BMW flaunts tailored menswear and live body art at launch party

BMW hosted a series of experiences for 500 guests at Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong last Friday to launch the new flagship 7-seater SAV X7, the 8 Series Coupe and the BMW Excellence Club membership programme. The Excellence Club is a group of BMW Luxury Class model owners who get access to member-only privileges.

Targeting high-net-worth customers, the brand designed experience zones to tap into lifestyle elements such as fashion, personal grooming, wine, and home furnishing. “The majority of the guests are BMW VIP customers and new potential customers who have shown their initial interests in the new models,” Maggie Cheng, general manager, marketing, BMW Concessionaries (HK), told Campaign. “Some guests were from the brand partners’ VIP including financial institutes, lifestyle brands and more.”

BMW partnered with other lifestyle brands to tie into the gentlemen’s theme including homegrown name Attire House, a concept store that combines tailored menswear, a barbershop, a cigar room and fine wine. For the event, Attire House tailored a collection of four men’s outfits to fit different tastes and occasions, and styling consultants were on-site to offer sartorial advice.

As we see more luxury experiences and products increasingly prioritise personalisation, the brand said it was fitting to design a BMW Individual experience zone where attendees could “express one’s personality”. Cheng said: “From specific paint for the exterior to fabrication for the interior to precise personalised detailing, [this zone] can create a one-of-a-kind BMW that reflects your personality.” There were also lounges at the X7 and 8 zones by furniture brand BoConcept.

They also commissioned Kate March, an American multi-hyphenate artist, to perform at the party. March is a painter, director, author, speaker and choreographer, and according to Cheng, this “brings together a symphony of colours, textures, movement and emotion”. Basically, March used her body as an art tool to paint and she danced her way on a large canvas. She was said to be inspired by the word ‘transcendence’ and used blue as a primary colour to represent the brand.

Following the event, BMW received more than 70 pre-orders on the Luxury Class models. Pre-event, Cheng said the response rate was well over 85% and the RVSP list was full a week ahead of the event, resulting in 500 guests on the actual night. A new Luxury Class showroom will soon open in Hong Kong with more customer experiences to debut.