JD.com, British Fashion Council join for international fashion platform

The British Fashion Council and Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com are building on their existing relationship with the debut of a new strategic partnership.

This new three-year alliance is aimed at raising the presence of British fashion brands in China, as well as helping Chinese labels gain a more international presence. As part of the partnership, JD.com has been named the official Chinese retail partner of London Fashion Week.

“JD.com is a trusted partner of BFC,” said Caroline Rush, CEO of British Fashion Council, in a statement. “Our new partnership aims to empower emerging designers and make it easier for them to collaborate with more fashion brands in both countries.

“We hope that this platform will further strengthen cultural exchange, talent integration and intellectual property protection, all of which are crucial aspects of the fashion industry,” she said.

Coming together
JD.com has already teamed with the BFC to support its BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund and BFC/GQ Menswear Designer Fund initiatives. Last March, the retailer hosted a runway show in Shanghai featuring three of the finalist designers from the BFC/Vogue program.

Now, the two are taking their collaboration further. The partnership will support designers showing during the official calendars of London Fashion Week and London Fashion Week Men’s.

This joint effort is aimed at creating a mutually beneficial relationship to drive a more global fashion industry.

“We strongly believe that fashion is boundaryless,” said Victor Hu, president of JD fashion and lifestyle, in a statement. “Through this partnership with the BFC, we aim to build new bridges for the exchange of Chinese and international fashion culture, reducing the gap between the fashion industry in China and the rest of the world.

“Over the next three years, through the BFC partnership, we will continue to make fashion a truly universal language,” he said. “Not only do JD’s more than 300 million customers in China stand to benefit from these efforts, but so will designers, brands and clients around the world.”

David Koma show during London Fashion Week. Image credit: BFC

Other fashion organizations have looked to build bridges between China and the Western world through alliances.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) leveraged New York Fashion Week: Men’s last February as a platform to introduce Chinese designers to international markets.

Together with Shanghai’s Suntchi Brand & Technology Co., and in association with Alibaba-owned Tmall, the CFDA organized the first “Tmall China Day” during the week-long schedule of collection presentations. Part of the CFDA’s five-year partnership with Suntchi, the effort is designed to build a connection between the Chinese and American fashion communities (see story).