In China, celebrity is a form of cultural capital

In China, a celebrity is never simply a marketing tool. They become a gateway to communities, imaginations, and cultural conversations. Gucci understood this very early on: rather than multiplying faces with each collection, the Florentine fashion house prioritizes lasting relationships of influence, capable of spanning several seasons and product categories.

From Ni Ni to Xiao Zhan, via Wen Qi or Song Wei Long, Gucci is building an ecosystem in which the ambassador is not just photographed with a bag. He participates in a narrative made of travel, family traditions, friendship, heritage and personal expression.

This continuity represents a major strategic advantage in a Chinese market that has become more mature, more fragmented, and more attentive to brand consistency. As our analysis of luxury in China in 2026 also shows , visibility is no longer enough: consumers are looking for uniqueness, meaning, and genuine cultural understanding.

The use of brand ambassadors is a long-standing practice in the luxury sector. However, the Chinese market gives it a particular dimension. A popular figure can bring together considerable communities, trigger searches, accelerate the spread of a campaign, and transform a product into a cultural phenomenon.

This power also imposes an additional requirement. A brand cannot choose a celebrity solely based on their number of followers. It must assess their image, their background, their communities, their ability to represent multiple demographics, and their compatibility with the brand's values.

The real challenge, therefore, lies in theaffinity between the celebrity and the brand's identity. A collaboration seems credible when the talent can evolve naturally within the brand's universe: wearing an iconic piece, recounting its heritage, participating in an event, or embodying an emotion that transcends the seasonal campaign.

Gucci thus seems to prioritize several complementary criteria:

an immediately recognizable identity ;
cultural credibility with the Chinese public;
an ability to generate conversation without erasing the brand;
an image durable enough to support several launches;
compatibility with Gucci's creative and heritage codes.

This logic contrasts sharply with a purely quantitative strategy. In the luxury sector, the most visible ambassador is not necessarily the most relevant. The choice must enhance the brand's desirability, not simply generate a surge in audience numbers.

Neither one nor the other, an example of a relationship built over time

's trajectory at Gucci perfectly illustrates this quest for continuity. In 2017, the Chinese actress already appeared at the heart of the Gucci Eyewear campaign. The Autumn/Winter 2017 campaign, photographed by Colin Dodgson, featured her in the Art Deco setting of the Rio Cinema in London. Gucci specified at the time that she was embodying its eyewear collection "once again," a sign that the relationship was not based on a one-off activation.

The collaboration continued with numerous international campaigns. Ni Ni notably appeared in the Gucci Eyewear Spring/Summer 2024 campaign alongside Alia Bhatt and Vittoria Ceretti, and then in the Eyewear Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter 2025 campaigns. This ongoing collaboration produced several effects.

First, it establishes a recognition mechanism. The public does not discover a new muse each season: it recognizes a personality already integrated into the Gucci universe.

Furthermore, it allows the House to evolve the narrative. Ni Ni can appear in a cinematic setting, participate in a travel campaign, embody glasses, accessories or party silhouettes without giving the impression of artificially changing roles.

Finally, repetition builds a form of collective memory. As the actress's career evolves, her relationship with Gucci also deepens. Celebrity is no longer just used to announce a collection; it becomes a landmark in the House's contemporary history.

Xiao Zhan: linking popular power and Gucci heritage

The relationship between Gucci and Xiao Zhan is based on a similar dynamic, with a particular focus on heritage icons. In its " Reunion", Gucci celebrates the fifth anniversary of its collaboration with the Chinese actor and singer. The House recalls his first trip to Italy in 2019, when Milan became the backdrop for his earliest memories with the Horsebit 1955 bag. Several years later, the same model accompanies Xiao Zhan in a new series of images and videos, alongside Gucci Re-Web sneakers.

The choice of the 1955 Horsebit is far from insignificant. It connects a very contemporary personality to one of the most recognizable symbols of Gucci's heritage. The campaign, therefore, goes beyond simply associating a product with a star: it orchestrates a dialogue between Italian heritage, personal memory, and Chinese popular culture.

Xiao Zhan also appears alongside Paul Mescal in the campaign celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Horsebit 1953 loafer. First marketed in 1953, the model here becomes the meeting point between several generations, several markets and several cultural sensibilities.

Gucci also entrusted him with the Gucci Link to Love jewelry campaign, centered on individual expression and how to combine jewelry. This ability to move seamlessly from leather goods to footwear and then to jewelry demonstrates the value of a long-term relationship: the ambassador becomes familiar enough to support different commercial territories without losing credibility.

From muse to narrative co-creation

The term co-creation must be used precisely. A celebrity who appears in a campaign has not necessarily participated in the product's design. However, they can contribute to the construction of its narrative, its visual language, and its cultural reception.

At Gucci, this co-creation is first and foremost narrative.

In the Reunion, Xiao Zhan's story is directly linked to Milan and the 1955 Horsebit. The product becomes a witness to a journey that began several years earlier.

In Encounters and Reunions, Ni Ni and Taiwanese actor Chang Chen embody a vision of travel built around emotion and connection. The Gucci Valigeria campaign thus links the House's luggage to a human relationship, rather than a simple functional demonstration.

