With no signs of immediate recovery — despite a recent stock market rally — luxury and fashion brands have continued to hold back on localized campaigns in China.

That meant this year’s Qixi Valentine’s Day — typically one of the biggest summer gifting occasions — was marked by an understated tone across the board. Bottega Veneta, known for its emotionally charged campaigns in previous years, noticeably opted out of the holiday completely. The brand is awaiting the collection from new creative director Louise Trotter, who will show during Milan Fashion Week next month.

“Brands are becoming more selective about which milestones they prioritize. Large brands continue to invest, but budgets are tighter. We are seeing fewer high-profile celebrity endorsements and more tactical, product-driven activations,” said Max Peiro, founder of Re-Hub, a data-driven Chinese business solution provider.

Those bringing covetable products via hyped crossovers include Chopard, which dressed Labubu parent company Pop Mart‘s Dimoo character for the occasion. Sporting the Swiss jeweler and watchmaker’s Ice Cube designs, the 13-centimeter-tall, limited-edition dolls went live on Chopard’s official Tmall store in early August and retail for 25,199 renminbi, or around $3,500.

A third figurine, a larger 29-centimeter model with a translucent head containing an icy cityscape, comes in a limited run of 79 pieces for clients who purchase items from Chopard’s Ice Cube jewelry line at specific Chopard boutiques.

Valentino, putting its cute feline muse “Le Chat de la Maison” in the spotlight, released a pair of Valentino Garavani and Vans crossover sneakers with its cat motif during Qixi.

Working with its brand ambassador Jolin Cai, Valentino also sponsored a music video for Cai’s hit single “Pillow,” which features Cai, Thai heartthrob Tor Thanapob, and “Le Chat de la Maison.”

A play on celebrity linkup meant the cat motif version of the sneakers sold out almost immediately in multiple sizes.

Chanel also went for its most iconic products. Playing with ideas of encounter instead of conventional romantic love, the French house tapped its house ambassadors Wang Yibo and Leah Dou in a playful video set at the famed Chateau Marmont.

Qixi, which actually began as “daughter’s day,” clearly informed Miu Miu’s campaign with two of its female protagonists set within a minimally designed home.

Fashion jewelry with heart-shaped enblems and mini backpacks were among the sold-out styles listed on Miu Miu’s WeChat Mini Program.

Another debut that was deliberately timed to coincide with Qixi is Louis Vuitton’s first makeup line, La Beauté, in China, which was launched a week ahead of its global rollout.

The collection, designed by Dame Pat McGrath, enjoyed wide social media exposure with the help of a W China editorial. Lensed by Chinese photographer Leslie Zhang, the editorial evoked the surreal, graphic world dreamed up by Serge Lutens for Shiseido in the 1980s.

As Louis Vuitton’s blockbuster ship-themed project continues to fuel summer tourism, the brand is doubling down on its travel narrative with another transportation-inspired concept — the “Louis Vuitton Express” train pop-ups, making stops in Nanjing, Hangzhou and Shenyang. Its Qixi campaign was also a part of the initiative, featuring Chinese actors Lu Yuxiao, Lai Weiming and model Wang Ran posing in front of a Louis Vuitton train station in a social media campaign.

After an animation featuring love-struck hedgehogs, this year’s Loewe campaign turned to the popular short drama series format, featuring up-and-coming actors Chen Duling and Chen Zheyuan.

The series, penned by the renowned Chinese screenwriter Qin Wen, who also doubles as Loewe’s China cultural consultant, features five 45-second episodes about an unexpected romantic encounter within an art gallery setting. The Spanish leather house said it chose the popular short video format to “attract dynamic and diverse audiences who have become part of the Loewe community,” said the brand.

“In an environment where both brand-generated content and user-generated content metrics reveal weaker resonance, brands are concentrating their budgets on initiatives that combine cultural relevance with measurable impact. The shift is not about doing less, but about spending smarter: less noise, more precision,” said Peiro of Loewe’s innovative approach.

Prada, exploring urban culture, released a romantic short film with its Chinese ambassadors Li Xian and Chen Haoyu. In keeping with the original Qixi tale — a forbidden love story between a celestial fairy and a mortal man condemned to eternal separation and allowed to reunite just once a year on a bridge of magpies, Prada’s campaign was shot along the historical bridges along Suzhou Creek.

The Italian luxury brand also extended the narrative into an interactive Xiaohongshu experience, the popular Chinese social commerce platform. Dubbed “Encountering bridges on Qixi,” the campaign invites users to collect specially designed postcards at select boutiques, explore city bridges, and share their experiences on the platform.

Also bridge-bound is Lemaire, the French label with a cult-like following. Dubbed “a tender portrait of connection,” Lemaire’s cast of three characters is seen traversing the bridges along Suzhou Creek, the pocket parks, and aboard small cruise ships — showing fragments of city life, as if scenes plucked from a Hong Sang-soo movie.

Exploring love and how it’s embedded within city life, many brands, including Gucci, Dior, Balenciaga and Celine, have opted for straightforward portraiture set against the backdrop of China’s most glamorous metropolis — Shanghai.

At Gucci, brand ambassadors Song Weilong and Wen Qi are captured across the city’s open fields and against key sights — bathed in a warm summer glow, the campaign sets the scene for its seasonal handbag assortment in summer white, forest green and ancora red. Silver jewelry from the Gucci Diamante collection completed the gifting moment.

Dior’s brand ambassador Deng Wei poses in front of Shanghai’s iconic skyline by the Bund, donning a Diorling denim jacket from its fall collection; Zhou Ye, another brand ambassador, stands out in a floral shirtdress against the serene background of a Chinese-style garden — located at the other side of the Bund.

Lensed by Feng Li — China’s Juergen Teller — Balenciaga’s Qixi campaign features Chinese celebrity couple Zhou Qiqi and Jiang Qilin posing in front of romantic scenes along the Former French Concession’s leafy streets.

Celine’s melancholy portraiture of its brand ambassador, the Chinese actress Sun Qian, was set against the backdrop of Shanghai’s Garden Hotel — previously the site of the French Club.