Archive for August, 2008
Water Stone is probably my second favorite OTR (off the rack) shop in Beijing after Altea, the Italian tie and apparel brand with a branch in the basement of Oriental Plaza. It is a refuge for male connoisseurs of avant-garde fashion. The focus is on high-end Japanese cult brands, with products and fabrics produced in Japan; hardly anything here appears on other shelves in China. Attachment, founded by former Issey Miyake designer, Kazuyuki Kumagai stands out, with its emphasis on craftsmanship and innovative but attractive fabrics. The silk linen blend three-piece suit (12,250 – though there was a 50% sale as of this writing) is a perfect modern substitute for seersucker, and is differentiated from mainstream designers like Hugo Boss and Versace through superior, non-fused, construction. The super long sleeve jerseys, an iconic Kumagai piece, will please fashion nerds. Slow Gun by Kobayashi Manabu offers garments in English fabrics produced for Saville Row tailors. Expect no dearth of silk linings and clever details on pieces from these designers as well as Factotum, by Koji Udo. Reeboks designed for the Japanese market are the only products made in China. Otherwise, Made in USA has a strong showing with vintage Levi’s (950), Wool Naval Peacoats (1750), and other rare items from the 1960s and 70s. Water Stone offers a selection on par with what can be found only in top fashion cities like Milan and Tokyo, though the slim, small, sizes and price level might make it more a favorite among local artists and rich kids than Western businessmen.
Water Stone, Daily 10:30-10:30. B008, “Nali Patio” No. 81, Sanlitun North Street, Chaoyang District (5208 6055)
朝阳区三里屯北街81号“那里花园“ B008
(The edited version of this piece is in the current The Beijinger along with photos)
August 31st, 2008
Though I tend to dislike big trends, sometimes I can’t help but noticing them when their omnipresence starts to make it seem like I will never find anyone interesting to photograph. So, I have decided to do something a little different with a series on the most tedious trends of the last few weeks. To start, at this Olympics, everyone was wearing Kappa or something related to Italy.
I have a friend who is a designer at Kappa and their two woman logo is cool, but I’m against any type of free advertising and brand that dominates the landscape without a subtle touch.
Kappa must be the most successful company when it comes to plastering China with its logo.
Sure, for a sportswear brand it does seem more provocative than Adidas or Nike.
I hope the Italian government is subsidizing this. Italian brands can probably get away with displays like this more than American ones.
Apparently Chinese audiences were comparatively supportive of Italian athletes. It’s not surprising.
Even names of towns make it onto the apparel. This must help with encouraging tourism from China.
Even some foreign kids are getting in on it.
We like to complain about Chinese nationalism, but the Chinese flags at the Olympics were mostly stickers. The Italian flags are permanently on the clothes.
Now they just need to get “Italia” onto the famous manpurses and they can plaster the Middle Kingdom.
August 27th, 2008
Frankie is a well-known magician from the Northeast. He says he doesn’t care at all about fashion; his personality and trade are quite enough to give him a distinctive look. He can be hired to perform at parties and other events.
August 26th, 2008
Standing not far from London House at Houhai, Chris is a Beijinger studying advertising in Chengdu; in fact his shirt is a beer advertisement. His jeans are from Cheap Monday and the sneaker/brogues are from Paul Smith, one of his favorite brands. Like many of the young men on Stylites, his style takes its cues from British rock musicians.
August 25th, 2008
Noticeable from a distance for the drape of her gorgeous linen skirt, this young Qingdao girl is starting her own brand – she designed the skirt – focusing on linen and simple designs that will be available throughout Beijing very soon.
August 20th, 2008
From Tokyo, slim Akira has been in Beijing for eight years and thoroughly loves the place. Having just succeeded Charles Saliba as General Manager, he is dedicated to building on the successes of D-22. His fashion heroes are glam-rocker Mick Ronson, Iggy Pop and Ziggy Stardust (Bowie) and his favorite film is a Clockwork Orange. He recommends that hip Beijingers buy their rags at Underground Kids on Gulou Dongdajie.
August 18th, 2008
Sabrina, not the first from Ogilvy to appear on Stylites, says hers is Beijing’s most stylish PR company, due to the influence of its advertising division. She purchased her bag to show support for efforts of the Red Cross in Sichuan. She is believes the Olympics is allowing foreigners to see that China is not as backward and uncool as they might have thought. PR people are generally fearing the end of the Olympics since this has been a very busy time for them.
August 14th, 2008
The French Olympics site has more details on the wonderful team outfits worn at the opening ceremony. To answer some earlier questions that appeared here, the men’s ties are knit and the women’s berets are made from cotton. The sashes and handbags are real leather. The outfits are produced by a company called Elis, though we are not sure who designed them.
What I like is that the look is quintessentially French but also very chic. Most citizenries find it difficult looking both up-to-date and traditional. Despite all the praise in the media for the English team uniforms - they were very hip - they could have done better at looking English, considering the rich sartorial traditions of the island. The Americans looked good and very American, but not exactly fashionable. There was too much of a schoolboy or airline attendant vibe.
August 12th, 2008
Gao Jian grew up in a Hutong nearby Gulou and graduated from the Central Academy of Drama and Theater on Nanluoguxiang. He is in modern dance and his main theory for dressing is to wear clothing that is loose and comfortable. I’m not a lover of crocs, but they seem to be appropriate for him. Despite rumors, the New Zealand team didn’t end up wearing them during the opening ceremony.
August 11th, 2008
It was truly dazzling. I’m a bit too tired to comment in depth, but the French, Portugese and Swedish team uniforms impressed me the most - at least in terms of Western style clothing. There were several great traditional get-ups from African countries. The Chinese men’s outifts were ghastly (popped, oversize collars - ’70s style but in even worse colors), but after such a beautiful and brilliant show, the host had to make at least one mistep to reassure the world that it is not infallible. The US uniform was good and classic American in style. Unfortunately part of being American in style means a huge logo, which was present in the form of the oversized Ralph Lauren polo player on the chest of the blazers. Anyway the repp ties and white caps were quite nice.
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It’s probably very predictable of me to like the French outfits the most (of the Western attire). Most countries just wore their nation’s colors in the most garish way possible, clearly showing that they have no distinct style voice. The courts are still out on the British outifts. For the country that has had the biggest impact on defining Western standards of dress, the clothese didn’t seem distinctly English enough, but they were kind of cool and Cool Britannia is what it’s all about these days.
August 8th, 2008
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