This method allows Gucci to transform each campaign into a chapter. The ambassadors do not simply "pose": they give a face to an idea: friendship, travel, transmission, individuality or family.

For a luxury brand, this distinction is crucial. The most effective content isn't necessarily the content that showcases the product the longest. It's the content that gives the audience a reason to remember it.

The Year of the Snake 2025: Local culture as narrative material

Gucci's 2025 Year of the Snake campaign is one of the most accomplished expressions of this strategy. The House brings together Xiao Zhan and Ni Ni, surrounded by their loved ones, in scenes evoking family reunions and festive rituals. The visual composition is organized around a window framing two reunited families. The Flora clothing, accessories, and scarves feature a sinuous interpretation of the snake, presented as a symbol of transformation and renewal.

Gucci is therefore not simply adding a zodiac motif to a collection. The House is working on several levels of interpretation:

the lunar New Year calendar ;
the importance of the family gathering;
transmission between generations;
the symbolism of the snake;
the concept of a gift;
the meeting between tradition and contemporary creation.

This approach demonstrates how an international brand can utilize local references without reducing them to mere decoration. Culture becomes a true narrative structure. Luxury in China today demands this subtlety. As also illustrated by the rise of Chinese quiet luxury, consumers no longer automatically respond to the sheer power of the logo. They evaluate the quality of the intention, the appropriateness of the references, and the overall coherence.

520, Lunar New Year and local festivals: thinking about the Chinese calendar

Cultural relevance also involves mastering the calendar. In China, moments like the Lunar New Year, Qixi, or May 20, called "520" because of its phonetic similarity to the expression "I love you" in Mandarin, structure the communication of brands.

Gucci notably partnered Wen Qi and Song Wei Long for a campaign dedicated to the 520, before bringing them together again in Shared Expressions, a campaign celebrating friendship in sun-drenched urban landscapes. Success, however, doesn't simply depend on being present at the right time. Any fashion house can launch a red campaign for the Lunar New Year or romantic content in May.

The difference lies in the execution:

What talent carries the message?
What emotion is being portrayed?
What products are naturally associated with this story?
What continuity exists with previous campaigns?
Can the content live beyond its commercial date?

A successful local campaign must therefore maintain two seemingly contradictory qualities: to be immediately understandable by its audience and to remain recognizable as a Gucci creation.

Gucci Cosmos in Shanghai: when the event extends the relationship

Relationships with Chinese celebrities are not built solely in front of the camera. They also take shape in events that combine heritage, community, and physical experience.

The Gucci Cosmos exhibition was presented at the West Bund Art Center in Shanghai from April 28 to June 25, 2023. Conceived as an immersive exploration of more than a century of Gucci creation, it brought together eight spaces blending archives, scenography and audiovisual devices.

At the inauguration, Gucci brought together several international ambassadors and friends of the House, including Chris Lee, Ni Ni, Lu Han, Xiao Zhan, Shu Qi, Liu Wen, Wen Qi and Chang Chen.

This concentration of personalities serves several functions. It naturally increases the event's media reach. But above all, it provides cultural validation: these talents are not simply invited to promote a product. They come to discover, represent, and share the history of the House.

The exhibition thus transforms the archive into a social experience. The Gucci heritage ceases to be an institutional discourse reserved for connoisseurs. It becomes a space to visit, photograph, and discuss.

The House has extended this strategy with other cultural formats in China, including the exhibition dedicated to the Bamboo bag, presented in Shanghai from April 1 to 20, 2025.

WeChat, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu: Building a narrative adapted to Chinese platforms

A campaign designed for China cannot be a simple translation of a Western approach. Gucci's official Chinese website links to the WeChat, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu, three platforms that fulfill different functions in the brand discovery and engagement journey.

Weibo fosters public conversation and the amplification of news. WeChat allows for relationship building, services, and content development in a more closed environment. Xiaohongshu plays a major role in seeking inspiration, recommendations, and building desirability.

A "social first" strategy is therefore not just about publishing more. It involves adapting the format to the intended use:

short and immediately identifiable videos;
behind-the-scenes content;
details of silhouettes and accessories;
speeches by the ambassadors;
editorial extension of the campaigns;
gateways to products, shops and events;
content designed to be saved, commented on or reshared.

Celebrity here becomes an interface. It attracts attention, but it must also help the public enter the world of the House. The risk would be reducing this strategy to a succession of promotional content. The more calculated the relationship appears, the less emotional value it generates. Gucci must therefore maintain a balance between digital accessibility and luxurious distance.

A "market-first" strategy without fragmenting global identity

Location has become one of the major challenges for international brands.

A global campaign ensures a consistent brand identity, but it can seem too detached from local conversations. Conversely, a proliferation of specific initiatives risks fragmenting the brand image.

Gucci seeks to resolve this tension by using universal codes: friendship, family, travel, love, self-expression, and then embodying them with talents, calendars, and references adapted to China.

