Manchester-based womenswear brand kaiia and Korean skincare brand medicube united their TikTok audiences in London this week for the kaiia x medicube TikTok Shop LIVE Community Catwalk.
For the first time, the catwalk was shoppable LIVE on TikTok Shop, enabling viewers at home to watch the show and shop featured looks in real time. The show saw kaiia open its AW26 casting to the public for the first time, marking the finale of TikTok Fashion Super Brand Week and bringing two leading TikTok Shop brands together through their highly engaged audiences..
Held at YOU Studios, one of London’s leading creative photography studios, the catwalk welcomed 300 guests, including global influencers, TikTok creators, leading fashion and beauty media, stylists, industry experts and celebrities.
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The event brought fashion and beauty together through immersive brand activations, a live performance from Manchester’s viral TikTok dance group Trend Kids and kaiia’s AW26 collection, showcased alongside medicube’s viral skincare.
medicube joined as Founding Beauty Partner, with BaByliss as Official Hair Partner. BaByliss assembled a team of leading professional artists, including internationally renowned celebrity and session hairstylists Syd Hayes, Michelle Sultan and Ky Wilson, while medicube led skincare preparation for every model taking part in the show.
With TikTok Shop as Official Commerce Partner, the show extended beyond the physical catwalk through a first-of-its-kind shoppable TikTok Shop LIVE. Viewers at home were given a front-row view of the show and could shop the looks live as they appeared on the runway.
The experience tapped into the rapid growth of LIVE shopping in the UK; more than 6,000 LIVE shopping events now take place every day on TikTok Shop UK, with LIVE Shopping sales on the platform up 55% year on year.
The runway showcased kaiia’s new ‘Sports Club: Campus’ collection, featuring sporty layers, rugby-inspired pieces and relaxed everyday essentials. Trend Kids performed in this collection, having also fronted its campaign teaser, which has generated more than 8.5 million views. The show also featured new knitwear, outerwear, kaiia’s unseen ‘New Class’ collection, pieces from its ASOS Collection Luxe Edit, and kaiia’s latest kidswear range for ages three and up, alongside exclusive pieces yet to be released.
The catwalk marked a significant moment for Manchester-born kaiia as it celebrates its fifth anniversary, building on the brand’s focus on turning its online community into real-world experiences. Following the launch of the kaiia Creator House in March, the September event marked the evolution from Creator House to Catwalk, with thousands applying through a London open casting and nationwide online applications. The final 20 were selected to walk the AW26 show.
kaiia global head of brand, Emily Frazer, said: “Five years ago, kaiia was predominantly known for its tracksuits, but we’ve evolved into an affordable, trend-led fashion brand shaped by social culture and, most importantly, a community that wants to be involved in the brand. We’ve never wanted to simply market to our customer. We want her to have a role in kaiia, whether that’s through TikTok, our student ambassador network, creators, events or real-life experiences.
“The Community Catwalk brings all of that together. We’re putting our customers at the heart of our AW26 runway, bringing fashion and beauty together with medicube in a way that reflects how our audience discovers and engages with brands today. It feels like the perfect next chapter for kaiia, building a new model for affordable Gen Z fashion powered by TikTok, creators and a community that wants to be part of it.”
medicube global TikTokShop lead Lexy Shim added: “We’re incredibly proud to partner with kaiia for this special Community Catwalk. The UK is a key market for medicube, where we’ve built a rapidly growing community through TikTok Shop around our innovative, science-backed approach to skincare. Bringing together two leading brands across beauty and fashion on TikTok Shop makes this partnership especially exciting, creating a unique opportunity to bring our communities together and connect beauty and fashion in a new way.
“We’re also delighted to offer an exclusive first look at two of our newest innovations, the PDRN Eye Patch and PDRN Neck Gua Sha Cream, ahead of their official launch. The Community Catwalk is the perfect moment to introduce what’s next for medicube and share our latest innovations with our growing UK community.”
