What Fashion Should Know about Apps RedNote and Lemon8, and London Fashion Week Opts in for Sustainability

Xiaohongshu (RedNote) and Lemon8: the new TikTok alternatives? 

Two Chinese-owned apps – Xiaohongshu and Lemon8 – have claimed the top two spots on Apple Inc.’s App Store in the US this week, as users scramble to find a substitute for TikTok that could well be banned from this coming Sunday. The apps also made the top 10 on Alphabet Inc.’s Google Play store for the first time. 

Over just two days, more than 700,000 new users joined Xiaohongshu, also known as “RedNote”, per a Reuters report. TikTok users creating accounts on RedNote have added hashtags such as #tiktokrefugee or #tiktok to their posts. Lemon8, also designed by TikTok parent ByteDance that is something of a mixture of Instagram and Pinterest, saw its downloads triple in recent days and was briefly the most-downloaded free iPhone app in the US on Monday.

An honourable mention also needs to go to Whatnot: a livestream shopping platform and competitor to TikTok Shop) who recently raised $265 million, giving it a nearly $5 billion valuation. The startup (launched in 2019) reported over $3 billion in sales on its platform last year. Its social selling model enables sellers to host live video auctions, where they showcase products in real-time, engage with buyers through chat, and facilitate instant bidding directly within the app.

Now back to RedNote. Founded in 2013 as a shopping-focused app, RedNote was valued at $17 billion after raising funding last year. The company has raised more than $900 million in total funding to date, has more than 2,000 employees, and boasts more than 300 million monthly active users and surpassed $1 billion in profit last year. 

“Xiaohongshu is a lifestyle platform that inspires people to discover and connect with a range of diverse lifestyles, where over 300 million users every month share their life experiences,” says the app’s description on Apple’s App Store. The app can let users discover posts about “a range of diverse interests and hobbies that are popular among young people, from recent trends such as stove-boiled tea, camping in the wild, frisbee and other outdoor activities, to hobbies such as discovering fashion styles, cooking, reading, painting, sports and fitness.”

The Interline investigated and immediately noticed that RedNote really is similar to TikTok with its short-form video content and its focus on creativity mingled with causalness. Overall, for those of us who can’t read Mandarin, the whole experience might be slightly overwhelming at first, but with enough browsing, will soon become familiar. There is the possibility to change one’s settings to English which makes things easier, even without 100% translation as of yet. But a quick scroll through RedNote’s “Explore” page that at first showed only a handful of English posts interspersed with Chinese, after a day of meandering through the app was soon inundated with posts in English.

But it hasn’t been so easy for all creators. Although not experienced first hand by The Interline, others using the app have reported problems: being banned for violating the Xiaohongshu Community Guidelines (which, at the time of writing, is only available in Mandarin); or for unintended suspicious activity when prompted to give a phone number but not receiving a verification code and then trying again multiple times. Some users were also penalised because their videos featured the TikTok watermark, which apparently RedNote doesn’t like.

And then there is an even bigger, but more invisible issue: RedNote’s privacy policy details extensive data collection, including location, browsing habits, content interactions, and device details like IP addresses and identifiers, ostensibly to “enhance user experience.” While these seem standard, the policy also allows sharing this data with “third-party service providers” and “relevant government authorities.”

No question, RedNote is likely also to be targeted by the US divest-or-ban law (and as Lemon8 is owned by ByteDance, it certainly will.). The legislation specifically names TikTok and ByteDance but extends its restrictions to any company “controlled by a foreign adversary,” effectively placing all Chinese-based companies under its purview.

It seems that even as users migrate to these digital spaces in their droves, not many actually consider it to be a viable long-term replacement. Not yet, anyway, until there is more information about how things will pan out with TikTok. But there are still some important lessons that fashion businesses can extract for the future. 

