Asia Fashion Weekly News Bulletin – ISSUE 45 Week of 29 December 2025
(1) SAINT LAURENT inaugurates its first Right Rive Space in Asia in Beijing
Saint Laurent has opened Asia’s first Rive Droite boutique in Beijing’s Sanlitun district, marking a new chapter for the house’s most culture-led retail concept.
(2) Golden Goose Hits €2.5 Billion Valuation As China’s HSG Takes Control
Golden Goose is closing in on a change of ownership, with private equity owner Permira fielding a potential €2.5 billion offer from China’s HongShan Capital Group (HSG) that could make it one of the biggest luxury deals of the year.
(3) H&M and Shanghai Fashion Week reveal the full campaign images for the collaboration with JACQUES WEI
H&M continues its Chinese Designer Collaboration Project with a second season developed together with Shanghai Fashion Week and JACQUES WEI. Campaign introduces a collection conceived for Chinese New Year 2026, guided by the symbolism of the Year of the Horse.
(4) Lane Crawford and AiDLab Partner to Innovate Fashion Retail through AI, Launching Interactive Personal Stylist
Lane Crawford, Hong Kong’s luxury department store, has partnered with AiDLab to launch a first-to-market virtual personal fashion stylist powered by AI, which will provide personalized outfit recommendations and virtual try-ons to enhance the customer experience.
(1) SAINT LAURENT inaugurates its first Right Rive Space in Asia in Beijing
(Photo Credit: Avenue Montaigne Paris)
The SAINT LAURENT RIVE DROITE boutique in Beijing, designed by Anthony Vaccarello, is a multidisciplinary cultural destination that pays tribute to the historic Rive Gauche line while transcending traditional retail. Housed in a textured concrete and ribbed velvet building in the Sanlitun district, the three-level space features a serene, open atmosphere with curated furniture and artwork by design icons like Bob Wilson, Pierre Chapo, and Charlotte Perriand. This environment reflects the collector spirit of Yves Saint Laurent and serves as a backdrop for the brand’s full range of products and cultural initiatives.
The boutique offers Saint Laurent’s complete product range—including ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and jewelry—alongside the exclusive Rive Droit collection of limited editions, books, vinyls, photographs, and art exhibitions. For its opening, the store launched the first Saint Laurent Rive Droite Snow Edition collection, which blends technical performance with the house’s distinctive aesthetics in skiwear and equipment. The top-floor private lounge provides an exclusive experience, reinforcing the location as a cultural hub rather than just a store.
Positioned as a cultural crossroads in Beijing, the boutique continues the expansion of the Rive Droit concept from Paris, Los Angeles, and New York into a major Eastern cultural center. It honors Saint Laurent’s historic connection to the city, where a retrospective of the designer’s work was presented in the 1980s. By integrating art, exclusive collaborations, and cultural programming, the space embodies the house’s commitment to elegance, creativity, and innovation, transforming shopping into an immersive, culturally rich experience.
News Source: https://avenuemontaigneguide.com/en/saint-laurent-inaugure-a-pekin-son-premier-espace-rive-droite-en-asie/
(2) Golden Goose Hits €2.5 Billion Valuation As China’s HSG Takes Control
(Photo Credit: Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Private equity firm Permira is in advanced talks to sell the Italian luxury sneaker brand Golden Goose to China’s HongShan Capital Group (HSG) in a deal valued at approximately €2.5 billion, which would rank among the largest luxury transactions of 2025. The offer values Golden Goose at about ten times its projected 2025 core profit (EBITDA), highlighting strong investor confidence in the brand despite a cooling broader luxury market.
Golden Goose has demonstrated robust growth, with revenue rising about 13% to €655 million in 2024 and maintaining a similar pace in the first nine months of 2025. Permira, which acquired the brand for around €1.3 billion in 2020, had previously shelved a Milan IPO plan in 2024 due to market volatility. The potential sale would represent a significant return for Permira and follows a recent investment from Blue Pool Capital, backed by Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai, which acquired a 12% stake earlier in 2025 to support international expansion.
