Asia Fashion Weekly News Bulletin – ISSUE 49 Week of 26 January 2026
(1) From festive moment to cultural asset: Miu Miu’s yearly brand story
The maison’s narrative is rooted in long-term thinking, with its Chinese New Year campaigns supported by a deeply enduring brand.
(2) Schiaparelli in Hong Kong: where fantasy meets discipline
Stockholm-based design studio Halleroed arrives in Hong Kong for a new retail project, a Schiaparelli salon realized with glimmering gold interiors. The opulent space is found within the Landmark Prince’s Building, and is fronted by a curved brushed-gold facade.
(3) APM Monaco shows off its latest jewellery collections at Hong Kong race night
The jewellery brand celebrated its latest creations in its Hiver and Yummy collections at a night at the races at Hong Kong’s Happy Valley.
(4) Old money, new connection: Zegna’s emotional case for endurance in China
With ‘A Family Closet,’ Zegna recalibrates its China market strategy through an emotional lens, drawing on family, heritage, and continuity to articulate its legacy old money ethos.
(1) From festive moment to cultural asset: Miu Miu’s yearly brand story
(Photo Credit: Miumiu)
Miu Miu has reimagined Chinese New Year marketing with its 2026 campaign, eschewing traditional festive spectacle for a quiet, introspective mood. At the center is the short film The Encounter, directed by Gu You and set in the misty, modernist Gongwang Art Museum in Hangzhou. Featuring ambassadors Lexie Liu and Zhao Jinmai alongside a symbolic white horse, the film trades loud celebration for a poetic focus on inner reflection and personal feeling at the year’s turn, establishing a distinct, serene aesthetic for the holiday.
Building on the film’s narrative, Miu Miu created an immersive, walkable experience on Shanghai’s historic Donghu Road from January 23-25. The brand transformed three local venues—FUFU, BLAZ, and Sugar Plum—into chapters of the story, offering spaces for quiet retreat, social gathering, and daily rituals. This “single-point focus” strategy marks an evolution from 2025’s multi-city activations, creating a cohesive district-wide narrative that turns marketing into an explorable, participatory encounter for its community of “Miu Miu girls.”
The campaign exemplifies Miu Miu’s broader, decade-long strategy of building cultural capital rather than chasing short-term hype. It treats the New Year not as a one-off event but as a serialized, evolving IP—a concept reinforced by Lexie Liu’s second bespoke holiday single, “Chun”. This approach is underpinned by sustained investments in film (the “Women’s Talesseries”), art (partnerships with Art Basel), and literature (the “Literary Club”). These initiatives cultivate a brand identity centered on intelligent, independent femininity, transforming seasonal campaigns into enduring emotional investments that build lasting brand equity and distinguish Miu Miu in the luxury landscape.
News Source: https://jingdaily.com/posts/from-festive-moment-to-cultural-asset-miu-miu-s-yearly-brand-story
(2) Schiaparelli in Hong Kong: where fantasy meets discipline
(Photo Credit: designboom)
The Stockholm-based design studio Halleroed has unveiled a new Schiaparelli boutique in Hong Kong’s Landmark Prince’s Building, marked by a curved, brushed-gold facade. This gleaming exterior features oval openings that offer framed glimpses into the darker interior while softening reflections from the surrounding corridor, creating an intriguing invitation into the opulent retail space.
Inside, the boutique is organized as a sequence of interconnected rooms rather than a single open floor, each with a distinct character yet visually linked through aligned openings and mirrored surfaces. Halleroed lined the walls with softly reflective lacquered wood that integrates shelving and display vitrines, while dark veined marble floors ground the space. Polished and brushed metal surfaces interplay with mirrors to add depth and complexity, making the compact layout feel layered and expansive.
