Christian Dior Pulls the Plug on HK Fashion Show
Christian Dior has postponed indefinitely the huge fashion show the brand had planned to have in Hong Kong without any further explanation. The event was widely anticipated by the luxury sector here in Hong Kong, especially on the heels of the Louis Vuitton’s Pre-Fall 2024 show on the Kowloon harbor front just a few months ago.
The Men’s Fall 2024 show was originally scheduled to take place at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal on March 23, 2024, and had a guest list of 1,000 overseas VIPs, executives, and local attendees. With an estimated price tag of HKD 100 million, the cancellation of the event came as a surprise considering the importance of the Greater China market for Dior, and how successful the brand is in said market. A recent study conducted by Launchmetrics shows Dior ranked pretty high in influencer engagement in China in Q3-2024, with the brand’s engagements valued at USD 397 million, slightly more than Chanel’s, and significantly outperforming Nike, Armani, and even Hermes. Dior’s strong investment in Douyin has paid off with the social media platform contributing to 56% of Dior’s influencer media impact value.
The postponement of the show is a blow to the city’s efforts to put Hong Kong back as a mecca for luxury shopping. The luxury industry in the city has been struggling post-pandemic with attracting wealthy Chinese visitors, who are now opting to go to Hainan, shopping online more frequently, and overall changing their buying behavior. This in turn, is driving Hong Kong to rethink its tourism strategy, and is counting on hosting major events to attract high-spending visitors. However, the strategy, so far, seems to not be working as expected. One of said events was Any Hindmarch’s Chubby Hearts, which cost the HK government HKD 7.8 million.
