On 17 June, Luxury French jewellery Maison Van Cleef & Arpels announced that it would launch a series of pop-up spaces around China. Partnering with French artist Arthur Hoffner, the immersive experiences celebrate Van Cleef’s iconic Perlée collection, known for its beaded rings and bracelets.
According to early visitors, the Van Cleef pop-up space is decked out in pastel pink and blue with colourful and photogenic corners for “checking in” (打卡), as well as learning about the craftsmanship behind the Perlée collection of jewellery. The space contains multiple touchpoints for interactive play and a workshop for craftwork. On Weibo, the topic “Van Cleef & Arpels Perlée collection” (#梵克雅宝Perlee系列#) has amassed 23.21 million views.
To kick off the events, the Shanghai location at Somethin’ Else on Yuyuan Road opened on the same day and will be available until 21 July. The collaboration space will be popping up in Nanjing on 21 June before appearing in Beijing, Wuhan, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. Followers need to book a free slot online before visiting. To win surprise gifts, visitors need to complete the games at the 3 interactive areas before posting on Xiaohongshu (RED) with the hashtag “Me and Van Cleef & Arpels” (#我和梵克雅宝) or checking in on Dianping. The hashtag has already gained 1.57 million views on RED.
The Maison made the news near the end of May for its sudden price hike, with various items increasing between 5-11%. This prompted people to queue up outside stores in order to make purchases before the price went up. The brand has recently enjoyed huge popularity in China, partly due to the “xuanxue” luck appeal of the Alhambra collection, and partly due to it being seen as an investment since Van Cleef items rarely go down 50% of their original price on second-hand markets. With high desirability and demand, the latest campaign shows the brand further building its community of followers with immersive and interactive spaces.
