Posts filed under 'Burberry Prorsum Beijing'
I did a special report for That’s Beijing on stylish people’s perspectives on bicycling, and will be including some of the photos from it here.
Hinting at Christmas in pleasingly provocative style, software designer Aileen just arrived in Beijing from Hubei and has not had time to buy a bike. However, she believes Beijing is not good for driving since it is so crowded. Unlike many modern Chinese girls, to her it doesn’t matter if her other half owns a car or not.
我为《城市漫步》北京版写了一篇关于时尚潮人如何看待骑自行车的报告。我会陆续在Stylites上放一些报告中所使用的照片。
Aileen刚从湖北来到北京，是一名软件设计师。她的装束带有一点圣诞节的感觉，让人看到就觉得开心，但同时也有一点“淘气”。Aileen还没来得及买自行车，但是她觉得北京的交通太拥挤，不适合开汽车。与现在的很多中国女孩子不一样，她觉得男朋友/丈夫有没有自己的汽车不太重要。
April 8th, 2008
Daniel Sui is a designer for Kappa in China and he appeared on Stylites before. The IHT had an interesting story on the public offering of Dongxiang, which owns the exclusive license for the Kappa brand in China. As the existence of Daniel’s job proves, this Italian sportswear brand is not only produced and sold in China, but also designed here. The article speaks of over 20% annual growth of the Chinese sportswear market.
The funny thing is that I have the exact same herringbone trench coat and I was wearing it that same day. Daniel also wore it for his photo shoot with 1626 (1626 also did a shoot and interview with me that should be appearing over the next couple of weeks):
The coat is intended for export to Japan and is by some obscure brand. The cut is really slim and the styling is quite nice. I think the coat looks good and that’s why I bought it despite some misgivings. The price of around USD 50 also didn’t dissuade me. Unfortunately, truths like “you always get what you pay for” do seem eternal. This coat has the same key defect as many stylish pieces made in China for export to Japan as well as stylish fakes of brands like Dior Homme and Burberry Prorsum. That defect is poor quality materials. The fabric, buttons, thread, and lining are all sub-par. Even H&M and Zara offer substantially better quality. The fabric began to pill after a few wearings and the buttons are about to fall off en masse. Anyway, all I can say is that it is worth using Senli and Frye to get a durable piece that will last through the years. That said, sometimes one does want throw-away fashion - this certainly doesn’t seem very ecologically friendly though.
January 22nd, 2008
Finally my pictures from the Lane Crawford opening party can appear on stylites.net, since they have now already appeared in the December issue of Thats Beijing. Please get your own copy, to see these photos in print. The original goal for this edition of Stylites in Beijing, in That’s Beijing, was to focus on the whole Financial Street area in Western Beijing. However, I found on numerous trips to the area that there was very little interesting style in the region beyond the night of the Lane Crawford opening party. Even in Seasons Place Shopping Mall, where Lane Crawford is located, on a normal day, there is no one that I want to photograph. In fact, there are very few people, owing to the location and the high prices of the stores in the mall. Perhaps this simply highlights the exclusivity of the shopping complex.
I guess the name Financial Street says it all. Ibankers can certainly be stylish in a traditional way, though they tend not to chase the latest trends, but even that Saville Row set of style sensibilities has not reached Beijing. However, the international fashion elite welcoming Lane Crawford to Beijing showed an intimate knowledge of the looks and pieces that are hot now, and a talent for mixing, matching, and innovating on them creatively.
Bernie describes Beijing as “culturally rich” with consumers “ready for anything”. His attitude and look both seem “ready for anything” with this singular cotton waistcoat that blends British tradition with the de-rigeur black of the fashion elite. Based in Hong Kong, Bernie is a buyer for Lane Crawford.
Did anyone ever say Chinese women don’t have long legs. Even with this pair, the leg warmers seem to add rather than subtract from height. Fangfang is a fashion designer who owns her own shop; the coat is her own creation.
Lane Crawford’s junior buyer, Jimmy says menswear at Lane Crawford will rely on key brands like Zegna and Armani, while educating on new brands with a more “romantic” spirit. His Burberry Prorsum wool/cashmere coat with braided epaulettes (RMB 27,350) encapsulates that spirit and the size 48 hanging in the store happens to be a perfect fit for me. Instead I picked up a similar, but inferior because it lacked the braided epaulettes and Italian fabric, piece in 3.3 for RMB 550.
