The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Swedish fast fashion giant H&M has announced their latest Blank Staples collection is with Pronounce, a Chinese label by designer duo Yushan Li and Jun Zhou.
This is the first time H&M has collaborated with a designer for the collection since it launched last August and the second time the brand has partnered with a Chinese designer, after collaborating with Angel Chen in 2019.
The capsule collection will feature geometric patterns, inspired by Dunhuang’s Crescent Lake and traditional Chinese fairy tales. The new drop is expected to hit H&M’s selected physical stores, official website and app, WeChat store and Tmall boutique in China on April 8.
Pronounce shows regularly on London Fashion Week Men’s official calendar. The brand has several collaborations with with Diesel under its belt and was a finalist for the BoF China Prize. Li graduated from Central Saint Martins’ MA Fashion programme in 2015 and Zhou graduated from London College of Fashion in 2015 and Instituto Marangoni in 2013.
With consumers tightening their belts in China, the battle between global fast fashion brands and local high street giants has intensified.
Investors are bracing for a steep slowdown in luxury sales when luxury companies report their first quarter results, reflecting lacklustre Chinese demand.
The French beauty giant’s two latest deals are part of a wider M&A push by global players to capture a larger slice of the China market, targeting buzzy high-end brands that offer products with distinctive Chinese elements.
Post-Covid spend by US tourists in Europe has surged past 2019 levels. Chinese travellers, by contrast, have largely favoured domestic and regional destinations like Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.