Gallery: High fashion goes high tech at Chloe Shanghai fashion show

Not your average five year old’s birthday party, Chloe China’s fifth anniversary on February 25 brought together the themes of high tech and high fashion. 

A packed house of well-known fashion and entertainment names including South Korea's Wonder Girls, Simon Yam and Michael Wong ensured that the company’s Spring/Summer 2011 fashion show hosted at the Shanghai Expo Center and headlined by model Bonnie Chen, would be as glamorous as any of the events at New York Fashion Week. 

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In addition to showing the company’s S/S 2011 line with the theme “modern ballerina,” the event also featured a modern dance performance choreographed by fashion designer and former ballet dancer Flora Cheong-Leen, starring model Bonnie Chen.

More than anything else though, it was a celebration of the company's success in China.

We must not get away from ourselves though. We need to keep humility. We’re still in the early stages of our development. We’ve got so far to go.— Helen Willerton, managing director of Chloe Asia Pacific

“So much has happened in the last five years,” says Helen Willerton, managing director of Chloe Asia Pacific.

“This time five years ago we were doing a party for our first store in China -- and that was the start of it all. The first two years we were in China with a franchise partner, then we decided we needed to internalize the business.

"In effect, while it has been five years, it really has been only three years that Chloe has been established with our own office and we're quite proud of how far we have come.”

By the end of this fiscal year, Chloe China will have 13 stores in seven cities across China, including stores in Nanjing and Xi’an. In addition to growing the number of stores, the number of employees is expected to soon double to 70.

Chloe in China and online

In addition to celebrating their clothes with Shanghai’s fashionable masses, Chloe's event highlighted the role of technology in fashion, with the entire show being shot and streamed live on the brand's English and new Chinese-language websites. 

“The role of digital media in general, but particularly in China, is very important,” explains Willerton of the emphasis the company is putting on its new China blog. “It’s clear to us that the role of digital media is one of the strongest here in China -- a country that’s very forward thinking.”

“A blog is fundamentally boring if it’s just pumping out data,” continues Willerton. “It needs to be interactive -- which is what we’re trying to do in China.” 

Since launch of jesuischloe.com in late 2010, Chloe China has run competitions such as voting on models for the Chloe Shanghai fashion show as well as pairing with a local charity.

“It is important to us that the Chinese people feel that we’re giving something back,” says Willerton. “To help do that, we’re working with the Blue Sky foundation. We’ve invited 10 children to each paint a picture, and their artwork is being displayed on [Chinese-language] blog, where people can vote on their favorite.” 

The child whose painting collects the most ballots will receive funding from Chloe to help them fulfill a dream of their choice.

Although currently choosing to bypass platforms like weibo for now, according to Chloe China general manager Sophia Wu, the Chloe Chinese language blog has been pushed to the forefront of their campaign to reach out to and educate consumers, offering additional content like behind-the-scenes footage and now streaming coverage of shows. 

“Initiatives like this are progressive, and a way we can really communicate with consumers -- current and future,” says Willerton. “They show we’re here and we’re in [China] for the long term.”

Reaching Chinese consumers

Initiatives like this are progressive and a way we can really communicate with consumers -- current and future. They show we’re here and we’re in [China] for the long term— Helen Willerton, managing director of Chloe Asia Pacific

China is the world's fastest-growing market for luxury goods and is forecast to be the world's top buyer of such products as cosmetics, handbags, watches, shoes and clothes by 2015, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, so it’s no wonder that luxury brands like Chloe are trying to cash in.

The challenge is reaching consumers, the vast majority of whom are under 45 years old -- a complete reversal from Chloe’s traditional markets.

“With respect to our other sister brands and competitors, we see what they’re doing," says Willerton. "We're really running to catch this wave and enjoy the momentum that is in China.”

“Being ahead of expectations seems to be part of the mentality of China,” continues Geoffroy de la Bourdonnaye, Chloe CEO. 

“They’ve proven that with events like the recent Olympics and the Shanghai Expo. And, the fact that we’re within an Expo venue for an event like this for Chloe is not symbolic, it’s evidence that we’re in sync with that mentality.”

De la Bourdonnaye took over as Chloe's chief executive in September after three years leading London's Liberty luxury department store. Before that, he was president of French couture house Christian Lacroix.

The tastes of China's wealthy are shifting away from designer goods with dominating logos -- traditionally a market held by brands Louis Vuitton -- to more understated luxury brands, says de la Bourdonnaye. And this is where the company’s opportunity lies.

That shift has helped Chloe become one of the Swiss luxury goods company Richemont Group's fastest-growing labels in China, said the French CEO in a group interview. 

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"China has been very fast at picking up the most well-known brands, but they are now looking for the brands that are not necessarily on the top of the radar screen. They're looking for new interesting brands that bring something that other brands don't bring."

And that is where Chloe comes in.

“We must not get away from ourselves though,” notes Willerton of the brand's growth in China. “We need to keep humility. We’re still in the early stages of our development. We’ve got so far to go.”

A borough-bred Manhattanite, editor and writer Jessica Beaton lived in Shanghai for five years and has now moved to Hong Kong.

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