SHANGHAI – Louis Vuitton is planning a “spin-off” show for its spring 2023 men’s collection on September 16.
The event will take place in Aranya Gold Coast, a resort town in Beidaihe that is a two-hour train ride from Beijing, adjacent to the beachside sanatorium frequented by Chinese party elites.
Created by the Louis Vuitton studio, the collection was first shown during men’s fashion week in Paris last June with a “playground” themed show on the runway at the Louvre.
Aranya, which means “a silent and peaceful place away from noise and crowd” in Sanskrit, is a 4.3 million square meter coastal real estate development that boasts a collection of “cultural spaces”, including a chapel by the sea, a “Lonely Library.” ” UCCA Dune and Aranya Art Center.
The show will take place at 17:30 China time with live broadcasts on the brand’s official website and social media channels such as Wechat and Weibo.
The Aranya spin-off will be the second time the French luxury house has staged a menswear show in China.
In August 2020, Louis Vuitton unveiled an outdoor fashion show on Shanghai’s West Bund. Under the direction of the late Virgil Abloh at the time, the live show generated more than 100 million views worldwide.
Michael Burke, chairman and chief executive of Louis Vuitton, said the event also contributed to strong sales and order results in the region. Burke told WWD that customers spend “10 times more” after a spin-off show is set up.
Last September, a spin-off of Nicolas Ghesquière’s original spring 2022 womenswear presentation was revisited in Shanghai with 21 new looks and three bags. The shipyard’s repair docks near the Huangpu River were transformed into a ballroom with more than 1,000 chandeliers.
Ghesquière’s first spin-off show in China garnered 158 million views online.
Despite Beijing’s strict zero-covid-19 policy that limits travel and the slowing economy, China continues to be one of the world’s most important luxury markets. Louis Vuitton is moving forward with reimagining its traveling fashion show to boost sales.
In collaboration with the Aranya Gold Coast community, Louis Vuitton will entrust its local team to introduce localized elements to the Aranya spin-off, such as “a series of cultural events from contemporary dance and film performances” and “a party at sunset”.
Excited Aranya residents previewed the spin-off on Xiaohongshu, the popular Chinese social commerce platform. A larger-than-life sculpture of a young man gazing longingly into the sky and various skyscraper-shaped sculptures, both elements of Abloh’s Vuitton designs, are being erected near the waterfront church.
“Each show has an intimate relationship with its predecessor and heralds its successor. A spin-off amplifies and builds on the previous show,” Burke told WWD previously, distinguishing between revamping a show and creating a renewed sense of luxury experience.
Vuitton will be the second luxury brand to host a large-scale fashion show event in China this year. In August, Prada re-staged a mix of its fall 2022 men’s and women’s collections at Beijing’s Prince Jun Mansion, a traditional Chinese-style courtyard hotel.
On the women’s side, Vuitton recently hosted five small-scale shows for its VIP clientele, according to Xiaohongshu, a popular social commerce platform.
Top customers in Beijing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Dalian were able to taste a revised version of the Fall 2022 women’s runway collection, sip champagne and place orders.
