Asia Fashion Weekly News Bulletin – ISSUE 43 Week of 8 December 2025
(1) Hong Kong’s fashion ambition faces its biggest test yet
Hong Kong Fashion Fest 2025 blends global couture and local talent amid subdued mourning; strong craft focus but weak retail synergy risks limiting city’s bid as Asia’s next design capital.
(2) Kering Taps China’s Gold Surge with Borland Investment
Kering Ventures takes minority stake in Chinese 24K gold jeweler Borland amid “Laopu effect” boom; targets young consumers’ cultural/investment demand, part of Kering’s China reset under CEO Luca de Meo.
(3) BTS’ V crowned #1 in K-Brand Index 2025: From CELINE to Paradise City, Kim Taehyung sets new standard in boy-group rankings
BTS’ V tops 2025 K-Brand Index boy-group rankings for November, leading with endorsements like CELINE and Paradise City; ahead of Cha Eun-woo, Jungkook, amid BTS’ 2026 comeback plans.
(4) The 2025 China Sanya International Wedding Fashion Week came to a close, creating the most professional wedding fashion exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region
2025 Sanya Bridal Fashion Week achieves RMB 365M transactions, 60 global brands, 10,000 buyers; beach couture shows and celebrity buzz position Sanya as world’s third-largest wedding-fashion hub after NY/Barcelona.
(1) Hong Kong’s fashion ambition faces its biggest test yet
(Photo Credit: FashionUnited)
Hong Kong Fashion Fest 2025, the government-backed multi-week initiative (late November–7 December), positions the city as Asia’s emerging design hub through seven flagship programmes blending couture, digital fashion, denim culture, sustainability, and cross-disciplinary exhibitions. Amid collective mourning for the Tai Po fire tragedy, organisers adopted a restrained tone—fewer parties, moments of silence—yet delivered a powerful showcase of international and local talent, from Italian couture to Chinese designers, against iconic backdrops like the Palace Museum and Central Harbourfront.
Highlights included the “Fashion to Reconnect” exhibition fusing Italian and Chinese craftsmanship, the denim festival’s public denim-cat sculpture by Sonic Lam at Harbour City, and Fashion Asia’s “10 Asian Designers to Watch.” The CityUHK showcase and couture collaborations emphasised artisanal processes over trends, while strategist Andre Hou declared the “era of the logo” over—consumers now demand transparency, provenance, and disciplined creativity.
Despite strong institutional ambition via CCIDA funding and global partnerships, the festival revealed gaps: major retailers offered minimal visible support—no window takeovers or capsules—weakening urban synergy seen in Paris or London. As mainland China’s homegrown brands surge and luxury spending softens, Hong Kong risks being sidelined unless it better connects institutions, retailers, and consumers to amplify its unique East-West creative voice in a post-logo era.
News Source: https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/hong-kongs-fashion-ambition-faces-its-biggest-test-yet/2025121085290
(2) Kering Taps China’s Gold Surge with Borland Investment
(Photo Credit: Borland)
Kering Ventures, the investment arm of French luxury conglomerate Kering, has acquired a minority stake in Borland, a Hangzhou-based Chinese jewelry brand founded in 1988 and specializing in 24-karat gold pieces inspired by imperial-era filigree craftsmanship, as confirmed in a company statement on December 1, 2025. The investment forms part of Kering’s newly launched “House of Dreams” fund, aimed at long-term stakes in high-potential emerging brands, and coincides with Borland’s Series A funding round exceeding RMB 100 million (US$14 million), led by Challenjers Venture Capital and including Shunwei Capital (co-founded by Xiaomi’s Lei Jun).
Borland’s three boutiques in premium malls (Hangzhou and Shenzhen) offer handcrafted gold pieces up to US$15,000, blending ancient techniques with contemporary appeal to capture China’s surging demand for high-karat gold among young consumers seeking cultural identity, investment security, and anxiety relief amid economic uncertainty. This “Laopu effect”—named after rival brand Laopu Gold, which reported RMB 12.4 billion (US$1.73 billion) in H1 2025 revenue (up 251% YoY) and saw its Hong Kong-listed shares surge over 2,300% since June 2024—defies the broader luxury slowdown in China, where Western brands face 18–20% domestic sales declines per Bain & Company.
