FOR the Year of the Dragon — the only imaginary animal in the 12 Chinese zodiac signs, as well as one of the most auspicious creatures — luxury and fashion brands let their imagination roam free with holiday collections that reflect brand value and showcase localization know-how. “From the consumer’s point of view, Chinese New Year remains the most important milestone of the year. It provides an opportunity to self-reward or invest in yourself before the family gathering, in addition to gifting,” said Pablo Mauron, partner and managing director of China at DLG, a Shanghai-based luxury digital marketing agency. This year, the Chinese New Year will land on Feb. 10. Welcoming the occasion, brands are taking cues from the zodiac sign as a muse for creativity both in their collections and campaigns. Referencing the dragon symbolism, Louis Vuitton’s Vivienne mascot is seen riding the clouds on a dragon in a series of videos, which came out as whimsical gifting objects. Five larger-than-life dragon installations were also set up at pop-ups and flagships in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. At Gucci, with the fire-breathing beast already a definitive house code, it arrived in a festive capsule collection highlighting the Dionysus handbag. The brand also tapped its global brand ambassador and actress Ni Ni and Taiwanese actor Chang Chen, marking a reunion of the two protagonists of the Chinese television series “Love and Destiny.” Meanwhile, brands’ extravagant retail displays at key flagship locations aim to generate more “key opinion consumer” exposure on Chinese social media. “These installations in stores have been proven to be the most efficient strategy to achieve a high level of word-of-mouth through striking visual presentations and interactive experiences, especially on platforms like Xiaohongshu,” Mauron explained. Channeling the dragon’s feisty and bold energy, luxury labels have doubled down on Lunar New Year capsules that feature cartoon or anime characters. At Dior, men’s creative director Kim Jones worked with Otani Workshop, a Japanese contemporary artist, to create a bubbly dragon character that adorned sweaters, scarves and sneakers. Fendi womenswear, also overseen by Jones, brought out Pokémon’s beloved characters, including Dratini, Dragonair and Dragonite, for its dragon year Fendi x Frgmt x Pokémon three-way collaboration, which celebrated with traveling pop-ups in London, Chengdu and Tokyo, and a Pokemon Go virtual outfit release. Mulberry’s collaboration with Mira Mikati, Marni’s dragon doodles, and Swatch’s five-watch collection also presented zany products aimed at tapping into a more Gen Z-friendly mentality. However, Leaf Greener, partner at LiamLeaf, a brand-building agency, said companies could take a more cautious stance with dinosaur-like dragon interpretations. Steering clear of sensitive issues, designer brands Self-Portrait and Samuel Gui Yang celebrated heritage and rituals with dedicated collections that could spark another wave of Chinese old-money aesthetics. This year, Samuel Gui Yang was tapped by Adidas to work on a Lunar New Year collection that celebrated both sportswear and festival dressing. “The prompt from Adidas was ‘dragon dance,’ a ritual performed during the spring festival,” said Yang Guidong, half of the designer label Samuel Gui Yang. For Greener, Loewe and Bottega Veneta came up with the most thoughtful Lunar New Year campaigns. With craftsmanship in mind, Loewe ventured into the unfamiliar territory of Chinese fine jewelry with jade pendants that come in small editions of five. “The pricing could be more ambitious, but the idea of letting go of the dragon figure is freeing. Bravo,” Greener said. At Bottega, a short film showing different characters, including brand ambassador Shu Qi, welcoming a new dawn in various panoramic settings “helped the brand break free of the stereotypical Chinese New Year narrative,” Greener said. “Bottega Veneta also used the opportunity to promote its homeware collection,” said Greener. “A personal favorite has to be the dragon spine shoulder bag.” Tapping into the tradition of family reunion, Balenciaga celebrated the topic of togetherness by naming its new year series “Paris Is Home,” which is phonetically the same as Balenciaga in Chinese. Friends of the House, including Eliza Douglas, Chen Zhuo and Ming Xi are dressed in doodle logo marks resembling a flying dragon. Every year, certain brands’ Spring Festival collections are criticized for their lack of aesthetic sensitivity or their misinterpretation of Chinese culture, and this year is no different. On Chinese social media, multiple individuals have noted that Burberry’s red checks, roses, and houndstooth prints evoke cheap woven bags for wholesale items and the appearance of fresh cuts at a butcher shop.(SD-Agencies) | 