Written by Jennifer J. Lau and Lily Yang

Top 4 Exclusive Designs for the Occasion and Ethnic Chinese Brand Ambassador(s)

Interestingly, the English idiom “You are the Apple of my Eye” was translated back into the Chinese language and served as the inspiration for Gucci’s Qixi campaign. The iconic GG logo was incorporated into an apple shape exclusively for Chinese Valentine’s Day, which was eye-catching and youthful.

The GUCCI campaign video is set in a high school where the young Chinese actors are clad in everything GUCCI. What stands out about this short film is that there is more dialogue than the other promotional videos from other brands. The innocent feelings of mutual affection are conveyed through the phrase “I Apple You” -- ‘a code’ the male actor explains to the female actor that one can use to share their feelings. Although the concept is straight-forward and rather naive, the leads in the commercial film, Taiwanese actor and singer Lin Yanjun (Evan Lin) 林彦俊 and Chinese actress Zhao Lusi (Rosy Zhao) 赵露思, were great choices as they bring a youthful touch to the narrative. We think this campaign could appeal to budding romances as the shy ‘code’ is also embedded into the design on their capsule collection.

Fendi chose to collaborate again with Mr. Doodle (Sam Cox, a British artist and illustrator) for their capsule collection for Qixi 2020. Adding a heart emoji to the designs, Fendi recreated their classic Baguette and peekaboo bag, boots, and hoodies with this design.

Hong Kong-born Korean-trained Jackson Wang 王嘉爾 was the ambassador for Fendi once again, and the maison’s fun and spirited promotional video reflected the brand’s creativity and effort in this campaign through dance. The Chinese name of the capsule collection also plays on Fendi’s transliterated name “Fen-di” for a message that reads: Sharing a heart with you (#芬你一顆心). How successful was this campaign? So far it has 1.5 billion reads, and 430,000 comments.

Valentino has always had the VTN logo but for this capsule collection, they embedded a “heart” in between the brand’s abbreviated name. Of course, they also included items with a special red twist and their classic rock studs with a heart-like design. 

They released a sweet campaign video featuring two young Chinese television actors, Yang Zi (Andy Yang) and Yang Yang dressed in Valentino. The leads play with a Valentino-branded VLoveTN Rubik's cube during the day and text one another at night, until they meet again at the end of the video, where the male actor gifts a Valentino necklace to his beloved.

The Valentino Chinese campaign name loosely translates to “Methodology to Your Heart” (#心动方法论), with 87 million views, 1 million comments on Weibo.

Givenchy introduced an exclusive “Givenchy Love” collection for Qixi 2020. The heart-shape design is embedded within the design of Givenchy’s brand in cursive writing. The inspiration comes from Givenchy’s Spring Summer collection of 1979 and references their archives about the famous Pont des Arts in Paris.

They also created a campaign photoshoot with T Magazine China featuring Chinese singer Qi Wei (Stephy Qi) 戚薇 and her Korean-American celebrity husband, Lee Seung-hyeon 李承铉. 

The name of their collection translates as: Locking You In for Qixi (#七夕锁定你), with 61.35 million vows, 1.1 million comments.

Honourable Mentions 

While we hoped that more brands would create unique commercial films and collections for this occasion, not everyone put in as much effort as our favourites above. Still, as honourable mentions, there are:

Miu Miu used teen idol Yang Chaoyue, 杨超越, for a shoot with existing products.

Piaget featured their existing collection -- specifically the Possession Pendant Necklace -- with Chinese actor Liu Haoran (Turbo Liu) 刘昊然 in a photoshoot and video.

Celine launched a new collection with their brand in cursive writing on canvas. There were no campaign photoshoots or videos, but some actresses were spotted featuring this collection such as Chinese singer Qi Wei 戚薇 and ethnic Chinese Korean-trained performer Meng Meiqi 孟美岐.

Dior’s Amour Collection worked for Qixi as well, since the phrase “I Love You” was translated in many languages as the main design. There was no campaign shoot or videos found but celebrities, such as model Angelababy, shared photos her Dior Amour mini tote.

Ferragamo carried a pink collection of their former handbags. This is nothing new, however, the exact same items were marketed as their Qixi collection. There were no campaign efforts.

Louis Vuitton created products based on the Special Monogram Giant collection with an emphasis on red. There were no campaign efforts as well. And the bag is aesthetically distanced from the idea of love or Qixi. Surprisingly, there was no use of their brand ambassador, Chinese superstar G.E.M. 

Prada’s collection for Qixi was also confusing as they introduced a lemon yellow colour to their line offered in the form of a bag and bucket hat. There were also no visible campaigns for this and no Chinese ambassadors.

Let us know your thoughts

We look forward to how these luxury brands will continue to respond to modern Chinese culture. Let us know your thoughts? Did you covet or purchase any of these items?