Key takeaways:
- BEAST’s tbh homeware and loungewear label has been launching impressive collabs.
- From collaborations with IPs and artists, BEAST is turning tbh into a lifestyle label.
- With a new offline space and venturing into the bridalwear market, the tbh brand is extending further into lifestyle, complementing BEAST’s fragrance offerings.
2023 was the year collaborations became routine and the norm for marketing, especially in the tea and coffee sector. This year, while tea and coffee brands are still making frequent collaborations, co-branding campaigns are also spreading more widely. The Chinese high-end florist-turned-fragrance brand BEAST (野兽派, sometimes THE BEAST) and its homeware label tbh (野兽派家居, possibly short for THE BEAST Home) are both frequent collaborators.
The Jellycat florist-themed collab this “520”, or “I love you” day on Chinese social media, quickly went viral for its high prices (starting from 520 RMB, or 73.01 USD) and increased popularity. However, BEAST, along with tbh, did not stop there. After the BEAST x BONDI WASH collaboration at the end of August, tbh also launched a major collaboration.
Recap
Let’s rewind earlier before going further. BEAST’s first Jellycat collab was back in 2022 when they launched the ‘Poo Poo Panda’ plushie. Beast’s homeware line tbh, also created several viral collabs in recent years. From multiple Harry Potter co-branded items to The Little Prince collection, as well as the collab with the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. Each of the collaborations gathered a considerable amount of buzz on social media.
The two collabs before the BEAST x Jellycat this year were the spring collection and pop-up featuring drawings by Dutch artist Rop van Mierlo, and the viral Pingu collab. The van Mierlo team-up, called “The Bear in Spring”, features a brown bear drawn in the artist’s typical cute style and spring flora for the grizzly creature to frolic in. A pop-up store at Yanqing Road, Shanghai was also set up for the launch of the collection, as well as van Mierlo’s original art.
The Pingu collab this May was the second time since last winter. With the theme of “relaxing in the summer” (夏日摸鱼, lit. touching fish in the summer as “摸鱼” is an expression for slacking off at work). The series of beach-themed loungewear and bedding perfectly encapsulated a relaxed working-from-home experience in the summer.
Craft and heritage
The latest one of the major collabs from tbh, is a three-way collaboration between tbh, ERDOS 1980, the cashmere-centric sub-brand of ERDOS, and Japan-based ethnic Mongolian artist Haliyaa who grew up in the Ordos region the brand was named after. Haliyaa is known for her playful illustrated books in the Mongolian language about life on the grassland and her childlike drawings of animals. ERDOS 1980 supplied cashmere for tbh to embroider Haliyaa’s work on and make loungewear with.
The homeware label recently opened the doors to its first permanent offline location, a concept space called the VILLA tbh. A yurt was set up in the shop for the launch of this co-branded collection, named “The Place I Call Home” (远方的家, lit. “Home Afar”). This brings authenticity to the grassland life in the city of Shanghai. tbh also set up a felt workshop on the third floor of the shop for customers to create their own animals. In this sense, tbh still has that “BEAST” DNA in it, making it more than just another ethnic minority marketing campaign.
tbh still has that “BEAST” DNA in it, making it more than just another ethnic minority marketing campaign
Future
BEAST has been heavily promoting the tbh brand and expanding it into a complete lifestyle label, instead of just homeware. The careful choice of partners in each collaboration showcases the appeal of a relaxed lifestyle from the brand.
This can be seen in the brand’s latest move into bridalwear. The name of the collection, “The Day and Ever After” (从今以后, an adaptation of the wedding vow “From This Day Forward”), takes inspiration from traditional wedding vows and is a great mix of white and red, traditional bridal colours of the West and China.
tbh is set to become an important lifestyle extension of BEAST
With a balanced mix of collaborations and original campaigns, tbh is set to become an important lifestyle extension of BEAST. Meanwhile, BEAST also launched a collab with the Dunhuang Museum in late August, trying to capture the museum fever this summer. It will be interesting to see how BEAST differentiates its main fragrance brand and tbh.
