand flagship store opened in Ningbo
Image source: PEACEBIRD official Weibo
The world's first flagship store of the Peacebird brand recently opened in its birthplace of Ningbo, bringing together the brand's multiple product lines, including Peacebird Menswear, Peacebird Womenswear, Rakucho and Children's Mini Peace. The opening of the flagship store is not only an innovation in physical space, but also a reflection of the deep connection between brand culture and consumer emotion. Through the window of the flagship store, Peacebird has shown its unique brand charm and young and fashionable attitude to the world, leading the new trend of pioneer culture in the industry. In addition to the stores, Peacebird has also created a Nice T trendy district for young consumers, further amplifying the opening of the flagship store through a combination of online and offline linkages. The company also plans to open flagship stores in more cities such as Wuhan and Changchun in the future.
In 2023, Peacebird will achieve operating income of 7.792 billion yuan and net profit attributable to the parent company of 422 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 127.06%. This achievement was due to the implementation of Peacebird's cost-reducing and efficiency-enhancing strategies such as closing inefficient stores and reducing operating expenses, as well as the significant increase in gross sales margin, which reached the highest level of 54.13% after listing.
■ Umbro is available in a limited edition with Swarovski ® elements
At the intersection of fashion and sport, Umbro has created a limited edition shoe with Swarovski elements, craftsmanship and crystal quality, limited to 50 pairs worldwide. It combines Umbro's classic style with Swarovski's sparkling crystals to create a shoe that is both stylish and functional. Whether it's for a sports-loving fashionista or a trend lover looking for a unique personality, this shoe will be a rare collector's item.
The body of this shoe is subtly encrusted with Swarovski crystals, which are not only embellished on the diamond check on the body, but also hide details such as the heel. At the same time, Umbro's classic diamond-shaped lattice design has been retained, which not only adds to the shoe's recognizability, but also gives it a unique retro charm. In terms of functionality, the shoe's LIGHT MAX midsole technology is also embedded to provide the wearer with a lightweight and comfortable feel, whether it is walking for long periods of time or exercising.
■ Kiko Milano宣布Emma Roberts为首位全球品牌大使
Image source: Kiko Milano Beauty's official WeChat account
Italian beauty brand Kiko Milano has announced Emma Roberts as its first global brand ambassador to raise its global profile and brand awareness. Emma Roberts is widely known for her role in the hit horror dramas American Horror Story and Scream Queen. Founded in 1997 in Bergamo, Italy, by Antonio and Stefano Percassi, KIKO Milano is one of the world's largest privately owned makeup brands. It currently has a retail network of more than 1,100 stores in 66 countries, as well as an e-commerce platform.
A few days ago, L Catterton, the world's largest consumer private equity investment company under the French luxury giant LVMH Group, announced that it has reached a definitive agreement with the Percassi family on the acquisition of a majority stake in the Italian beauty brand KIKO Milano.
■ Shiseido's brand Drunken Elephant entered the Chinese market
Shiseido's skincare brand Drunk Elephant has officially entered the Chinese mainland market and exclusively entered 250 Sephora stores in mainland China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and is expected to cover 300 Sephora stores in the second half of 2024. It is understood that Drunken Elephant was founded in 2013 and acquired by Shiseido Group in 2019. The brand's sales surged 77 percent last year, making it Shiseido's biggest gainer. So far, Drunken Elephant has entered 40 markets. Shiseido China President and CEO Toshinobu Umezu said, "Based on the positive feedback received by Drunken Elephant and its high-end skincare products in the global market, there is no doubt that this is the best time to officially introduce the Drunken Elephant brand to the Chinese mainland market. He pointed out that the introduction of Drunken Elephant is an important step in Shiseido's strategic deployment of the landing brand in China, and he is full of confidence in the next performance of Drunken Elephant.
To celebrate the new launch of the Drunken Elephant brand in Chinese mainland, Drunken Elephant will bring the iconic "HOUSE OF DRUNK" brand pop-up experience in Shanghai, which is also the first immersive experience of Drunken Elephant in Chinese mainland, inviting people to experience the difference of Drunken Elephant through colorful patterns, impactful product decorations and innovative interactive technology in this imaginative world.
■ Airbnb released a report on summer outbound travel trends, and the Paris Olympics led to a wave of travel in Europe
This summer, the trend of "purpose" over "destination" continues to be hot among Chinese travelers. Olympic fans who want to go to the scene to witness the wonderful performance of athletes have made France nearly 8 times more popular in search of the Olympic Games, ushering in an unprecedented travel boom, jumping to the second most popular destination this summer, and the popularity of the capital Paris has skyrocketed nearly 11 times year-on-year. The rising popularity of France has also led to travelers' attention to neighboring countries such as Austria and Italy. According to data from the Airbnb platform, half of the top 10 most searched destinations this summer spanned Eurasia, including Japan, France, Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, New Zealand, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.
