Following Zegna, Coach, Balmain and Yohji Yamamoto, Britain’s A-Cold-Wall* taps China’s JD.com – how is Covid-era e-commerce changing millennial luxury shopping in China?

The playing field for launching luxury online in China is vast and varied. From apps like WeChat or Little Red Book, to short video platforms Douyin or Kuaishou, there’s a platform and an audience to suit any brand’s needs. Emerging British menswear brand A-Cold-Wall* digitally launched a film at Milan Fashion Week in late September – just as it cemented its partnership with JD.com, dropping its AW20 collection with the e-commerce giant in November.

The onset of Covid-19 led to China’s digital landscape expanding, incorporating new and daring ways to capture consumers’ interests. Though many still view this as a two-horse race – Tmall with its Luxury Pavilion, versus JD.com and its partner Farfetch – JD.com has been seriously upping its fashion credentials since January.

So far, its scoops this year include Zegna, Coach, Balmain, Yohji Yamamoto, and a number of new names from Farfetch China, such as the UK designers Nicholas Kirkwood and Roksanda Ilincic. The collaboration with London-based A-Cold-Wall*, founded by designer Samuel Ross, began when the brand won JD.com’s sponsored BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund, and has culminated in the brand joining the platform.

This latest sign-up points to a trend: e-commerce companies seeking out specialised luxury and experimental designers to nurture, which then go on to satisfy Chinese consumers’ hunger for directional fashion. According to JD.com, customers there have shown a high demand for luxury products during Covid-19 and now as the country rebuilds after its outbreak. Kevin Jiang, president of international business at JD fashion and lifestyle, noted that “in just the first hour of June 1, we grew by 400 per cent year-on-year and reached the sales of the whole day last year, in just two hours.”

Founder of The Institute of Digital Fashion, Leanne Elliott-Young, also confirmed the strong sales, noting, “JD.com is flying high at the moment.” Indeed, the company’s logistics network has gained a lot of momentum during the lockdown, which is now being used to power luxury deliveries. “After the ‘618’ festival (June 18), with its record pandemic high spends of 400 per cent, its audience has adapted seamlessly to a digital lockdown and beyond,” Elliott-Young adds. And, as much as fashion brands pin their hope for recovery on China, competing e-tail rivals are also looking to attract interactional talent and market it.

How to market A-Cold-Wall*’s menswear to China

A pre-pandemic CIIE Blue Paper from Deloitte-Secoo on luxury goods consumption in China stated that online luxury purchases by male consumers had surpassed those of female ones and that 50 per cent of those males were between the ages of 18 and 30. Therefore, while the strategy works for brands wanting to attract these male customers, JD.com also has much to gain by attracting a younger, more engaged demographic.

In their AW20 drop, Ross’ brand has transitioned from a pure artistic practice to offering his audience “tailored functionality”. And, by delivering “luxury for every day”, the brand is well suited to China’s adventurous luxury tastemakers. Jiang made the value of such a collaboration clear, explaining, “Young, male customers are a key customer base on JD, and we have carefully analysed customers’ preferences to bring them the most stylish and hot-selling products. We believe the brand has strong potential in the Chinese market, especially with young consumers with a strong personal style.”