Why Balenciaga Failed at Qixi 2020
Written by Lily Yang
Photographs Sourced on Tmall.com
Qixi or Chinese Valentine's Day is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Lunar calendar. Akin to Valentine’s Day we are familiar with in North America, Qixi has been a holiday used for commercial purposes for brands around the world to vie for the hearts of Chinese consumers. During this special occasion — August 25 this year, many luxury brands have attempted their own distinct and innovative approaches to the occasion.
Sometimes, this touch misses the mark. This week, Balenciaga issued a rather questionable collection for this year’s Qixi campaign. Their Hourglass Bag Collection (七夕沙漏包特别系列) was released with a culturally-inappropriate campaign, and as a whole, the presentation undermines Chinese culture and the taste of Chinese customers worldwide.
Deliberate photoshopping makes the campaign look like a parody. It is unclear what message Balenciaga aims to convey as it is hard to understand this humour. And to note, a type of humour which is usually neither associated with the class of the brand itself nor an occasion to express love.
#巴黎世家七夕广告土 (#TackyBalenciagaQixiAdvertisement) has been the trending discussion on Weibo since August 11. With 25,000 comments and 250 million views, Chinese netizens did not receive the message behind the campaign well. Many audiences believe that Balenciaga disgraced Chinese culture by using out-of-touch photoshop posters, and audiences believe it is a culturally-insensitive marketing campaign as well. Many comments echo that Balenciaga is mocking Chinese fashion. Evidently, “土” or “tacky” has been the emphasis of this hashtag trend as most audiences highlight Balenciaga’s poor taste and lack of effort to celebrate the Qixi festival.
Screengrab from Tmall.com
But how? The TMall website (the equivalent of Amazon in China) features several images including one of a male model giving a female model a red handbag against waterfalls in the background. Not just any kind of waterfall, though. These waterfalls look like a poster from a child’s scrapbook, decorated with animated hearts. In other images from the campaign, the background of a forest and a cloudy sky are also unsophisticated and childish.
Screengrab from Tmall.com
Balenciaga has been known for its eccentric taste throughout the years. And although the brand explains that this collection is inspired by classic romance stories “巴黎世家本系列以经典复古爱情故事影像作为灵感来源,” this campaign garnered attention it did not want. While the 90s aesthetic might be a twist on vintage revitalization, this explanation does not justify the intentionally poor product design and the overall concept of the campaign that seemingly makes Chinese culture look cheap and tacky.
“The graffiti confession [on the bag] does not represent any symbolic representation of the mythology and the idea that love is patient and not about self-love is missed. The bag collection is merely a fashion expression created to propagate Balenciaga’s style.”
Screengrab from Tmall.com
The limited-edition bag is priced at $139,000 Yuan (CAD $2,500), featuring a graffiti-style font engraving of a love confession “我爱你,他爱我,我爱我” in Chinese characters, which means “I love you, he loves me, I love me.” The love confession that Balenciaga emphasizes as their main campaign design is a misrepresentation of Qixi mythology. The original story is from the forbidden-love folklore of the Cowherd 牛郎, a mere mortal, and the Weaver Girl 织女, a goddess. Qixi is the only day that the two lovers can meet once a year across the bridge in the Milky Way. The graffiti confession does not represent any symbolic representation of the mythology and the idea that love is patient and not about self-love is missed. The bag collection is merely a fashion expression created to propagate Balenciaga’s style.
Screengrab from Tmall.com
If brands want to cater to a Chinese audience, we hope that future campaigns will acknowledge the traditions behind the special occasions, and when creating products and campaigns, that they speak to the beauty of Chinese culture with sincerity and reverence. Tomorrow, Fête Chinoise will share timeless gift ideas for Chinese Valentine’s Day. Stay tuned!