The acquisition aligns with HongShan’s strategy to expand its European luxury portfolio, and reports indicate the fund has approached former Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri to become Golden Goose’s chairman. If completed, HongShan plans to focus on expanding directly operated stores, especially in Asia, and may consider a future stock market listing for the brand. The deal underscores the enduring appeal of differentiated, “logo-light” luxury assets with strong global retail footprints and resilient growth.
News Source: https://footwearmagazine.com/golden-goose-chinas-hsg/
(3) H&M and Shanghai Fashion Week reveal the full campaign images for the collaboration with JACQUES WEI
(Photo Credit: H&M)
Global fashion retailer H&M, in partnership with Shanghai Fashion Week, has unveiled the second season of its Chinese Designer Collaboration Project: The JACQUES WEI H&M Collection. Inspired by the 2026 Chinese New Year and the Year of the Horse, the collection features womenswear and accessories characterized by precise tailoring and delicate fabrics in an Eastern-inspired color palette of bright red, dark camel brown, agate grey, and moonlight blue. The collection will launch online on January 21 and in select H&M stores across mainland China from January 22.
The collection reinterprets classic silhouettes—including halter tops, slip dresses, fringed skirts, and tailored suiting—adorned with JACQUES WEI’s signature animal prints, beading, fringes, and metallic accents. Horse motifs are woven throughout the designs, with details like metallic horse-shaped buckles and fringes evoking a horse’s mane, blending untamed spirit with refined elegance. Accessories such as structured saddle-shaped bags, chain belts with traditional “Galloping Horse and Flying Swallow” motifs, and sleek equestrian-inspired jewelry continue the theme, merging structural aesthetics with wearable artistry.
Designer Jacques Donghui Wei aimed to integrate traditional zodiac symbolism and festive colors into modern womenswear, creating a balance between artistic expression and everyday wearability. H&M’s Asia Design Hub manager, Sara Gydal Lindquist, highlighted the collaboration as a celebration of Eastern culture through innovative design. The project underscores H&M and Shanghai Fashion Week’s commitment to supporting Chinese design talent and offering consumers culturally resonant, high-quality fashion, further establishing Shanghai Fashion Week as a dynamic global platform.
News Source: https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=348542
(4) Lane Crawford and AiDLab Partner to Innovate Fashion Retail through AI, Launching Interactive Personal Stylist
(Photo Credit: Lane Crawford/the Laotiantimes)
Lane Crawford, Hong Kong’s iconic luxury department store, has partnered with the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab) to innovate fashion retail through AI. The collaboration will feature a first-to-market virtual personal fashion stylist powered by AiDLab’s Styling Advice & Retail Assistant (SARA), which integrates the expertise of Lane Crawford’s human stylists. This AI tool will track customer preferences, store inventory, and real-time trends to generate personalized outfit recommendations and virtual try-ons using a customer-specific avatar.
Beyond the virtual stylist, the partnership will explore AiDLab’s Interactive Design Assistant for Fashion (AiDA) system for AI-supported trend forecasting and product development. The alliance also includes the LC×AiDLab Community Building programme, featuring talks and workshops to connect talent across fashion, design, and technology. According to Lane Crawford Chairman Jennifer Woo, the initiative aims to scale personalized styling services beyond physical stores, optimizing team expertise while maintaining the brand’s authentic point of view.
AiDLab, jointly established by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the UK’s Royal College of Art, emphasizes the importance of industry-academia collaboration to ensure research benefits both the sector and society. Professor Calvin Wong, CEO of AiDLab, stated the partnership ensures their technologies are both innovative and practical, aligning with retailer and consumer needs. This move positions Lane Crawford at the forefront of integrating AI into luxury retail, enhancing customer experience and promoting a more sustainable, innovative fashion industry.
