Stylites and P1

It turns out that I am going to be one of the two non-p1 street style photographers featured at “The Great Style Leap” a large exhibit that will be at the Orange, in Sanlitun, from Dec. 13 to 19. This notice on Business of Fashion even uses some of my photos.  The question for me is what the them of my wall at this exhibition should be.  P1 has taken over six-million street style photos, mostly in Beijing and Shanghai, over the last 5-6 years.  It is the biggest, best funded, street style project in the world.  

P1 was able to reach such a scale because it was membership-driven.  All of the people they photographed should be part of their social network, and they are collecting the data.  They really do deserve praise for making the connection between street style and social networks and then building up the business in China.  I am not sure how well it is doing as a social network right now – they were a bit late in going mobile – but the idea remains a brilliant standout from the age of street style.  Their exhibition, much like Stylites, will be celebrating the birth individuality in China.

So P1 has a good deal of material from which to select.  They are using technology to scan through the images to find the trends that have emerged over the years.  I have to find a way to fit into this.  I think since their work will be almost entirely visual, my approach may be to provide written introductions to some of the interesting personalities around Beijing.  I’ve always hoped that Stylites would be more about the actual people than fashion.  Still, I am looking for any ideas in terms of the theme for my section of the exhibit.

Beijing Vintage Bike Run

I will be joining and photographing the first annual Beijing Vintage Bike Run on April 20. Organized by Serk and 700bike, inspiration comes from the now famous London Tweed Run, an event clearly more about clothes than bikes. This ride will take 100 hip biking enthusiasts from Sanlitun, through a not terribly picturesque collection of ring-roads and high-rises, to the 798 Art District. Tweed is welcome but the specific style recommendation for the event is 70s and 80s China retro chic, meaning Mao suits and such. It is perfect tweed weather in Beijing at the moment, but I fear it will suddenly be completely summery in three weeks time.

You can sign up here, but be fast since spots are limited.

Stylites Restart

Stylites should be back and fully operational with comments working and a new design within a week. Thanks to all of our loyal viewers for their continued patience.

Update

I just wanted to tell all our loyal readers that there will be progress soon. We have a web specialist working on trying to resolve the glitches on the site and things should be up and running soon. In this period, we are also trying to imagine new directions for the site over the next few years.

In other news, Stylites has a feature, photographed by Suzy, in Aritzia magazine. These are some great profiles of the kind of bohemian Beijing girls that have been appearing here over the years. These bold girls are not afraid of color.

Also, please “like” the new Facebook page of LifeStyle magazine.

Happy Holidays!

My apologies for the site being somewhat dormant of late. We are in the process of trying to find out what the next major stages will be in its development. There are also a few problems related to comments and spam overload that still have to be worked out. We will keep you updated. Have a good time over the holidays!

China Mapping

MovingCities, commissioned by Dutch Design Fashion Architecture, recently released two extremely comprehensive reports on fashion and design in China. A made a very minor contribution of an essay and photos, some of which can be seen on this recent notification they put up for an event in Shanghai.

These guides, essential reading for anyone interested in design or fashion in China, can be downloaded here. You will be an expert after reading these.

On Comments

As some of you may have noticed, comments are off on the blog. This is not because I don’t want them or due to trolls. The problem now is that there is some kind of spamming issue that keeps causing my site to go down when comments are allowed. So far, we have not figured out how to rectify this problem, but we will try to as soon as possible and keep you updated.

Hip Hutongs

I wanted to direct your attention to a walking tour that I offer in cooperation with Context Travel. Hip Hutongs is a way for visitors to Beijing to gain an understanding of the creative, fashion and media environments in China while on a stroll with me through Beijing’s most picturesque neighborhoods. Find out more here.

A Lengthy Interview

This interview by Brent Luvaas, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Drexel University in Philadelphia, gives an overview of how Stylites evolved, in my words. Brent and I had a nice discussion over Skype and here he provides the main points. Brent is also the Co-Editor in the Visual Anthropology Review Department of Culture and Communication. He also runs the blog where my interview appears, Urban Field Notes. My thanks to Brent for featuring me on his blog!