Chinese star Zhang Ziyi on the red carpet at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
As the 2014 Cannes Film Festival kicks off in Monaco this week, luxury fashion and jewelry brands are flocking to Chinese social media to show off the stars wearing their creations. While many companies posted pictures of Western stars popular in China, others opted to outfit Asian stars to gain added attention in the China market.
A wide number of fashion brands have been active in posting information on what the stars are wearing at the top global film event. Gucci’s photo of Gossip Girl star Blake Lively wearing the label’s gown received good reception on Weibo—the show is very popular in China. Other Weibo posts include Tiffany’s photo of Amy Adams wearing a pair of its earrings, and Chaumet’s image of Audrey Tatou wearing a pair by the brand.
Gucci’s photo of Blake Lively at Cannes posted on its Weibo page. (Weibo/Gucci)
The brands that will gain extra attention in the China market are those outfitting top Chinese stars at the festival this year. Although the two “Bingbings”—Li Bingbing and Fan Bingbing—are absent this year despite their previous show-stopping Cannes presence, red-carpet appearances by actresses Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li have been all over Chinese media.
Piaget, Roberto Cavalli, and L’Oreal are all linked to Gong Li at Cannes this year.
So far, The Grandmaster star Zhang brought Chinese attention to French designer Stéphane Rolland after showing up on the opening ceremony red carpet wearing a black-and-white gown designed by him, and jeweler Bochic was proud to point out that it designed the clutch she carried. Jeweler Piaget posted on its Weibo account that Marco Polo star Gong Li showed up at the event in a pair of its earrings, while Roberto Cavalli received a China boost for designing her dress. Meanwhile, Versace joined many luxury brands using the China popularity of South Korean stars by pointing out on Weibo that it had designed the dress worn by former Cannes Best Actress winner Jeon Do-yeon.
The event is also being used as a marketing opportunity for French beauty brand L’Oreal, which has created a special Cannes gift package available on Tmall that is being promoted through a special giveaway contest on Weibo and WeChat, as well as a Weibo tutorial on how to get Gong Li’s red-carpet look.
The Cannes China promotions are only beginning, however—we’re likely to see many more brands stepping up on China’s social media before the festival ends on May 25.