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On 5 March during Paris Fashion Week, Vogue Business hosted the China Digital Excellence Summit in partnership with Xiaohongshu, the leading social media and lifestyle platform in China. It was the first time Xiaohongshu had participated in such an event in Europe. The event, which welcomed over a hundred esteemed guests from across Europe and China, was held at the opulent Shangri-La Paris and featured guest speakers from Mugler, Moët Hennessy, ba&sh, Launchmetrics and Ogilvy.
The agenda kicked off with the opening keynote interview that centred on Adrian Corsin, managing director of couture house Mugler, in conversation with Vogue Business Paris correspondent Laure Guilbault. He began by drawing a connection between the dramatic setting of the Shangri-La and the theatrical nature of the brand’s most recent fashion showcase, which boasted elements of technology. This relationship to theatrical visuals was also captured by the recent outfit worn by Zendaya at the Dune: Part Two world premiere, explored by Corsin and Guilbault as they discussed the brand’s celebrity strategy, as well as the importance of “living cultural moments”.
The focus on authentic relationships with celebrities also extends to Mugler’s strategy in China, where Corsin says the brand has been working with local stars such as Fan Bingbing. Social media has played an important role in helping a new generation of Chinese consumers discover the archival designs of the house in a refreshing way: “I would love to say that everything’s strategic and super planned, but a lot of the time it isn’t… It’s kind of more of a pull strategy than a push strategy. Now we’re going more into a push strategy but the last four years have really been about pull.” Corsin also elaborated on the huge success of Mugler’s collaboration with H&M, which saw consumers fight over the limited-edition products.
Last year, Corsin and creative director Casey Cadwallader spent considerable time investigating Chinese culture alongside the artists, musicians and creatives that influence it. “We can’t really have a strategy without understanding culture and community. It’s deeply the way we work, it’s deeply the way we operate in anything that we do. It’s why we have engagement rates that are so much higher than the industry standard,” said Corsin.
In the next session, Vogue Business head of advisory Anusha Couttigane was joined by Moët Hennessy VP of ebusiness Ken Kralick and ba&sh director of social media and influence Emilie Bénéteau. Their discussion continued the theme around the value of cultural collateral, as they both spoke about collaborations with Chinese artists. Ba&sh collaborated with 3D artist Shane Fu on immersive art in virtual reality, while Moët Hennessy worked with Yang Yongliang to create the “Dragon’s Odyssey” digital travel retail experience. For Moët Hennessy’s activation, Kralick says the brand built a multi-sensory experience that allowed travellers to engage with the scent and taste of the product, while being stimulated by the visuals and able to share the experience online.
Bénéteau spoke about the freedom that ba&sh offers creators to reinterpret the brand story in their own way. This sense of independence that ba&sh enjoys, in contrast to luxury labels that are owned by larger conglomerates, gives it more agility to respond to spike trends and pop culture, especially during viral digital moments. Kralick agreed, saying that while at Moët Hennessy they tend to set their campaign calendar months in advance, removing red tape to social media is essential, otherwise “You’re just broadcasting your brand in the old way.”
Kralick also spoke about the role that digital media in China has played in taking spirits like Hennessy, a cognac, to a younger audience. While in established markets it’s traditionally enjoyed by older demographics neat or on ice, in China the spirit has become a firm favourite in cocktails, helping to serve not only a new generation, but also capture more female consumers with what is often viewed as a very male tipple. The brand is popular for celebratory moments, which in turn are often shared on social media. The brand also has a content strategy developed around recipes, making it highly relevant to cooking, too.
During the second panel, Vogue Business in China editor Yiling Pan led a discussion with Alison Bringé, CMO of Launchmetrics; Rahul Titus, global head of influence at Ogilvy; and Menghan, head of fashion content at Xiaohongshu about the evolution of influencer marketing in China. Bringé started by highlighting how the social media landscape has evolved from text and static images to video, which not only holds people’s attention for longer, but helps to build more trust in a media landscape where confidence is mixed.
Describing the country’s rapid rise of social media and the Chinese influencer economy, Titus says that despite China’s delayed start, it has come “leaps and bounds ahead of what I’m seeing in any of the Western markets… it’s such a connected ecosystem with everything from chat to video, to payments and live streaming.” He addressed the myth that the global template of influence works equally well in a market like China: “China is not trying to Westernise, it’s trying to modernise.” Titus and Pan also explored how key opinion leaders (KOLs) are now part of a larger digital influencer population that also includes key opinion sales (KOS) and key opinion consumers (KOCs), as well as nano-influencers. This enables platforms like Xiaohongshu to offer brands niche yet impactful word-of-mouth ambassadors within its environment.
Menghan also built upon the idea of pushing the boundaries of expectations, describing how actress Theresa Cheung — a viral sensation on Xiaohongshu with 1.2 million followers — surprised viewers by reading love poems and Shakespeare during her live streams. Cheung became the first influencer to achieve RMB 100 million (£10.8 million) GMV in a single Xiaohongshu live stream.
Menghan summarised the value of Xiaohongshu in helping reach luxury shoppers with three concepts: “Open”, meaning it’s an environment where people are more inclusive, accepting uniqueness and open to trying new things; “Embrace”, citing a willingness to embrace creators, KOLs and viral trends; and “Key Events”, encouraging brands to be mindful of the major moments that drive collective interest in Chinese culture, as well as creating brand-centric moments for shoppers to enjoy through connected, online-to-offline experiences.
In the last session, Xiaohongshu’s head of luxury Qingchen delivered a keynote presentation about the growth of the platform since 2013; evolving from a cross-border shopping platform to a thriving social ecosystem. She shared that the platform boasts 300 million active monthly users, with 50 per cent of those born after 1995. “Every day they’re sharing their views and experience of art, music, travelling, sports etc.,” Qingchen said. As a consequence of this rapid exchange of ideas, Xiaohongshu is now often the source of new trends that transmit to other digital environments. The report is available to download here.
Qingchen introduced the audience to seven key personas across luxury consumers that live in the Xiaohongshu environment: luxury connoisseurs, the aspirational middle class, self-assured modern women, tasteful men, up-and-coming luxury trendsetters, artsy fashionistas and small town nouveau riche. These personas are broken down further in a study produced by Vogue Business in partnership with Xiaohongshu, analysing data and trends across the platform.
Qingchen concluded by sharing an insight into the customisable tools available to brands, for example mini-programs that allow users to engage with digital versions of offline experiences like brand exhibitions, before purchasing products directly from the experience and then returning to Xiaohongshu to share details about the luxury goods bought on their latest shopping spree. The event closed with a cocktail reception where guests were able to connect with each other, engage with digital installations created by Xiaohongshu, and enjoy the views of the Eiffel Tower from the Shangri-La’s charming terrace.
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