This approach allows the House to be local without becoming opportunistic. The Chinese ambassadors are not confined to exclusively regional campaigns. Ni Ni and Xiao Zhan can participate in international initiatives, engage with other prominent figures, and represent global Gucci icons.

China is no longer treated as a peripheral territory to which separate communication is reserved. It becomes a component of the brand's overall image.

Measuring the true value of a Gucci ambassador in China

The number of views is not enough to assess the success of a collaboration.

A campaign can generate a large audience without sustainably improving brand perception. Conversely, less extensive content can strengthen preference, product searches, or store visits.

To measure the effectiveness of an ambassador, several levels must be analyzed.

Qualified visibility

It is important to observe the reach, but also the origin of this audience, the quality of the interactions and the ability of the content to circulate beyond the communities already acquired.

The commitment

Comments, shares, recordings and viewing time help to identify campaigns that generate real attention rather than passive exposure.

The effect on research

The evolution of searches linking talent, brand, and product is a particularly useful indicator. It shows that the public was not content with simply seeing the campaign: they wanted to know more.

The commercial impact

The products worn by the brand ambassador should be tracked in terms of views, favorites added, in-store inquiries, and sales. However, this analysis should distinguish between the immediate impact of a launch and performance over several months.

Media and cultural value

Has the campaign been picked up by the media, content creators, or fashion communities? Has it generated spontaneous conversations? Has it enhanced Gucci's image?

Brand preference

The most strategic criterion remains the ability to advance consideration, purchase intent, and long-term attachment.

Our analysis of luxury, celebrity influence and desirability focuses precisely on the need to measure the indirect impact of a campaign, and not just the initial publication.

The risks of a celebrity-based strategy

The power of ambassadors comes with several weaknesses.

The first risk is that of dependency. When the personality becomes more visible than the product, the brand can lose control of the narrative.

The second concerns saturation. A celebrity associated simultaneously with too many partners loses exclusivity and visibility.

The third is reputational. A controversy involving an ambassador can provoke an immediate reaction from communities and force the House to review its communication.

The fourth risk relates to cultural appropriateness. A poorly researched campaign, superficially used symbolism, or a clumsy translation can be interpreted as disrespectful.

Finally, the constant evolution of digital trends can tempt brands to accelerate excessively. However, building a luxury relationship takes time. The challenge lies in remaining contemporary without becoming dependent on the latest viral phenomenon.

The best protection remains consistency: selecting few talents, understanding their audience, establishing solid contractual frameworks, and building stories deep enough to withstand platform volatility.

Responsibility and influence: avoiding artificial rhetoric

Young consumers also expect brands to give meaning to their visibility.

A collaboration with a celebrity can highlight an environmental, social, cultural, or educational commitment. But this partnership only works if the action exists outside of the campaign.

Responsibility should therefore not become just another decorative element. Before associating an ambassador with an impactful message, a company must be able to document the issues involved, the scope of the program, the partners involved, and the results achieved.

For Gucci, the initiatives gathered under the Gucci Equilibrium can fuel this fundamental work focused on people, communities, and the planet. The role of ambassadors is then to make these topics more accessible, without replacing proof with popularity.

What Gucci's strategy teaches luxury brands

The Gucci case offers several lessons. A celebrity should first be chosen for what they can build, and not solely for the audience they have at the time of signing.

Continuity matters more than accumulation. Ni Ni since 2017 and the narrative developed with Xiao Zhan demonstrate that a consistent relationship creates more lasting memory than a succession of disconnected muses.

Local culture must also be treated as a creative resource. The Lunar New Year, the 520th anniversary, or an exhibition in Shanghai are not simply calendar opportunities: they are spaces where the House can tell its story in a different way.

Finally, each activation must link the emotion to a specific brand asset. The Horsebit 1955, the Horsebit 1953 loafer, eyewear, jewelry, or travel pieces remain central to the narrative. Celebrity opens the door, but the product and the Gucci identity must remain in the memory.

This consistency becomes all the more important as Gucci expands its reach. The transfer of Gucci Beauty to L'Oréal starting in 2027 could, for example, create new avenues for expression, new digital services, and future collaborations with brand ambassadors.

Gucci and Chinese celebrities: a bond more precious than a slogan

In China, Gucci is not simply seeking to leverage the visibility of popular figures. The House is building continuity between its ambassadors, its products, its archives, and the emotions that shape the lives of its audience.

Ni Ni has embodied this continuity for several years. Xiao Zhan connects his own journey to Gucci's heritage icons. Wen Qi and Song Wei Long allow the House to explore other themes, such as friendship and love.

The Lunar New Year campaigns, the 520-related public statements, and the exhibitions held in Shanghai give these relationships a broader cultural context. They transform influence into experience and celebrity into a mediator of Gucci's identity.

In a market where consumers have become more selective, this depth represents a decisive advantage. An audience can be bought. A trend can be followed. But a lasting cultural relationship can only be built through repetition, accuracy, and trust.

Gucci thus recalls an essential rule of luxury marketing: desirability does not arise from the number of faces gathered on a poster, but from the quality of the stories that the House manages to write with them.

Official French sources

Also read

About the author

luxedaily See all his articles →

Gucci and Chinese celebrities