Display elements are architecturally embedded, including recessed niches clad in gold mosaic and a bathtub-inspired jewelry alcove that blends domestic symbolism with luxury retail. Overhead, hand-drawn illustrations by Creative Director Daniel Roseberry extend across the ceiling, subtly revealing Schiaparelli motifs as visitors progress. Gentle, even lighting allows materials and artwork to emerge gradually, creating a cohesive, salon-like atmosphere that encourages intimate engagement and exploration.
News Source: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/hong-kong-schiaparelli-gold-boutique-halleroed/
(3) APM Monaco shows off its latest jewellery collections at Hong Kong race night
(Photo Credit: Handout)
Inspired by the vibrant Mediterranean aesthetic of the South of France, APM Monaco has rapidly grown into a globally recognized accessible jewelry brand since its 2012 launch, now boasting over 400 stores across 26 countries. Its latest winter offering, the Hiver collection, draws inspiration from the frosty season, featuring lines like Flocons de Neige for a delicate, snowflake-inspired look, the geometric Ice series, romantic Heart pieces, and the playful Yummy bear motifs, all crafted in silver and zirconia.
The brand recently elevated its presence through a landmark partnership with Hong Kong’s Happy Valley Racecourse, hosting the inaugural APM Monaco Race Night—the first such collaboration for a fashion jewelry brand. The event transformed the racecourse’s Beer Garden into a Hiver-themed winter wonderland, complete with a reception at The Millions restaurant hosted by CEO Philippe Prette and creative director Kika Prette, offering an exclusive showcase of the collection to clients, media, and Jockey Club members.
This racing partnership marks a new chapter in APM Monaco’s strategic alignment with the world of sports, following existing sponsorships of AS Monaco football, the Monaco Rugby Sevens, and a global ambassador partnership with Formula One driver Charles Leclerc. By associating with prestigious events like horse racing—described as the “sport of kings”—the brand leverages high-glamour platforms to amplify its seasonal collections and reinforce its identity as a modern, dynamic, and accessible luxury label.
News Source: https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/jewellery/article/3341204/style-edit-apm-monaco-shows-its-latest-jewellery-collections-hong-kong-race-night
(4) Old money, new connection: Zegna’s emotional case for endurance in China
(Photo Credit: Jing Daily)
Zegna opened Milan Fashion Week with a 2026 Winter collection under the theme “A Family Closet,” reinterpreting heirloom garments with modern innovation at the historic Palazzo del Ghiaccio. A key highlight was the appointment of Chinese actor William Chan as the brand’s new global ambassador following his runway debut—the first Asian celebrity to walk for Zegna—marking the culmination of an eight-year partnership. This move reflects a calculated strategy to deepen Zegna’s cultural relevance in China by aligning with Chan’s composed, understated persona and recent transition to fatherhood, which resonates with the collection’s focus on family and legacy.
Capitalizing on Chan’s popularity from the hit TV series “Love’s Ambition”, Zegna released a cryptic 6-second video on Chinese social media featuring Chan and co-star Xu Yajun in a father-son moment, passing a suit jacket embroidered with “Lead by Legacy.” The clip, presented as an unofficial “sequel” to the series, sparked widespread speculation before being revealed as Zegna’s official campaign film. This innovative approach allowed the brand to weave itself organically into China’s cultural narratives around family and continuity, transcending conventional advertising and demonstrating a sophisticated, culturally integrated marketing strategy.
Zegna’s strategy aligns with China’s growing “emotional economy” and the rise of “quiet luxury,” leveraging its heritage of timeless tailoring and subtle refinement to appeal to upper-middle-class male consumers. By centering its narrative on family, heritage, and personal legacy—both in its Milan show and its China campaign—Zegna connects deeply with cultural values central to Chinese identity. This multifaceted approach, combining celebrity collaboration, narrative storytelling, and emotional engagement, positions Zegna as a case study in how a legacy brand can adapt to a shifting luxury market and build long-term equity in the world’s second-largest luxury market.
News Source: https://jingdaily.com/posts/old-money-new-connection-zegna-s-emotional-case-for-endurance-in-china
