In the mighty new Yintai Centre, Guess by Marciano had a store opening and fashion show on Oct 31. Halloween was barely mentioned throughout the festivities but there was a good deal of champagne, not something I would normally associate with Guess.  But placement in Beijing’s tenth or fifteenth upscale shopping centers is not exactly expected either.  The two or three mid-level malls must not have any space open.  Yintai’s shopping space will offer an experience “inspired by the fine art of European living” so could we expect anything less than Cartier, Hermès, Giorgio Armani and Guess?

Founded by the French Marciano brothers in Beverly Hills in the early ’80s as a primarily jeans oriented brand with risque ad campaigns, Guess has clearly chosen to move upscale for the China market, following the formula of other foreign brands.  Guess by Marciano is clearly the high-end member of the Guess family, who have been doing well recently.

Apparently they are one of the great recent success stories of fashion retail.  That’s too bad given my previous impression of the brand.  Guess is one of those brands that I think of as completely neglecting quality and creativity to squeeze as high margins as possible out of their mediocre products.  Their quality is on par with H&M and Zara but the pieces are not as basic and therefore less versatile.  They are only worthwhile if selling for six dollars in the clearance bin and probably still a waste of closet space.  Guess products seemed all too appropriate for the Chinese market given the tendency to silk-screen senseless images on everything, add chains and studs, and the weird washes for denim.

In terms of style, the menswear collection presented at Yintai had only two things in common with Guess selling in stores in the States.  First, it was completely on target as far as getting the current styles right.  Second, the materials seemed like they might be dubious.  That said, the styles were absolutely right for the Chinese market at the moment.  Classics with a bit of whimsy and cool are what a lot of young stylish men are going for as the styles in the audience showed.  There were three-piece suits, peak lapels, and lots of plaid trousers.  Ties were paired with graphic pattern shirts and there were plenty of cardigans.  Sashes were used in place of cummerbunds in evening wear ensembles.  It all seemed quite wearable and attractive.

These are the styles that Chinese men are wearing more and more.  The question is really whether they have to go to Guess by Marciano to get them.  This doesn’t seem dramatically different from Zara and, if the quality is also around the same, people probably won’t want to pay more.  I will have to my next visit to fondle the chests of the suits to see how stiff the fusing is and if the suits are of Zara-level fabric.  Given the economic crisis, one might hope that people would  go for classic dressing, which this is to some extant, but with better fabrics and quality of construction.  In times like these, clothes that have a longer life span and are therefore a better investment would seem the way to go.   However, the Chinese buyer of high-end clothing does still seem more interested in fashion than the classics.  It would pay to remember this quote from a 1940s Brooks Brothers catalogue: “The most expensive clothes in the world are those that are too cheap in construction—or too cheap in taste—to permit long-continued use.”

The women’s clothing was pretty gaudy and trashy, so it probably has a better chance of success.  Photos of some of the stylish people from the event will follow when I have a chance.