Celebrity fashion designer Zhang Chi visited the American Rag store at Crystal Galleria in Shanghai and took some photos with his iphone.
Author: stylites_admin
The Pei Mansion
The Pei Mansion may be my favorite Shanghai hotel despite its having numerous interesting competitors.  Built in 1934, the building was designed for the family of I.M. Pei., which was clearly wealthy on the King Midas type of scale at that juncture.  They were financiers, dye merchants and undoubtedly real estate moguls.
Taciturn Li
Taciturn Li is one of my favorite brands in China and the first outlet just opened at Yangmeizhu Xiejie (æ¨æ¢…竹斜街）near Qianmen.  By a young man named Yunze who feels very Beijing, the brand is nonetheless inspired by American workwear while using mostly Japanese fabrics.  Taciturn Li was one of the brands that I selected for the Made in China shop-in-shop at the American Rag in LA and it has been one of the most successful brands there.
Apolis x American Rag
The Apolis x American Rag Jute Market Bag is just in at the new store at Shanghai’s Crystal Galleria.
Apolis is a LA-based brand that has collaborated with American Rag in the past. Â This is a special edition in a limited run of 50 to celebrate the opening of the Shanghai store.
Beijing Shopping Destinations
Going beyond Chinese street fashion, in my role as blogger I recommend some of my top Beijing Shopping Destinations like Taciturn Li and Wuhao in this Stay.com piece.  I am also going to be doing one soon in which I talk about Shanghai Shopping.
It turns out that the fashion photographer Jeff Yiu has also done this.
American Rag Opens
The American Rag store at Crystal Galleria in Shanghai is in its soft opening phase. It’s near Jing’an Temple on Yuyuan Road. Go in this weekend and say you are friends with Nels to get a 20% discount on all purchases.
Click below for more photos of this new retail concept that is sure to change how the Shanghai style crowd shops and dresses.
The HUB Moves to Shanghai
If you’ve been in China for any significant amount of time, you should be sick of discussions comparing Beijing and Shanghai. And of course Hong Kong can also creep in. Which city is the best, most fun, most stylish, least fake, etc., etc.? I borrow the answer of my friend Charlie Ducane, who says “the ideal Chinese city runs like Hong Kong, is peopled by Beijingers, and looks like Shanghai.” Beijing has rockstars, artists, and their admirers. Shanghai has beautiful art deco buildings and tree-lined streets. Hong Kong is efficient.
When it comes to which one is the fashion capital, there’s also lively debate. My friend Tim Parent analyzes this question in this article for Business of Fashion. The HUB founders Peter Caplowe and Richard Hobbs, with quite a bit of input from me – I’ve been working with Asia’s leading fashion trade fair for nearly two years – have decided to put their bets with Shanghai now after four shows in Hong Kong.
More LA Pics
Just in are more pics from American Rag Cie in LA. These are taken by Stew.
“Made in China” Coverage
Quite a bit of coverage has come out on our Made in China shop-in-shop including from the LA Times, WWD, Jing Daily, Apparel News, Style by Asia, and Racked LA.  You can see a brief interview with me on CCTV as well.  Click on this link and go to 11:33.
Beijing-based blogger Lady Liaoliao got her post on the event syndicated by a wide range of meida: the Lady Liaoliao Wechat Platform, Sohu mobile, Zaker, 163, Phoenix Mobile, Haibao, Rayli, Sina, Weibo, and Wechat. Â What we are waiting for is the youku coverage resulting from her visit.
WWD on Amrag Shop-in-Shop
American Rag Cie founder Mark Werts and I were having dinner at Beijing’s Opposite House almost a year ago and we came up with the idea for a shop-in-shop that would transform a section of his giant fashion emporium on La Brea Avenue in Central Los Angeles.  The theme would be rising Chinese fashion designers who had never before been sold in the US.
After a few trips across the Pacific, tricky international bank transfers, and some trade fairs like Showroom Shanghai and The HUB, the Chinese shop-in-shop is opening on May 14.  Media from across the US and from China will attend the event.  WWD has already done a piece that you can see here or by clicking more – there are more pictures as well.
chinafashionbloggers.com
The site has gone through a nice re-design and I am now anticipating a fun re-launch party.  If you haven’t checked before, chinafashionbloggers.com is a site that agglomerates all of the English language blogs that focus on China.  The creator, Timothy Parent, has been a star on this scene for quite a while and hats off to him for persevering in providing this resource.  It seems that in its new guise, there will be an additional focus on design and lifestyle resources, which reflects the current direction of the market.
Great to see my own profile there as well.
Welcoming Spring
An incredible installation from Ryan Carter. Here is the press release:
Spring is the season of new life, of seeds bursting open beneath the ground to grow into gorgeous flowers or delicious vegetables, of a fresh energy that heightens the senses and excites the heart. At Four Seasons Hotel Beijing guests will find the ultimate spring art installation that captures the essence of spring, specially timed to coincide with the equinox, when the Earth’s axis tips from one season to the next.
O’Quirey Pics
The Dutch Design pop-up, spearheaded by shoe brand O’Quirey, is one of the very best ones that we have organized yet. Please select more to see more pics of the event.
The HUB: March 12 and 13
The HUB Hong Kong will have its forth edition on March 12 and 13. Register here.
Time: 11am to 7pm
Address: D2 Place, 9 Cheung Yee Street, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon. Hong Kong – it’s right by the D2 exit of at the Lai Chi Kok MTR station
Brands: Check here for a partial listing
The HUB blog also looks in-depth at some of the brands and multi-brand stores that will be attending.
Going Dutch
The split will go three ways between furniture, decor, and footwear.  Coming up on March three is a new pop up at the Four Seasons Hotel Beijing.  Dutch shoe brand O’Quirey has teamed up with Ubi Gallery and Studio Henny van Nistelrooy to present a sampling of Dutch design today.  The opening event will be high profile with quite an impressive list of magazines attending – everything from Robb Report to Esquire – as well as TV stations CCTV and Phoenix.  Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.E. Mr. Aart Jacobi will also make an appearance.
The image that will probably stick in everybody’s mind is that of the series of specially commissioned paintings that put bold O’Quirey shoes into familiar works of Van Gogh.
Here is more in Chinese on their wechat platform and you can click more to see the press release.