Balenciaga teams with Alipay on US$650 T-shirt, prompting social media ridicule

Spanish luxury fashion brand Balenciaga's latest offering is a 4,700 yuan (US$650) T-shirt in collaboration with Chinese mobile payment platform Alipay, sparking discussions and chaff on Chinese social media.

The short-sleeved, oversized garment - which is unisex in design - only comes in two sizes and one colour, black. The iconic Balenciaga print is brandished in white across the front with the Chinese character zhi - the logo of Alipay - sitting just to the left of it.

The limited edition shirt went on sale on Balenciaga's online store in mainland China after being unveiled at the fashion brand's Spring Summer 2025 show in Shanghai on Thursday night. It also hit shelves at some bricks-and-mortar shops on Friday.

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The collaborative fashion item will only be available in mainland China, according to Balenciaga.

The limited-edition T-shirt is available on only two sizes and one colour, black. Photo: Balenciaga alt=The limited-edition T-shirt is available on only two sizes and one colour, black. Photo: Balenciaga>

Alipay is operated by Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post. Ant did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The surprise team-up between the fintech firm and 105-year-old European fashion line has sparked widespread discussions on Chinese social media. Many netizens mocked the high price tag and basic design.

"This really looks like a parody," a fashion influencer with the username Mars Amateur Fashion Critique wrote on the microblogging platform Weibo. In another popular Weibo comment, a user suggested that a payment QR code should be printed on the T-shirt instead of the logo.

"Shouldn't Alipay get this for its employees as uniforms?" another user wrote. Others jokingly referred to the shirt as "the most expensive corporate uniform".

Balenciaga, headquartered in Paris and currently owned by French luxury giant Kering, is no stranger to collaborations with various brands, which include designs known to spark social media attention.

Its new collaboration proved eye-catching in part because Alipay, one of China's two dominant digital wallets, is a household name and a daily utility for millions of people.

The collaboration comes amid Ant's recent expansion in the international market, which has been part of an effort to "significantly" expand the global presence of its cross-border mobile payment service Alipay+.

The company said it aims to achieve double-digit percentage growth in usage of Alipay+ among international merchants this year, and to "fill out the coverage" across all Asian countries, Ant International president Douglas Feagin said in March. The company also intends to expand to Europe and the US, he added.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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