Favorite of Beijing fashionistas, Beauty Berry by Wang Yutao just became the first Mainland Chinese fashion designer to show at Berlin Fashion Week. His trip and show were financed by Mercedes Benz, the main sponsor for Beijing and Berlin fashion weeks. More from the WSJ.
To coincide with the Dragon’s onslaught, here are some tasty morsels from the global press and the China fashion blogosphere.
At WWD, Hong Huang (THE Hong Huang, I imagine) complains of schlepping through Europe’s fashion weeks while her family is home enjoying dumplings and conviviality. She attributes scheduling that ignores Spring Festival to a paucity of Chinese buyers and multibrand department stores. Despite the purchasing power of consumers, Chinese brands stores and brands still lack clout.
Originality or its absence is related, Huang thinks. She cites the amusing predilection of Chinese for naming their brands after animals. Northeast Tiger, Baoxiniao (Happy Bird in Chinese) and Sept Wolves are major players who observed the early success of crocodile jerseys and concluded that animals sell.
Fashion-wise, she recommends red belts for all those born in the Year of the Dragon. As most will know, one must wear red in one’s birth year to avert ill fortune.
The Year of the Dragon is bound to bring good things for Chinese Vogue, as one can surmise from this Irish Times interview with EIC Angelica Cheung. In 2011, China was third among the 15 international editions in revenue. One might have guessed first, given the magazine’s almost dangerous heft and the frothiness of the market. I will have to ask friends how local editions of Bazaar and Cosmo compare.
Over at agglomerator China Fashion Bloggers, we see Hurun Report‘s list of the top ten gifting brands. Unsurprisingly, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Hermès dominate. The only local brand is Moutai, that exceedingly mild white spirit.
AnyWearStyle runs through the highlights of 2011, including Burberry, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Bulgari events, and makes predictions for 2012. These include that much-lauded Uma Wang will be Designer of the Year and young Xiao Wen, Model of the Year. Sister site, AnyShopStyle, is also offering a special Chinese New Year discount. This is the spot for buying designers like Xander Zhou, Leo Kong, and others online.
Jing Daily speaks of eight recent trends and suggests the indignation toward high luxury taxes will intensify with little happening, conspicuous consumption will continue its “gradual death” – or what I might call a transition to manifestations considered less vulgar, and the luxury e-commerce market, now led by players like Xiu.com, Shangpin.com and 5LUX.com will undergo a weeding out process. Meanwhile, this piece at Jing forecasts a continued skyrocketing in Chinese luxury consumption abroad, including during the current New Year holiday.
Timothy Coghlan of The Maosuit gives us some great images of recent advertising campaigns with Chinese themes and all the special editions released for the Dragon Year. Huge events in 2012 will include Louis Vuitton celebrating year 20 in China by re-opening their Shanghai Plaza 66 Flagship, which will be the brand’s largest China outlet. LVMH will also commence a luxury mall project in Shanghai, with Macao Casino magnate Stanley Ho. The L’Avenue project in West Shanghai to host the complete stable of LVMH brands as well as a fancy office building. Colossal but oft-forgotten cities like Shenyang, Hangzhou and Tianjin will also see droves of new luxury brand malls opening.
So, just a lot more exuberance in the Year of the Dragon.
For the start of the Year of the Dragon, I decided to share my personal favorite images from the Rabbit.
This is just so much fun and what a great pair!
Photo: Suzy
Perhaps there is a bit too much here and her taste may not be entirely unimpeachable, but there is something appealing about the eclecticism here.
I rarely put models up here, but this confrontational chinoiserie from a cosplay party was irresistible.
As was this dramatic coat from the same event.
And what a nice use of blue and lovely smile!
And here is some blue with pop!
Maybe it was the year that local fashionistas discovered blue and realized it is even more adaptable than black.
Thick frames and workwear were also major trends.
Behind this rather S&M look is the chemical tank at 751 that remained the most popular venue for fashion events this year.
An aggressive adrogyny kept appearing.
This was an interesting mixture of mostly items mostly from Western brands to create an effect that seemed undeniably Chinese, or perhaps Uyghur.
Retro florals were the thing to do.
Photo: Suzy
Chinese-influenced looks grew as a trend this year.
It was a year in which headlines constantly announced Chinese consumers were abandoning conspicuous consumption and logos. The new fashionistas must wear labels with irony.
And it was also a year in which luxury consumers in second-tier gained increasing attention.
Which was your favorite look?
I am now on a well-known island chain southeast of Florida with my parents and infrequent internet access. Regular programming will return soon. My apologies for the paucity of posts.
2012 won’t be a year of austerity and introspection on Stylites!
