What to Watch: Influence China With Caution and Precision

Fashion houses have been courting Chinese celebrities and influencers to represent them in the region for some time. Picking the right person can make a great impact on the balance sheet, but recent events also demonstrate the damage they can cause. Brands need to learn and respect China’s cultural and political sense and sensitivity. Tapestry and Capri Holdings learned that the hard way. Their shares plummeted after Liu Wen and Yang Mi distanced themselves from Coach and Versace, respectively, for mislabeling Hong Kong, Macau and the disputed region of Taiwan as separate countries on their T-shirts. Yang is the most influential celebrity in China, in terms of fashion influence, according to Exane BNP Paribas. She was the face of Micheal Kors in China from 2017 and was appointed the first China ambassador for Versace on June 24. Capri Holdings was hoping she could boost Versace’s presence in China as she did for Michael Kors. Coach is supposed to open its Tmall store for the third time in September, but now with Liu gone, its parent Tapestry may have to plan everything from scratch. Liu Wen in a Coach campaign.  Courtesy On top of understanding Beijing’s stance on geopolitical disputes, brands should also refresh their ideas about

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