On January 7th, the well-known Chinese band “Five People” was exposed for attempting to borrow clothing for a New Year’s Eve performance but ended up purchasing two outfits from a store. After their performance, they requested refunds for the outfits which were priced at 2,926 yuan and 3,459 yuan respectively. The stylists involved in the event publicly apologized that night and stated that they had contacted the store to repurchase the worn clothing.
A brand’s PR representative complained on social media on January 7th, stating that “Five People” had purchased two suits from the official flagship store of the brand. The post mentioned that it was the first time they had tried to borrow clothes from the brand, and after being declined due to mismatching with the brand’s style, they went to the brand’s Tmall flagship store to buy two pieces. The post further mentioned that after wearing the outfits on stage for their New Year’s performance, sweating profusely, they requested to return the items for a refund after coming offstage.
Photos of “Five People” wearing the outfits from the brand, priced at 2,926 yuan and 3,459 yuan, were visible in the brand’s official flagship store. The incident where “Five People bought clothes for their performance and then returned them” became a hot topic. Some netizens criticized, questioning whether it was a flaw in the platform’s mechanism or a lack of conscience on their part that could serve as a reason for their actions.
In the afternoon of January 7th, the stylist who provided performance outfits for “Five People” issued an apology, admitting to purchasing the brand’s suit jackets for their New Year’s performance on a certain TV station and attempting to return them for a refund out of luck after the show. Due to the imperfect platform mechanism, the refund was successful, and the stylist mentioned that compensation efforts had begun.
The stylist later added, “The artists have been unfairly affected by this incident, and it has caused a negative public opinion impact for which I am deeply sorry. I have contacted the brand’s original channel to purchase and return the used goods and will continue to communicate with the brand, which has since deleted the original post.”
Public records show that “Five People,” established in 2008, is a well-known Chinese rock band made up of Maotao (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Renke (lead vocals and electric guitar, accordion, harmonica), Miaochangjiang (drums), Chenchuangyuan (bass), Zhangmeng (sheng and trombone, synthesizer), and Buqi (saxophone). In July 2020, the band participated in the iQIYI variety show “Band’s Summer Season 2” and quickly rose to fame, ultimately becoming the Hot5 band of that season.
In fact, cases of returning performance outfits after use are not uncommon in China, and many businesses selling performance or school uniforms have posted complaints online about similar incidents.