He led Loewe's TikTok strategy
Short summary
Lucas Yiu, former head of Loewe’s TikTok strategy, explains how he broke luxury conventions by using raw, iPhone-shot videos that drove tens of millions of views. He covers winning internal buy-in, picking creators by vibe, and why authentic, organic content outperforms polished campaigns, then shares his new consultancy focus and future social trends.
- Raw, iPhone-shot TikTok content at Thierry Mugler and Loewe each pulled in roughly 30-40 million organic views, overturning luxury's polished-campaign instincts
- Internal buy-in came only after late-night lobbying got "too much" creator content approved, after which Loewe loosened its approval process
- Slapping logos in a video's first three seconds undercuts engagement, so social posts work better as stepping stones to bigger brand stories than as polished ads
- Yiu now consults only for brands that already "get it," betting that authenticity beats production value for capturing audience attention
Full summary
Lucas Yiu moved from Hong Kong to Paris seven years ago and broke into fashion by cold-messaging anyone he could find at Thierry Mugler. He landed a social media and influencer role just as TikTok was emerging. With almost no luxury benchmarks on the platform, he borrowed tactics from Duolingo and other non-fashion accounts, convincing skeptics to post raw, iPhone-shot videos. One of those early posts pulled in roughly 40 million organic views, sparking internal trust in his “very online” approach.
At Loewe, Yiu faced similar pushback. A creator-driven clip initially sat on the cutting-room floor because it was “too much.” Late-night lobbying paid off: the post racked up around 30 million views. From that point on, approvals loosened and Loewe’s TikTok feed embraced genuine, culture-first content. Yiu credits his ability to blend low-stakes ideas with strategic smarts, plus a daily screen time north of 12 hours, for keeping him tapped into the platform’s auto-scroll rhythms.
Now an independent consultant, Yiu picks clients who already “get it.” He warns that many luxury brands still struggle to balance their heritage with the spontaneity social demands. They pump budgets into polished campaigns, then undercut engagement by slapping logos in the first three seconds. His advice: use social posts as stepping stones to bigger stories and let craft shine through in more organic ways. Audience attention, he says, belongs to whoever feels real.