Tmall China Cool at NYFW: The Shows
September 4, 2019
Alibaba’s Tmall is partnering with NYFW to bring the 3rd season of “Tmall China Cool” runway shows featuring heritage and emerging Chinese designers to this global fashion event.
This year’s shows take place on Wednesday, September 4, at Spring Studios and feature PEACEBIRD, THREEGUN, SONGTA and i-am-chen, and RiZhuo.
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group is the largest retail commerce company in the world. We are building the future infrastructure of commerce to help merchants, brands, and small businesses around the world reach and engage consumers in China. We operate online marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers, and through our ecosystem, offer a range of enabling services such as logistics, cloud computing payments, marketing services and digital media and entertainment. We serve as the Gateway to China and empower brands and retailers to access China’s markets and consumers.
About Tmall
Alibaba’s Tmall is China’s largest B2C marketplace for both international and Chinese brands and retailers. Tmall provides a premium shopping experience for the more than 670 million consumers that shop Alibaba’s platforms, and fashion is a core offering on the platform. More than 190,000 global brands and merchants have established branded storefronts on Tmall, including Starbucks, Nike, Uniqlo, Zara, Apple, Est√©e Lauder, and Lanc√¥me.
In August 2017, Tmall launched the Tmall Luxury Pavilion, a dedicated platform for luxury and premium goods and home to brands such as Tory Burch, Stella McCartney, Michael Kors, Givenchy, Valentino and Tiffany. Below are examples of several fashion brands’ flagship stores on Tmall and Tmall Luxury Pavilion:
Tmall China Cool at NYFW
While Tmall is known for being a Gateway to China for international brands, it also has a unique role to play as a cultural bridge – helping to show the global fashion community some of the top emerging and established designers coming out of China.
The “Tmall China Cool” shows feature a slate of Chinese designers, including:
- PEACEBIRD: Coming back to NYFW with us again, PEACEBIRD is China’s leading multi-brand retail and fashion label. The theme of this year’s show is “NO BOUNDARY,” which reflects the brand’s attitude towards innovation and pays tribute to the fearless and self-reliant spirit of the Chinese women’s volleyball team. The collection also celebrates Chinese youth culture and sports.
- THREEGUN: THREEGUN is a heritage Chinese intimate apparel brand established in the 1930s. The brand, known for its high-quality lounge and sleepwear, has collaborated with Chinese designer Chuang Qu for NYFW. This collection is inspired by the Chinese character “ˣŔ which means “to tailor” and various techniques to create a sense of space in architecture.
- SONGTA and i-am-chen: SONGTA and i-am-chen are brands from two young, emerging designers. Renowned Chinese conceptual artist Ta Song is the designer behind the four-month-old brand SONGTA. The inspiration for this collection is the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and middle school uniforms in China. Shenzhen is recognized as a hub of the future in Asia and uniforms represents the culture of GenZ.
Chen Zhi is the founder of i-am-chen, a luxury fashion label with distribution in China, Japan, Italy and the US and UK. i-am-chen’s upcoming collection was inspired by photographer Kourtney Roy.The designer aims to utilize a palette of intrusive colors to break up the daily boredom of life. She was a semi-finalist for the 2018/2019 International Woolmark Prize Hong Kong and studied at London College of Fashion and Parsons.
- RiZhuo: RiZhuo designer Lujian Zhang’s collection of contemporary women’s wear portrays the brand’s peaceful attitude toward life through simple and meticulous craftsmanship and loose, structured shapes. The inspiration for this collection came from the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wan’s “By the Beigu Mountain,” which captures the melancholy sentiment that many Chinese people feel when they return home during Chinese New Year.
Tmall China Cool Pop-Up
Tmall will also host a “Tmall China Cool” pop-up exhibition from Wednesday, September 4, through Friday, September 6, at 315 Spring Street in Soho.
Riding the “China Cool” trend, the pop-up exhibition features cross-over collaborations between the fashion industry and consumer goods. Featured brand collaborations will include Chinese confectionary company, Hsu Fu Chi and clothing brand Tyakasha, Chinese snack brand Qinqin and fashion brand Mukzin, Dove Chocolate and Hefang jewelry, and home furniture brand Ziinlife and Chow Tai Seng jewelry.The pop-up will give visitors the chance to enjoy an array of brands that are already well-loved in China.
Tmall at Paris & Milan Fashion Weeks
Tmall will be unveiling new partnerships and activations for Paris Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week this year. During Paris Fashion Week, Tmall will release a trend report forecasting the hottest trends in China in the coming year. The report is aimed to help both large, well-established brands and small and emerging brands and designers gain clarity on what Chinese consumers are looking for.
