TikTok, French Women’s Ready-to-Wear federation ink partnership deal

Trying to contrast Shein‘s rise and practices, the French Women’s Ready-to-Wear Federation seems to have decided to give French labels the opportunity to use weapons similar to those adopted by the ultra-fast fashion giant, and has inked a partnership deal with Chinese social media video app TikTok.

“Through this collaboration with TikTok, we aim to enable French fashion brands to be at the heart of innovation and of the changes in our sector,” said Thibaut Ledunois, head of entrepreneurship at the Federation. “Our mission is to support leaders in transforming their businesses, by helping them harness the codes of new digital players as a way to assist their growth, engagement, and creativity. TikTok is one of fashion’s essential tools. We will strive to fulfil this educational role for the industry, as we have been doing for over a year with all of our partners.”

The Federation’s fashion ecosystem directory lists, by type of service, a set of resources that labels, designers, and fashion companies can draw upon. The directory includes more than 360 contacts, ranging from logistics to legal experts, plus of course social media solutions, which have become indispensable for fashion labels over the past few years. Among them, TikTok is certainly one of the best-known.

“This partnership aims to place fashion at the heart of digital innovation by allowing designers to share their expertise with an engaged community, by offering them a unique platform for expression,” said Tatiana Dupond, head of fashion, luxury, and beauty at TikTok. “Together, we support the industry’s transformation, using TikTok as an essential tool for creativity and growth.”

Fashion labels have all the interest in understanding how best to utilise TikTok to promote expansion, as do luxury giants, which regularly broadcast their shows on the platform, or use it for product launches. TikTok isn’t regarded as the most effective platform in terms of commercial conversion. However, social commerce is a channel that mustn’t be overlooked. In 2023, a Deloitte study noted that 60% of the global population was active on social media. The firm estimated that social commerce was a market worth approximately $1 trillion.

In January, TikTok claimed to have 1.562 billion active users worldwide. Its revenue in 2023 was $14.3 billion, compared to $9.4 billion in 2022.