Under CEO Luca de Meo, Kering’s stake in Borland—its first in China’s jewelry sector beyond owned brands—signals a strategic pivot from Western luxury extraction to co-creation with homegrown players, following the November 2025 CIIE alliance with Shanghai Fashion Week for domestic talent support. As Gen Z prioritizes heritage over logos (with multi-karat gold consumption up despite rising metal prices), this move diversifies Kering’s Asia exposure, potentially mitigating US$556 million impairments from regulatory shifts, but faces risks from volatile small-cap scrutiny and competition in a market where Laopu’s per-store sales exceed CNY 300 million annually.
News Source: https://www.vogue.com/article/kering-taps-chinas-gold-surge-with-borland-investment
(3) BTS’ V crowned #1 in K-Brand Index 2025: From CELINE to Paradise City, Kim Taehyung sets new standard in boy-group rankings
(Photo Credit: India Times)
BTS’ V (Kim Taehyung) topped the 2025 K-Brand Index boy-group individual category for November, per Asia Brand Research Institute, analyzing 208 million data points across media, social influence, and engagement from top portals. This marks his continued dominance, with fans celebrating his “brand king” status amid a competitive field.
The top 10 rankings are: 1. V (BTS), 2. Cha Eun-woo (Astro), 3. Jungkook (BTS), 4. Jin (BTS), 5. Kai (EXO), 6. G-Dragon (BIGBANG), 7. Yoo Yun-ho (TVXQ), 8. RM (BTS), 9. Baekhyun (EXO), 10. Jimin (BTS). V’s influence spans endorsements like CELINE (591% profit surge in 2023), Cartier, Coca-Cola, and new Paradise City ambassadorship (announced December 1, 2025, amid company’s strong 2024 revenue growth of 10.2% to KRW 818.8 billion).
V’s lead reflects his multifaceted impact—from music to luxury markets—outpacing peers despite military hiatus, with BTS eyeing a Spring 2026 comeback and world tour. His portfolio (Celine, Compose Coffee, TIRTIR, Snowpeak) underscores K-pop’s economic power, boosting tourism and sales while setting benchmarks for individual brand value in boy groups.
News Source: https://poprant.indiatimes.com/asian-dramas-kpop/bts-v-crowned-1-in-k-brand-index-2025-from-celine-to-paradise-city-kim-taehyung-sets-new-standard-in-boy-group-rankings-676938.html
(4) The 2025 China Sanya International Wedding Fashion Week came to a close, creating the most professional wedding fashion exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region
(Photo Credit: WWD X Sourcing Journal)
The 2025 China Sanya International Bridal Fashion Week (24–28 November) concluded with record results: RMB 365 million in transactions, a 10,000 m² exhibition area, 60 global top-tier brands, and 10,000 buyers from across Asia-Pacific. Under the theme “Island Holiday,” the event featured Asian premieres by British designer Susan Fang and South Korean CHOI JAE HOON, alongside Lebanese couture houses GEORGES HOBEIKA and TONY WARD, and Malaysia’s THE ATELIER, cementing Sanya’s rise as a major haute couture wedding-fashion hub.
Innovative outdoor shows on beaches, coconut groves, and lawns fused bridal aesthetics with tropical scenery, while celebrity appearances by Xu Yiyang, Xu Lu, Guo Biting, Zhang Yuxi, and others generated 3.8 billion online impressions. Cross-border collaborations with the Hainan Island International Film Festival, luxury hotels, and duty-free outlets created a “watch-show + shop + stay” consumption chain, significantly boosting high-end hotel occupancy and urban spending.
By blending high fashion with destination appeal, Sanya has elevated itself into the world’s third-largest bridal couture exhibition city after New York and Barcelona. The event’s success demonstrates China’s growing influence in global luxury wedding fashion and positions Sanya as an emerging “vacation-style purchasing” centre, driving both tourism and trade with sustainable international momentum.