Plans to travel in groups with friends and family are also popping up in July and August during the summer months. According to data from the Airbnb platform, nearly 80% of searches plan to travel with three or more people this summer, a year-on-year increase far exceeding that of single and two-person travelers3. Airbnb listings are more adaptable to multi-person travel scenarios, with cost-sharing giving guests a great value for money experience, and plenty of public space for friends and family to make memorable memories with laughter and laughter. At the same time, Airbnb has also recently launched a new special category "Ace", inviting celebrities from all walks of life such as music, film and television, art, and sports to become ace hosts. The most important part of the starting "ace" lineup is the Musée d'Orsay, an exclusive experience of waking up to the Olympic Games every day. In the Musée d'Orsay's iconic bell tower, guests will be able to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games passing through the Seine from their balcony in a bedroom lovingly renovated by Mathieu Lehanneur, designer of the Paris Olympic torch.
■ Daguang Cinema ushered in the upgrade of digital art and is about to make a new appearance
After a hundred years of ups and downs, this city landmark that carries the history of Shanghai's film industry is about to usher in the empowerment and rejuvenation of digital art. With "100 years of film history" as the main line of creation, digital art as the creative core, this upgrade gives new vitality to this century-old building with diverse and rich expressions. This upgrade will maintain the appearance of the century-old building, and carry out multiple upgrades and digital empowerment for experience methods and content.
The renovation will upgrade the 100-meter-long historical and cultural corridor with a diverse and contemporary digital expression, allowing the audience to explore all the major events from the birth of the cinema in 1928 to the present as if traveling through time and space. In the century-old spiral stairwell of Shanghai Daguang Cinema, the light art installation "Hundred Years of Glory" hangs in it. The shape of "One Hundred Years of Light" is derived from film film, the work integrates light and music, and with the beating of the notes, the lights dance and change in the space, creating a mysterious and tranquil atmosphere, as if recording the 100-year glory of the Daguang Cinema. The spiral staircase in which the work spirals echoes its spiral form, like a mysterious road connecting the past and the future. Every flicker of light is like a freeze frame of a picture, freezing time in the glorious moment of this century-old theater, and placing a tribute to history and a yearning for the future. It is worth mentioning that in this renovation plan, there is also a blockbuster digital light and shadow restaurant "MIDNITE", the overall artistic creativity, design inspiration, and functional partition are all based on "movie", and the immersive experience allows people to feel the shock of the five senses brought by digital art.
■ The total domestic expenditure of the "May Day holiday" reached 166.89 billion yuan
During the May Day holiday in 2024, the national cultural and tourism market will be generally stable and orderly. According to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on the 6th, according to the data center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the total number of domestic tourism trips nationwide was 295 million, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%, and an increase of 28.2% compared with the same period in 2019 on a comparable basis; The total travel expenditure of domestic tourists was 166.89 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.7%, and an increase of 13.5% on a comparable basis compared with the same period in 2019. During the holiday, cultural and tourism departments at all levels launched a variety of special tourism products and cultural activities, focusing on meeting the diversified and personalized needs of tourists.
According to the data of the "2024 May Day Holiday Travel Summary" recently released by Ctrip, during the May Day holiday, the domestic tourism market maintained a steady and growing trend on the basis of the high level in the same period last year, and at the same time, internal structural changes began to appear: the growth rate of inbound and outbound travel was higher than that of domestic travel, and the growth rate of the sinking market was higher than that of the first- and second-tier markets. These two forces are intertwined and are becoming an important force influencing the future development of China's tourism market. According to the summary, during the May Day holiday, the most popular tourist destinations are Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Xi'an, and Shenzhen. At the same time, the trend of tourism sinking is more obvious, which is reflected in the year-on-year growth rate of tourism orders, with first- and second-tier cities smaller than third- and fourth-tier cities, and third- and fourth-tier cities smaller than county markets. Yangzhou, Luoyang, Qinhuangdao, Weihai, Guilin, Kaifeng, Zibo, Huangshan, Tai'an, Shangrao and other popular third- and fourth-tier destinations, with an average increase of 11% in travel bookings. Anji, Tonglu, Dujiangyan, Yangshuo, Maitreya, Yiwu, Wuyuan, Jinghong, Kunshan and Pingtan are popular county tourist destinations, with an average increase of 36% in travel orders.
■ Tmall and other e-commerce platforms have canceled the 618 pre-sale system and turned to the pursuit of long-term sustainable development
On May 6, Taotian Group announced that this year's Tmall "618" canceled the official pre-sale link. Compared with previous years, this year's 618 has become extremely simple, after the cancellation of the pre-sale, this year's Tmall 618 has two waves of spot sales period, the first wave starts at 8 pm on May 20, and the second wave starts at 8 pm on May 31. At the same time, JD.com and Kuaishou e-commerce have also canceled the pre-sale period.
The pre-sale mechanism used to be a strategy adopted by (China) e-commerce platforms to help merchants stock up in advance and reduce logistics pressure. However, the current pre-sale method has put pressure on some merchants. According to the 2023 data released by the China Consumers Association, the pre-sale model of e-commerce platforms has become the first of the top ten consumer complaint hotspots, with problems such as non-delivery at the promised time and non-insured price of pre-sold goods.