Alibaba partners with New York Fashion Week

Alibaba-owned online marketplace Tmall has become an official partner of New York Fashion Week.As the highlight of the partnership, Alibaba has selected two US brands from NYFW, Opening Ceremony and Robert Geller, to be featured in Tmall’s 2017 second annual “See Now, Buy Now” fashion show in October — a major event held in the run-up to the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.For its part of the agreement, NYFW will showcase Chinese designers, who will be selected from the “See Now, Buy Now” event, at “NYFW: China Day”, a new initiative slated for fashion week in September 2018.“We are thrilled to support NYFW: The Shows to bring U.S. brands and retailers the ability to reach the ever-growing Chinese consumer base,” said Michael Evans, Alibaba group president.The collaboration, which was done in association with China-based fashion management company Suntchi, is the latest move the e-commerce giant has taken to help connect international brands with Chinese consumers.“We started Opening Ceremony 15 years ago, inspired by a trip we took to Hong Kong. With family roots grounded in China, it is so exciting to partner with such an impactful company like Alibaba to share our story and expand our global footprint,” said Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, founders of Opening Ceremony.Last year, the eight-hour “See Now, Buy Now” show was livestreamed to 7 million viewers and featured more than 200 models showing off apparel, footwear and accessories from 80 different brands including Adidas, Gap, Paul Smith, Trussardi and Guerlain. While watching the show online, consumers could tap a “Buy Now” button on the Tmall and mobile Taobao apps to pre-order items seen on the runway, and then complete their transaction on 11.11.