Photo: Suzy
It’s rare that an outfit seems to work so well with hair dyed in this color.
Photo and Text: Suzy
I can’t help but thinking that her outfit has a somewhat christmasy touch to it. Maybe her blue army cap and fur coat evoke long russian winters?
Does China embrace Christmas with greater vigor? Every year, articles like this describe the ballooning popularity of the birthday of Jesus in China as a time for partying and shopping. Is this phenomena different from what happens in South Korea and Japan, for example? I mean, is China exceptional in this aside from its being the country that produces all of those cheap baubles we use around the world?
The numbers in China are naturally the most impressive. The Chinese customs agency reports estimated that 30 percent of the Christmas products manufactured in China are sold domestically and sales at shopping centers is thought to spike by up to 30 percent in this period. Perhaps one motivation for celebrating the day is the inexpensive decorations.
The unapologetic embrace of the most materialistic aspects of this religious event day be because there are not enough of traditional Chinese days that can be used for partying with friends. Home-grown holidays may be too solemn or official. The adoration of this foreign holiday might also highlight the cosmopolitanism and openness of contemporary China. However, at the end of that stylish yuletide dinner at a five-star hotel, Christmas in China is all about fashion – having an international, hip, lifestyle.
Oh yes, and Merry Christmas to all of my viewers wherever they are!
Photos: Suzy
She is a former resident of the Big Apple, where I just arrived myself.
Photos: Suzy
Quite the tights.
Stanley is one of the main men behind Liquid Element, one of China’s premier PR/events companies.
A few interesting happenings:
- Conde Nast China Managing Director Cao Weiming discusses the rise of Vogue, GQ, AD, and Self in the most important rapidly growing market for print media. Vogue China now has the third highest revenue among the 15 international editions of the publication. I also heard recently that GQ China is expected to surpass the UK one to become the top grossing GQ, right after the US version. More from China Daily on Conde Nast in China.
- Not all is as buoyant as what fashion industry watchers were promised though. Shares in HK-listed Prada have slumped 34% from their price at listing in July. With 42% of its sales in Asia, Prada enjoyed 25% growth in the first nine months of the year and 39% in Asia (outside Japan). Like everyone, investors are worried about slower than utterly exuberant growth in 2012, though Prada in China must still be a very good bet in the medium to long term. The world’s largest listed jeweler, HK’s Chow Tai Fook, also saw its share price drop 8%. Both of these are probably more cases of investors accepting that growth in the Chinese luxury market will be merely strong, rather than overwhelming, at least in 2012.
- On a lighter, or hopefully darker, note, a new chocolate theme park north of Beijing hosted a show with fashions made from chocolate.
Sorry for the delay in getting these photos up. I know the event was last week, but the exhibition is still on at Lane Crawford.
Above are make-up artist Tupper Bai and his friend, a fashion photographer.
Tommy, the PR Director for fashion retailer Shine, shows us how to mix blue and hot pink. Trousers are tailor-made, the shirt is vintage imported from the US purchased at Mega Mega Vintage and the sweater is Prada.
Looking for presents? Nuandao Curated Shop is hosting a Christmas market at Jam this Saturday from 2-6. This new curated shopping site will be showcasing original and quirky designs from Greater China as well as vintage items. There will also be a pop-up preview sale available this Saturday + Sunday on Nuandao.com for those unable to attend Saturday’s event in Beijing.
Photographer Wang Peng has evolved his own rather versatile way of dressing. He has five tailored suits in this exact cut each in a different color. They can be either worn as a suit or mixed and matched. I will have to ask him next time if there are really are a total of 25 potential outfits or if some of the colors don’t really go together. The fabric is canvass that he purchased at Muxiyuan.
Among the collaborative projects at the Lane Crawford and Modern Weekly ‘A Plus’ exhibition was a pop-up photo studio by designer Xander Zhou and photographer Trunk Xu. Here is Mega Mengmeng being photographed. Xander Zhou and Trunk Xu collaborated before on the famous Gay China issue of Hong Huang’s Ilook magazine. Here are photos from that issue.
Drink sponsors for the Lane Crawford and Modern Weekly‘s ‘A Plus’ exhibition, Pommery might consider sending me and Joy Island a couple more bottles.
Former Hang on the Box frontwoman Gia (Wang Yue) is working on a tee-shirt brand called Bad Taste (more from the Global Times).
She was at the launch of Lane Crawford and Modern Weekly‘s ‘A Plus’ exhibition, which features collaborations between China’s fashion designers and international artists.
Photos: Suzy
Here is yet another winterly sweater on this assistant of photographer and creative Übermensch 223.
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