December 10th, 2007
Prepared to go acquiring, some men at the opening party of Lane Crawford are looking cool.
They could feel confident that Lane Crawford selected the best pieces from each of the labels on offer. Rick Owens, Burberry Prorsum, Viktor and Rolf, Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, Neil Barrett, and Alexander Mcqueen are in Beijing for the first time. The new Dior Homme shop opposite confirms that Beijing is no longer a men’s fashion backwater.
Here are Beijing’s best shoes. Check N.D.C Made by Hand brogues (4,100). Lane Crawford is China’s only distributor of these and the Spanish Preventi (around 2,500). Church’s (5,800-6,800), bench-made in the UK, are among the earth’s best shoes, though boring Zegnas are still the top sellers at Lane Crawford. Uh, not to mention the John Lobbs (14,000+).
The tie, shirt, and scarf selection was acceptable, but for lovelier choices, check Allen in Oriental Plaza. More pocket squares would be nice. Standouts were Burberry Prorsum slim ties (1,895) and Viktor and Rolf star print ties (1,000). Choices in attractive corporate-friendly ties lagged; brands missing include Hilditch and Key, Charvet, and Massimo Bizzochi. The Italy-made store brand shirts (1,400) suffice, but Turnbull and Asser or Borrelli would outclass. Skip Vivienne Westwood scarves – the orb is old - but indulge in an over-dyed Raf Simons “split ends” scarf (3300).
Officewear is Dunhill, Zegna, Pal Zileri, and Armani, familiar brands that will sate nearby ibankers and private equity thugs, and generate steady cash flow. The well-edited collections save trips to their boutiques, but truly exclusive brands like Barbera, Isaia, or Belvest might be nice. Choose Pal Zileri for its superior construction - a one button, peak lapel, s120 navy pinstriped suit (18,300) needs you. Non-sale prices include alterations. Skip the Paul Smith suits, but try out his beige, velvet-collared, crombie (13,700).
For divine experiences, blending high fashion with great tailoring, go for the silk/wool Alexander Mcqueen suit (26,700), which makes shimmering look good and will doubtless adorn a popstar, and the black Burberry Prorsum wool/cashmere coat with braided epaulettes (27,350) that seemed custom-made for me. Or you could get personalized replicas custom-made by a tailor here in Beijing.
November 8th, 2007
Burberry Prorsum, YSL Rive Gauche, Dries Van Noten, Viktor and Rolf - boyz you can finally get their latest pieces right here in Beijing! For the more conservative types, there is a better selection of Pal Zileri, Armani, and Zegna than is even available in their rather patronizingly edited boutiques.
Ample champagne, beautiful clothes, and more stylish people than I have ever seen in one place - the Lane Crawford opening party was great fun and the pictures I will add over the next week will highlight this. Stay tuned for my review of the new store in the next That’s Beijing.
Before that, let me proclaim: the arrival of this store here is a revolution. Beijing at last hosts a well-curated treasury of global fashion’s top designs. China’s cultural center deserved a fashion emporium that matched its artistic spirit. It is here. Other retailers and many retail consultants underestimated the maturity of the market, thinking that designers could get away with offering a selection combining re-runs of old seasons, loud branded dross, and a whole load of Hugo Boss and Dunhill. The Beijing fashion consumer is more sophisticated than that, as Lane Crawford astutely realized. Should I be their chief of PR?
The men’s selection maximizes time and taste, two values essential to the global cognitive elite. Men can now find the most stylish pieces pieces on offer in the city on just two floors. It is better than anything in any of the single-brand boutiques or department stores here before.
Lane Crawford fills a gap and the nouveaus with the cash to shop there and not enough time to find a good tailor will have a big advantage. The problem in Beijing is that if you want off-the-rack apparel that combines quality with style, you can only turn to the expensive stuff or a tailor. There is no decent high-street, no consignment shops, and no discount shops like Filene’s Basement.
Much more on this to come.
October 29th, 2007
