Alibaba grows metaverse presence with luxury Tmall fashion show

Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba is set to celebrate five years of its Tmall Luxury Pavillion, an online shopping platform for luxury brands, with the launch of digital experiences.

To celebrate, the company will be heading into the metaverse alongside global luxury labels for an augmented reality (AR) fashion show and an exhibition using Extended Reality (XR) showcasing the future of retail.

During the event, customers can acquire a special premium Meta pass that will allow them to shop new products by the likes of Burberry, Max Mara and Bogner before they hit the store.

Its AR fashion show, taking place September 22 in collaboration with Vogue China, will see a number of brand mascots take part in the virtual runway.

It comes as part of the Alibaba Group’s strategy to multiply ways that luxury brands can connect with China’s shoppers digitally, with it already implementing 3D shopping, AR product try-ons and digital avatars into its offering.

“Before ‘metaverse’ became a buzzword, we had already transformed this buzzword into a commercial reality,” said Janet Wang, head of Alibaba’s luxury division, in a blog post on the company’s website.

The Tmall Luxury Pavillion already began its celebrations last week during a Shanghai-based gala, during which representatives from the likes of Richemont, Kering, LVMH and OTB were in attendance.

At the event, invitees got to experience virtual exhibitions and retail spaces, try AR glasses and products and preview immersive experiences while shopping.

To add to its offer, Alibaba said it is preparing to publish a white paper in which it hopes to help luxury brands in China track the results of metaverse-based services in order to help optimise their digital strategies.