The obsession of Western designers and just about everyone else with “Old Shanghai” will not end. Whether a fashion collection or a drink specials night at a club, the grand dame of the orient attracts with her gaudiness and perceived decadence. In the 1930s, this least Chinese of Chinese cities possessed, in our modern minds, elements of glamour, eclecticism, and exoticism that other historic periods as well as the present never seem to match. For Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs designed a new Shanghai-inspired collection now being panned by fashion critics as reeking of orientalism. More critique from the Shanghaiist and pictures from the NYT. Despite the tacky aura of the collection, a few pieces look marketable, but I fear that many of the looks could be achieved after an afternoon excavating at the Xiushui market, here in Beijing. Of course you could save the stress of haggling by going directly to the LV boutique not ten minutes away.
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