SHENZHEN, China — Dior‘s reprised women’s 2023 fall runway collection in Shenzhen was not only the LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned luxury powerhouse’s most important event in China this year, it was also an outsized clienteling moment that could be directly translated into sales post-show.
On Wednesday night, Paris landed in Shenzhen by way of the Sea World Culture and Arts Center, a modern architectural marvel that symbolizes the openness and cultural vibrancy of the city’s future.
Legions of fans, tirelessly waving flags in coordinated colors, staked out under the blazing sun to get a glimpse of Dior‘s brand ambassadors, most notably Liu Yuxin and Diliraba.
For Liu, the androgynous Chinese pop star, seeing the show for the second time also became a chance to get to know Shenzhen better. She last visited during Dior‘s MixC store opening more than three years ago.
“Shenzhen is a window to the world,” said Liu. “When I was on the cruise shooting the teaser campaign, seeing the iconic Spring Bamboo Tower, I was mesmerized by this city.”
Diliraba, who didn’t make it to the March presentation, looked forward to experiencing the set design in person. “It’s such an important part of the show creation process,” said Diliraba.
Miriam Yeung, the Hong Kong singer and actress, was looking to find some inspiration for her upcoming concert in Shenzhen. “Performance, music, set and lighting are what I think Maria Grazia Chiuri’s shows have always been known for, and I look forward to seeing how she continues to create resonance with her audience. As a creative myself, I’ve always loved seeing how her ideas evolved over time.”
For Joana Vasconcelos, the Portuguese artist who created the dreamlike show space for Dior, recreating the scene, albeit at a smaller scale, meant she could integrate the audience more within the artwork, titled “Valkyrie Miss Dior.” Vasconcelos created a floating floral installation that seemed to drip from the ceiling.
“Every time these kind of pieces travel, it’s a new story. Here, the story was the seating plan. I was able to create a kind of big scenario for the audience to receive the pieces with round-shaped seating areas,” explained Vasconcelos.
After the show, the piece will stay live at the exhibition hall for another five days, where the public can enjoy an “immersive experience.” From there, the voluminous sculpture will travel to exhibitions in Beijing, then Macao, and finally Brazil.
Around 850 guests, including Dior’s VIP clients, celebrities, socialites, artists, as well as local government officials, were invited to attend the show of the collection, which offered classic ’50s French girl glamour inspired by the stories of three heroines that shaped post-war Paris.
The event was livestreamed on eight platforms, including Wechat Channels, Weibo, Douyin, Tencent Video, Xiaomi Video, Huawei Video and Xinhua Net. The two-hour-long livestream, which included an extensive pre-show interview with more than 20 Chinese celebrities, received a total of 130 million views online.
After the show, Dior hosted a mini-concert one floor up. Chinese rapper Victor Ma, Taiwanese pop band Accusefive, Miriam Yeung, and Liu Yuxin delivered three numbers each and ended the evening on a high note.
Picking Shenzhen wasn’t the most obvious choice for Dior, as the southern tech hub trails behind Beijing and Shanghai in terms of sales for the brand. But in a post-industrial shift, Shenzhen is well positioned to reinvent itself as southern China‘s largest shopping hub.
Swire Properties has signed on to take its Taikoo Li and Taikoo Hui projects to Shenzhen’s Futian District. K11‘s second Shenzhen project K11 Ecoast will land in Shekou District in 2024. Located close to Shenzhen and Hong Kong borders, both districts are considered major areas of retail development to further tie Hong Kong and Shenzhen together.
Despite Hong Kong’s draw as a shopping paradise, unfavorable exchange rates and strict customs regulations have driven some of Shenzhen’s affluent class to shop locally. The city of 17.6 million has become China’s third wealthiest city after Shanghai and Beijing.
Dior counts two large-scale stores in Shenzhen, at the MixC shopping mall and Shenzhen Bay MixC. Last year the luxury house revamped the MixC store to include an invite-only VIP salon.
With clienteling becoming an increasingly important driver of sales, Dior made the fall collection available to VIP shoppers immediately after the show.
Big spenders who flew in for the Dior spectacle were treated to a trunk show event on Thursday at the seaside show venue. A see now, buy now of sorts, clients could order pieces from the women’s fall collection and receive them later this month.
