G-Star RAW debuts at Alibaba’s Tmall “See Now Buy Now” fashion show

Dutch designer clothing brand G-Star Raw debuted at Alibaba’s Tmall “See Now Buy Now” fashion show, which aired yesterday at 9 am Eastern Time and featured VanNess Wu. The fashion icon, singer-actor-producer and intimate friend of G-Star RAW partnered once again with the brand after attending the launch of the G-Star Elwood X25 II during New York Fashion Week and was the first to present the brand's limited Tmall Collection 2017.

Just ahead of the Global Shopping Festival - formerly known as Singles Day - on 11th November, the second edition of Tmall’s “See Now Buy Now” event, the largest virtual fashion show in China, focused on retail as entertainment, showing off branded fashion and apparel available to buy for Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, which managed to raise 17.8 billion US dollars in gross merchandise volume last year.

“The Tmall Global Fashion Show is a key event that kicks off our 11.11 Global Shopping Festival and one that underscores Tmall’s tremendous growth in the past few years… We expect the event to become a lifestyle trendsetter for Chinese consumers and virtually a ‘fashion week at their fingertips’,” said Chris Tung, chief marketing officer of the Alibaba Group, last year about the event.

This year's “See Now Buy Now” fashion show was originally taped live in Shanghai on 20th October and aired on 31st October on seven media platforms, including TV station Beijing TV, smart TV platform CIBN, online video platform Youku, social media platform Weibo, news aggregator Toutiao and the Taobao and Tmall shopping applications. Viewers were able to buy on the spot and apart from G-Star Raw, the event showcased fashion from LVMH’s Guerlain and Rimowa, Estée Lauder’s MAC and SMCP’s Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, as well as Furla, TAG Heuer, Polo Ralph Lauren and a host of mainstream apparel labels.

According to a press release by G-Star Raw, over a hundred million Chinese viewers watched the event on television and the internet, and were introduced to the brand’s exclusive collection, which included a rare handmade patched G-Star Elwood jeans designed by the brand’s co-owner and head of Imagination, Pharrell Williams. The jeans will be released on October 31st in a limited quantity, exclusively through G-Star RAW's official Tmall online store.

The rest of the collection will be available to buy for Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, an event that the country is bracing itself for. The 24-hour event is held annually on 11th November and is considered a benchmark for China’s ongoing swing towards online shopping. But even outside of China, it is hard to ignore the well-orchestrated event: “The real reason to pay attention to 11.11 for those outside of China is that it gives you a glimpse into the future of retail,” said Tung in an interview with Luxury Daily ahead of this year's fashion event.

Photos: 1-3: G-Star RAW; 4: Alibaba Group