Lux Brands vs Year of the Dog

Pun warning ahead! Is it going to be a dog of a year for Chinese NY luxury gifting? 

Every Chinese NY I wait with baited breath for the release of the international luxury brands CNY limited editions. In the past there have been some real doozies, including last year's design from MCM or D&G's chicken covered silk jacket. Even Johnnie Walker got into the act with limited edition year of the rooster whiskey. One of the big issues is that a lot of these limited editions often end up looking a bit much like 山寨 ( shanzhai ) or counterfeit goods. 

One of the big issues seems to be that the international brands do not recruit local Chinese fashion influencers and designers to create these limited editions. To me it would seem to be an obvious choice to hire from within the market that you are targeting. Chinese design is so culturally specific that it is easy to get it wrong and really make a dog's breakfast of it and end up looking stupid, ill informed or offend your market. Case in point is this design from D&G that one commenter said only a middle aged woman from the country side would wear.

Longchamp this year has worked with fashion icon and influencer, Mr Bags ( Tao Liang ) who has previously worked with brands such as Tods with great success. Will be interesting to see how consumers feel about Longchamp's CNY limited editions and the cutesy paw prints may well appeal to their audience of millennials and young students. 

Please share with me your best & worst Chinese NY limited edition designs. Would love to see what's out there!