The World of Triple-Major

Photos and Text：Suzy

It’s a funky world that is growing fast. After less than a year of being open, Triple-Major is rapidly challenging and reinventing fashion standards. The concept store’s own brand has now reached Paris Fashion Week and the iconic punctuation mark necklaces are becoming a must-have around Beijing. Stylites’ Suzy recently sat down with creator Ritchie Chan to discuss recent developments for his shop and brand and also what he has noticed about consumers in Beijing.

Photos and Text：Suzy

Ritchie Chan在2009年创办了创作机构Triple-Major，致力对时装作重新思考。Triple-Major于2010年在北京开设了一家概念店，将世界各地的前卫和新进设计师首次带到中国。最近，Triple-Major更发展了自己的品牌，并在巴黎时装周展示。

 

Stylites: Hi Ritchie, thank you for answering our little questionnaire, what are you wearing today?

I am wearing a coat by ffiXXed, Triple-Major T-shirt and necklace, Patrik Ervell Pants and Nike Sneakers.

Triple-Major is located in Baochang Hutong near Gulou, do you know what the neighbours to your shop think about your shop?

I always wanted to open a store that confuses people and look like something else, so our concept store is disguised as an acupuncture clinic. My neighbors and people who walked by would sometimes come in and try to find medicine. Others have no idea what it is.

In your opinion, has there or is there still a demand for European and American designs in China?
There’s always a big demand for foreign designs in China, just take a trip to Sanlitun Village North and it’s all foreign labels. But the thing is that most Chinese customers who shop foreign designs emphasized on the luxury labels and big brands. There used to be little room for independent and emerging designers, regardless local or abroad. Stores like Dongliang and BNC offer a great selection of independent local designers, so I feel like we are filling the puzzle with a selection of avant-garde designers from abroad.

Hongkong based retailer I.T. also offer a selection of established international brands like Isabel Marant, Tsumori Chisato or Martin Margiela available in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu Xi’an and Hongkong. What would you say distinguishes Triple-Major from these stores?
I think we are very different from other fashion retailers in China. In terms of selection of designers, we focus more on independent and progressive labels that couldn’t be found anywhere else in China or even Asia. The designers are a mix of more established ones with a higher price point and more affordable emerging designers. The goal is to provide the customers with a more alternative, diverse and less commercial selection of clothing. In terms of mode of retail, we are more like a concept store, so we reserve the second floor as a constantly changing space that’s sometimes used as a gallery or for events and exhibitions. At the same time, we also produce our own label, which is represented in other stores as well.

Individual style and less brand-orientated fashion approaches have heavily developed during the last decade in equally the USA, Europe and China. With its choice of small designers from Germany, Austria, Denmark, the USA and Thailand, Romania, Iceland, Sweden, Australia etc…Triple Major seems to correspond to these new needs of self-fulfilment. Do you feel your regular customers take pleasure in dressing differently?
It’s true that more and more Chinese customers begin to understand that clothes are not just a way to show off their wealth, and we do provide a selection of individualistic clothing. But I think in general looking unique and different is still not what people mostly concerned about. Sometimes our customers or even myself shop because of other reasons like the clothes’ function, fabric, color and so on.
Do you have more female or male customers?
We have a mix of different customers: Male and female, young and old, locals and expats, walk-ins and regulars. Sometimes I am surprise by how diverse the clientele is actually.

What do you think could be the reason for this?
I guess all kinds of people need a break from shopping malls and what they would normally wear. Although some pieces in the store are more conceptual and harder to pull off, we intentionally keep a selection of more affordable and wearable pieces so that we can approach to a wider audience.

For the upcoming season, you are stocking a lot of patterns, how do you make your selection of articles for the store? Are you following trends?
Since the designers we carry are never really in style, they are never really out of style, so we don’t generally follow seasonal trends. Playful patterns and interesting cuts are something I personally like. But for the store I try to keep the selection more diverse so there are some more conservative pieces or feminine items for our customers.

Do you have a favourite piece among next season’s items?
Yes this crying hoodie from Daniel Palillo is my favorite piece. The reserved playfulness says a lot about my personality I think.

