This edition of Shanghai Fashion Week was not the usual cluster of white tents found at the city’s Xintiandi retail hub. Instead, the entire event was facilitated by Alibaba’s e-commerce platform, Tmall. This online event meant business, and amplification was a key objective. The Taobao platform has an overall reach of over 711 million active users, meaning all brand viewing figures increased massively in the most extensive “see now, buy now” demonstration from a fashion week to date. Viewing figures reached 2.5 million over the three-hour opening session alone. Cities with the most viewing areas were identified as Shanghai, Beijing, and Chongqing, coming from a mostly female demographic.

The event ensured that all the designers and brands had a voice this Fall 2020. It also aimed to facilitate sales for commercial brands. Robert Huo, General Manager of womenswear of Tmall Fashion says, of over 150 brands participated in the event. As a co-host, Tmall extended commercial recognition to a wider range of independent designers via the local fashion incubator Labelhood. As the partner of Shanghai Fashion Week, Labelhood funneled brands through its verified Tmall store while alternative virtual retail stores, such as Xintiandi pop-up, were also used by labels as a way of capturing sales during the week-long event.

More than sales focused event

Throughout the week, different strategies and personalities shone through as each brand put their own spin on the SNBN model. Most independent designers on the Labelhood platform used their slots in a more experimental rather than sales-focused manner.

Shushu/Tong’s co-founder Liushu Lei made their video presentation look like a show, which was played on repeat for the full length of their allocated slot. Other brands such as Ffixxed Studios used the opportunity to play with the concept of the livestreaming show. Kain Pickering and his partner Fiona Lau had doubts around how to balance branding and sales aspect, while authentically reflecting the brand’s ethos. Menswear duo Private Policy’s livestream selected Mia Kong, style director of Dazed China, to host its livestream — opting for a KOL which they felt best reflected their DNA.

Livestreaming facilitates instant communication

Livestreaming brought an additional change this season: instant communication with active consumers. Sessions saw hosts address live questions, mostly focused on issues like styling and fabrics. This feedback could be digested in real time by the designer who was then free to engage and make instantaneous responses.

A pathway for exposure

For many designers, the event was a gateway for massive exposure, in particular for relatively unknown talents, and video was the perfect avenue to connect with new customers. A creative video by a young label, Fabric Porn, proved particularly popular on Tmall. The experience was set in a hazy abandoned house and recalled the New York underground music scene. It was during the livestream that founder Zhao Chenxi really excelled.

Dazed China’s Kong continued livestreaming as people were craving to see celebrities’ personal life up close. The Tmall livestream format presented both a spike in exposure and in sales. Homegrown luxury player Icicle, for one, earned over 238,000 views within the two hours livestream; visitors as well as sales on its Tmall store increased 100 per cent. Icicle attributed the commercial success of its “see now, buy now” showcase to their choice of product — selected commercial lines were promoted over conceptual pieces.

Fashion conglomerate Zuczug, with over 100 stores and six fashion lines, says all their data doubled. In particular, the number of interactions between the audience and them increased reached above 100,000. The Shanghai-based co-founder proved as a necessary virtual outlet for designers struggling to cope post COVID-19 and allowed designers to advance their understanding of 3D design and application and audience engagement.