Style On The Dot posted: " Initially scheduled for 23 March in Hong Kong, the Dior extravaganza is now "postponed indefinitely" The Dior Hong Kong flagship on Canton Road, Kowloon Last November, Dior announced that they would stage a runway show in Hong Kong, and in Janu"
Initially scheduled for 23 March in Hong Kong, the Dior extravaganza is now "postponed indefinitely"
The Dior Hong Kong flagship on Canton Road, Kowloon
Last November, Dior announced that they would stage a runway show in Hong Kong, and in January set the date for 23 March, featuring Kim Jones's men's pre-fall 2024 collection. This would have been the second LVMH brand designed by male creative directors to show in Hong Kong after Pharrell Williams presented his Louis Vuitton pre-fall collection three months ago. LV used the Victoria Harbour as a backdrop, sending out drones to dazzle the sky, while the less spectacular collection was a curious aloha to Hong Kong. It was not stated where in the city Dior had wanted to unveil their men's collection (reported to be pre-fall 2024), but it was assumed that it would not be less theatrical than LV's first pick of Avenue of Stars (in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon). The emergent rumour was that the show would take place at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (also in Kowloon). Another runway by the water to better augment the Harbour City's riparian reputation? But now, the Dior destination show happening in Hong Kong is uncertain.
Dior was not organza-sheer with the reason for the sudden change of plan, which aroused conspiracy theorists to go berserk. What troubles were astir a month before the event? The more business-aware suggested that with China's economy being sluggish, Dior decided to unstitched the project. As some news reports claimed, it would cost the maison some HK$100 million (or about S$17.2 million) to stage the show. It could be that Dior no longer found it appealing to target what some considered a dwindling Chinese luxury market. Our sources in Hong Kong told us that "the mainlanders no longer come to Hong Kong to shop. They can buy the same things back in their own cities". Moreover, "the super-rich are not really coming, but the poorer ones are". Last December, Reuters reported that "Hong Kong's luxury retailers are adapting to fewer wealthy Chinese shoppers visiting the city and a shift towards tourists flocking to Instagram-coveted spots in trendy districts rather than splashing out on pricey branded gear".
"the mainlanders no longer come to Hong Kong to shop. They can buy the same things back in their own cities"
This morning, at 科記咖啡餐廳 (fo gei ka fe chan teng) of For Kee Restaurant in 上環 (Sheung Wan), a long queue had formed by nine. No one in the line was local and no one was bothered by the chilly air. Some had luggage in tow and was told by a surly staffer to place their hang lei outside the small, decades-old, corner eatery. And orders were to be placed before a vacant table would be assigned. Everyone patiently waiting looked to be Gen-Zers. A twentysomething couple from Shenyang (沈阳) was contemplating queueing. A short conversation in Mandarin ensued (it has been edited for brevity). How did you guys know about this place? We saw it on Xiaohongshu (小红书, popular Chinese social media). Is eating better than shopping? "There is nothing to buy here, nothing we cannot buy back home. Anyway, we prefer local experiences than going to shops that look alike, everywhere." Do you buy luxury products? "Very rarely." What are your views on Dior cancelling their show in Hong Kong? "What has that got to do with us?"
Dior's extravaganza was expected to draw "a thousand visitors"—according to local media, presumably celebrities with spending power. According to South China Morning Post, "culture and tourism chief Kevin Yeung had counted [the] Dior show as one of 80 mega events slated for first half of [the] year". Just as the Singapore government is positioning the city-state as the entertainment hub of Southeast Asia (with the sell-out concerts of Coldplay last month and Taylor Swift next weekend), the Hong Kong authorities have been planning to lure luxury brands to bring flashy, lavishly-staged events to the city so as to strengthen its glamour quotient. The Culture, Sports, and Tourism Bureau and the Hong Kong Tourism Board—both, together with K11 Musea's owner Adam Cheng (he has a majority stake in former Givenchy designer Matthew Williams's label 1017 Alyx 9SM), helped facilitate the Louis Vuitton show—did acknowledge that Dior "postponed" their runway event and that the brand's decision was "commercial". Hong Kong's bouncing back, as it appears, is not gaining height yet.
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