TEDDY BEAR MEETS PANDA: Feting the 10th anniversary of the Teddy Bear coat, Max Mara last week unveiled The Fluffy Residence, an experiential pop-up, at the luxury mall IFS Chengdu, in the Chinese city famed for its panda reserve.
The space reimagined what a home would look like if everything was wrapped in the coat’s signature fluffy beige fabric, from the kitchen countertop, bookshelves, and flowers to tableware, the bed with a giant teddy bear figure sitting on it, and even the bathroom.
It also comes with an interactive mirror where, through a camera, a digital teddy bear can mimic the movements of the visitors.
The location instantly became a popular destination for the city’s fashion-savvy consumers, who queued up to create content to upload to Chinese social media platforms like Xiaohongshu, WeChat, and Douyin.
On Saturday night, the brand also restaged its fall 2023 collection show in the city with notable attendees such as Chinese actress Zhu Zhu and actor Hou Wenyuan, as well as representatives from local retail partners like IFS, SKP, Taikoo LI, and in99.
The show came with a special showcase of the Teddy Bear coat in various colors, reinforcing the mantra of the brand’s bestselling item “I was, I am, I will be” in the latest campaign featuring Mariacarla Boscono.
A mother-daughter duo closed the show wearing the limited-edition rhinestoned Teddy Bear coat, and the newly introduced mini Teddy Bear coat, respectively.
These pieces are now on sale at the Max Mara flagship at Chengdu IFS, as well as the Teddy Ten pop-up in New York. They will be soon available in selected Max Mara stores in cities like Tokyo, Milan, London, Hong Kong, Sydney, Dubai, Paris and Seoul.
After Chengdu, it’s understood that the fluffy home pop-up concept will travel to Europe. — TIANWEI ZHANG
SEOUL BLOOM: Jacquemus is on the move. After debuting its “café fleurs” concept in Paris, and staging a series of pop-ups around the world, the French brand has now landed in Seoul.
The latest pop-up from designer Simon Porte Jacquemus launched in the South Korean capital’s popular Seongsu neighborhood on Friday. The fluffy facade of the 2,000-square-foot space is meant to recollect the popular puff-flapped Bambimou bag.
Inside, the brand will host a café with eight drinks on the menu and flower shop featuring white lisianthus bouquets, alongside accessories from Jacquemus’ fall 2023 “Le Chouchou” collection. Cherries featured heavily in the collection, as well as an ad campaign fronted by Gigi Hadid, and make their mark here in cherry-themed beverages.
The collection debuted in June with a show at Versailles, where models walked on a cherry-red carpet runway. The collection featured frothy skirts and panniered panties, puffballs and lingerie slipdresses, and cited royal references from Marie Antoinette to Princess Diana.
Jacquemus has become a bit of a pop-up master after debuting his first flower shop in Paris in 2021, at the height of pandemic-era restrictions. Since then the young designer has staged a series of ever original concepts, including his Barbie pink 24/7 vending machine concept in both Paris and Milan. His “Le Bleu” pop-up in London was designed after his own bathroom.
Accessories from this collection included the La Pochette rond carré clutch in black, white, silver and cherry red, as well as a cherry necklace.
He also launched a 232-page book titled “Le Chouchou,” which documents the collection.
Jaquemus’ most recent pop-ups were in Lake Como and Portofino, Italy, in May and June, respectively, and were dedicated to his summer collections.
The Seoul pop-up will run until Oct. 29. — RHONDA RICHFORD
NEW GOLF DEAL: Fanatics is bringing Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy into the fold.
The digital sports platform has inked a deal with TGL, a new tech-centered golf league developed by TMRW Sports, a company formed by the two golfers in partnership with the PGA Tour, to become the official operator for both the league and its individual teams.
As part of the deal, Fanatics also secured the rights to design and manufacture TGL team merchandise as an official licensee.
TGL is expected to debut on Jan. 9 and will feature 24 players on six teams competing in a match-play format on a virtual course with a special short-game area. The matches, which will last two hours, will air during primetime on Monday and Tuesday nights on ESPN and its related networks. They will be played in a special arena, the SoFi Center, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
In advance of the official launch, TGL will debut its e-commerce store, selling licensed merchandise for the teams through the Fanatics network. The merchandise will also be available to wholesale and third-party retail accounts.
“As this new innovative league aims to merge technology, star power and golf, Fanatics looks forward to contributing to those efforts through a best in class e-commerce shopping experience which will feature a variety of our own designs,” said Brian Swallow, Fanatics senior vice president of strategy and corporate development for Fanatics. “Fanatics is uniquely positioned to help bring to life TGL’s vision of connecting golf through technology and culture, and will provide fans access with a rapid online and mobile commerce platform that helps them connect with their favorite new teams and golfers.”
“TGL presented by Sofi will be a new way to experience golf, and Fanatics is a perfect match to make our league and teams a tangible experience through high-quality merchandise,” said Jarrett Dube, chief marketing officer of TMRW Sports. “With Fanatics’ expertise and industry-leading technology, we aim to welcome a broad spectrum of sports fans to golf by making the sport more accessible, and that extends to the products and culturally relevant experience we deliver to TGL fans who want to be a part of our community.”
Among the players who will be participating in addition to Woods and McIlroy are Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler.
The inaugural season will feature 15 regular season matches followed by semifinals and finals. — JEAN E. PALMIERI