Will you continue hosting special events at the shop in 2011?
Yes! We try to have new events and exhibitions every other week. We have just opened an exhibition with a new designer called Olivia Su, and every other weekend we are trying to host a flea market on our rooftop, so people can bring their own clothes and have little stands at the flea market selling vintage or second hand clothes. We also encourage people with interesting ideas to approach us! So if you are reading this interview and interested in doing something about it, we are more then happy to provide the space for it!

Stylites: Ritchie你好，谢谢你接受访问！你今天穿的是哪些设计师的设计呢？

外套是来自ffiXXed的。T恤和项链来自Triple-Major。裤子来自Patrik Ervell，最后鞋子是Nike的。

Triple-Major位于鼓楼附近的宝钞胡同。你的邻居对你的店有什么看法呢？

我一直都想开一家店是别人不知道是在干什么的，所以Triple-Major的概念店伪装成一家中药店。邻居和路过的人经常进来买药，或是一点头绪也没有。

你认为欧美设计师在国内有需求吗？
中国对于国外的设计师一直都有很大的需求。去一趟三里屯北区，全都是外国品牌。但是，外国品牌的消费群众往往注重奢侈品和一些大牌子，独立设计师的生存空间则比较小。近年，像栋梁，BNC等店给大众提供了很好的国内的独立设计师选择；所以我觉得我们就像在填空一样把一些前卫的国外设计师也带进中国。

来自香港的时装零售商I.T.代理一些国外知名的设计师，比如Isabel Marant, Tsumori Chisato or Martin Margiela等，并在国内多个地方有店。你认为Triple-Major和这些零售商的分别在于那里？
我 们跟中国其他服装店挺不一样的。 在设计师的选择方面，我们主要关注一些较前卫和独立的设计师，他们很多在国内甚至亚洲都没有的。设计师从新进到较成熟的都有，目的是给大家一个较不一样， 多元化和非商业化的选择。在销售模式方面，我们比较像是概念店，因为我们店的二层经常会用于做展览和活动，有时甚至会变成画廊。和其他买手店不一样的还有 我们有自己的品牌，并在别的地方销售。

近几年在欧美和中国，消费者对于个人风格的追求似乎渐渐超过对品牌的追求。Triple-Major店内代理了来自美国，泰国，罗马尼亚，冰岛，丹麦等世界各地的独立设计师，似乎和大众对个性的追求非常符合。那你觉得你们的客户来买衣服是否为了打扮得跟别人不一样?
没错越来越多中国的消费者明白到服装不只是彰显财富的表现，而是体现自我风格。但是总的来说我们店的顾客包括我自己在内未必是为了穿得跟别人不一样才买某件衣服的。有时候材质，用料，颜色等也是衣服吸引人之处。

你们的顾客大部分是男生还是女生？
我们的客户群挺广的，有男有女，有老的有年轻的，有本地人有老外，有路过的也有熟客。有时对于这么多不同人来我们这里我还感到挺惊讶的。


你认为为什么会有这么不同的客户呢？
可能任何人都需要一些大商场以外的不同选择吧。虽然店内一些设计是比较概念性并且不是每个人都能穿，但我们也有代理一些设计不一样但价格较适宜和可穿行较高的设计供一些接受程度没那么高的顾客。

我发现你们下一季有挺多印花的设计。你是怎样挑选店内的货品的？你有跟随什么流行趋势吗？
我们店内的设计师从来没有“流行”过，所以也不会“过时”。其实我不太相信时装的所谓趋势。好玩的印花和有趣的剪裁一直都是我的个人喜好。但当我为店作选择的时候我会挑选风格较多元化的设计以应付不同客人的需要。

那件是你这季最喜欢的作品呢？
我最喜欢这件来自Daniel Palillo “Crying Hoodie”。我觉得很能代表我的性格。

Triple-Major在2011年还会有更多的活动吗？
有的！我们希望每两周都有新的活动。新近我们有设计师Olivia Su的展览了，而每隔两周末我们会在天台举行跳蚤市场，让大家卖自己的二手衣服和古着。我们也欢迎大家主动联系。所以如果大家有什么有趣的想法我们也很乐意提供资源和空间！