This year’s Qixi Valentine’s Day marketing in China is showing a clear shift in tone, as brands move away from straightforward romance and toward more layered ideas of connection. Against softer consumer sentiment and rising interest in smaller, more considered purchases, luxury labels appear to be adapting their seasonal campaigns to match the mood.
Among the most visible examples, Gucci leaned into storytelling through a microdrama approach, using short-form narrative to frame romance in a more cinematic and emotionally driven way. Prada, meanwhile, tapped into fandom culture by featuring the Chinese boy band Transform Project, linking Qixi with the kind of community and shared enthusiasm that increasingly shapes attention online.
Thom Browne took a different route by introducing an animal adoption initiative, broadening the idea of love beyond couples and fashion gifting. That kind of campaign suggests that for Qixi, emotional relevance may now come from themes such as care, companionship and personal values, rather than only traditional Valentine-style messaging.
Taken together, these Qixi campaigns point to a wider change in how brands are speaking to Chinese consumers. Instead of relying only on grand romantic gestures, they are experimenting with microdrama, fandom and animal-centered storytelling to present luxury in a more nuanced, relatable and culturally responsive way.