First, users of all kinds are not rushing to Instagram as their first choice of alternative, but are instead choosing to start afresh on RedNote. In some cases, the intention is to be exposed to new users through the app’s algorithm (that focuses on the user’s interest rather than who they follow, unlike Instagram). This is something that brands need to be constantly on their toes about, unfortunately, as the digital fronter of search and discovery keeps changing. Others have said that the energy of the audience differs substantially and has a material impact on content performance. TikTok is more casual and tongue-in-cheek when compared to the curated perfection that exists on Instagram, and for that reason there can be more engagement from users who aren’t afraid to be more candid and personal.

This sentiment also is true for RedNote – except certain topics (mainly politics) are a no-go zone. The content so far appears to be wholesome with users from across the world partaking in a rare cultural exchange that hasn’t happened on an app since 2020 when Clubhouse was popular. Brands will need to understand the dynamic of any platform that rises to popularity and adapt to the audience accordingly.

Another lesson is to evaluate the e-commerce capabilities of any future platform. RedNote’s are advanced when compared to its peers, and is something that luxury brands that are active on the app have already taken advantage of. In April 2024, Louis Vuitton set a new live-streaming record on the platform, attracting over 470,000 unique viewers to its pre-fall 2024 livestream. The event was also shoppable, with most featured items available for pre-order via a digital pop-up store on the app.

For now, we wait. As the fashion community watches TikTok’s uncertain future and longs for a universally accessible, enduring platform, users on RedNote are overcoming language barriers, embracing diversity, and cultivating a global community that might create a lasting legacy – whether on this app or another.

London Fashion Week rolls out new sustainability requirements 

The British Fashion Council (BFC) has joined forces with Copenhagen Fashion Week (CPHFW) to advance sustainability efforts in the UK by adopting CPHFW’s sustainability requirements framework. CPHFW is often thought to have the most progressive and innovative sustainability practices among major fashion weeks.

The stricter minimum standards to be met for brands to be a part of LFW will begin this year for BFC’s NewGen programme. Then, full implementation is planned for all Newgen brands starting January 2026, after which the BFC will plan for broader adoption across the LFW schedule.

As part of the new requirements, brands will be required to disclose their sustainability strategies and prove that their designs emphasise both quality and durability. Materials will undergo careful evaluation, with at least 60% needing to come from preferred sources, while certain fabrics, like animal fur, skins, and feathers, will be banned. The framework will also establish standards for employee working conditions, mandate proper waste sorting documentation, and prohibit the use of single-use plastics.

The BFC is following the lead of the Norwegian Fashion Hub and Fashion Council Germany, both of which have already adopted CPHFW’s sustainability standards for Oslo and Berlin fashion weeks. But this is something special: London is the first of the major fashion capitals to implement these changes, which may eventually lead the remaining three capitals – New York, Milan, and Paris – to do the same. The difficulty is that the brands presenting in those capitals are usually significantly bigger, making the requirements that much more challenging to subscribe to. It is then likely to be a wrestle between the particular fashion week organisation and the brand as to what to do.

So while seeing the sustainability requirements there may still take time, LFW’s adoption of them is a great example of practical, effective steps being taken towards sustainability, in an environment that is filled with grand promises but little action. Real change is going to look like this, alongside the bigger changes. But those are on a much longer timeline, and it’s great when there are real processes on a reduced timeline. 

Another example from this week of this is textile material innovator Spinnova, who has teamed up with industrial manufacturing conglomerate Siemens to accelerate fibre production at Woodspin Oy – the Finnish textile fibre firm’s joint venture with Brazilian pulp manufacturer Suzano. Through this partnership, Spinnova has shortened its time to market by integrating Siemens’ Xcelerator automation technologies, software, and services at the Woodspin factory in Finland. 

Spinnova’s patented process creates textile fibers using a mechanical technique (inspired by spider web weaving), drawing on raw materials such as wood, leather, textiles, and agricultural waste. The resulting fibre can be processed into yarn and fabrics in the same way as traditional fibers, but with a much lower environmental footprint: 74% reduction in CO₂ emissions, 98% less water usage, zero waste, and no harmful chemicals.

And the fashion industry is taking notice. In December 2024, Puma signed a multiyear letter of intent with Spinnova to develop proof-of-concept products from Spinnova’s wood-based fibre for future collections, particularly in products of PUMA’s Sportstyle category.