Mytheresa Spotlights Chinese Talent Via Exclusive Collections
LONDON — Mytheresa is ready for a big reveal this week, unveiling four exclusive capsule collections from its debut China Designer Program.
The program, which was announced last fall, is meant to highlight a new generation of talent, and reflect Mytheresa’s ambitions in China and the Asia Pacific region.
More from WWD
Designers Susan Fang, Di Du, Jacques Wei and Xuzhi Chen were chosen by a jury that included Tiffany Hsu, Mytheresa’s vice president of fashion buying, and Chuxuan Feng, founder of Huasheng Media and editor in chief of T Magazine China.
Mytheresa will host a dinner in Shanghai on Tuesday with the four designers in attendance, and the collections will launch globally on Mytheresa the following day.
The editorial and video were produced by a Chinese team and cast in collaboration with Mytheresa’s media partner on the project, T Magazine China. Photographer Lian Zi photographed the collections on models Ci Ci Xiang and Emma Bei Pei.
Mytheresa plans to promote the collections internationally via its 2 million followers on Chinese and international social media, and activations involving key opinion leaders.
Hsu said she worked closely with the designers on every step, “from initial ideas and sketches to actual finished products. We are delighted to present them and their vision to our global Mytheresa customer base.”
In an interview, Mytheresa chief executive officer Michael Kliger said the program aims to shed light on the creativity of Chinese luxury designers and to demonstrate the “modernity and innovation” in Chinese fashion.
He said the collections reflect “Chinese designers as they are today. There is genuine talent in this market, and we are very thankful to the four designers. They really put their hearts into these collections, and creating stories for Mytheresa to tell. We’ve made this journey together,” he said.
Fang’s collection is heavily inspired by the designer’s heritage. She is known for her use of gauze. She prints and dyes the material, cuts it into pieces of different widths, and then folds it by hand into multilayered, three-dimensional designs.
Du’s collection draws inspiration from Georgia O’Keeffe’s flower paintings, and her silhouettes are designed to fit a variety of body shapes.
Wei has worked butterfly and floral motifs into his collection, which features minimal dresses, structured corsetry and oversize suits.
Mytheresa described Chen’s collection as “an ode to the hippy culture of the 1960s and 1970s.” It features rough edges, flying feathers and hand-woven embroidery.
Although Mytheresa will promote these collections internationally, the retailer is also looking to cultivate its growing customer base in China and the Asia Pacific region.
“The Chinese customer goes beyond China, and it’s a very important audience. They’re buying at home, and abroad — and they’re traveling once again,” Kliger said.
Mytheresa doesn’t break out sales figures for the Chinese market, but Asia Pacific, which includes China, South Korea and Australia, represents 25 percent of the business.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2023, the online retailer posted a 7.8 percent uptick in gross merchandise value, GMV, to 215.9 million euros.
Over the past 18 months, the company has been ramping up its presence in China, cultivating local talent and consumers.
In fiscal 2022, the company named Steven Xu as president, China and APAC, and opened new offices in Shanghai. That year, mainland China GMV growth rose by 22.5 percent despite regional COVID-19 lockdowns.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2023, which ended in September, Mytheresa shifted its Chinese personal shopping and marketing teams into high gear. Those moves resulted in mainland China GMV growing by a further 22.5 percent.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2023, which ended in December, China showed slight negative growth as the country reopened, following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
In February, that negative trend began to shift. Mytheresa said it saw “promising customer development” in February in all regions including the EU and China.
Asked whether Mytheresa is planning a second edition of the program, Kliger said no decision has been made. “But I would love to. Of course we want to see how the reaction is, and how people like what we’re doing,” he said.
The jury members for the debut edition of the China Designer Program were Ye Mingzi, CEO of Guoye Culture and a Mytheresa brand ambassador; Feng of T Magazine China; Fil Xiao Bai, a stylist and influencer, and Mytheresa’s Hsu.
Mytheresa isn’t the first retailer to thrust new Chinese talent into the spotlight. International players such as Net-a-porter, Browns and Selfridges have all promoted Chinese talent as they seek to expand their international footprint, and appeal to a broader audience.
Best of WWD
