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Lingxifang

Pics-17

At her No. 46 Fangjia Hutong studio, Lingxifang, Designer Xu Dong finds unconventional fabrics (like snakeskin print silk) for qipaos, but uses traditional embroidery and construction techniques. Garments are about 80% handmade by a tailor who schooled under Yang Chenggui, one of China’s most famous Qipao masters. Xu Dong, descended from the Qing imperial family like most Manchus in Beijing, grew up in a courtyard house nearby her studio, not five minutes from the Confucius temple. Now she commutes from an apartment by the Fourth Ring Road.

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Travelling: Vietnam, Sanya, USA

aqua girl-9

I must apologize for the less frequent updates lately. Over the last three weeks, I have only been in Beijing for about three or four days and today am heading back to the States for about ten days. With all of this travel, I have not had much time to scout the streets of Beijing.

Above is a girl that was in the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. With its derelict but grand structures, Hanoi must be Asia’s most charming city and might be more like Paris than any other city outside Europe. Breakneck economic growth has not yet drained the personality, and it remains free of the high-rise forests that fill Asia’s hundred identical metropolises. Perhaps, it isn’t the most fashionable place in the region, but there are a lot of local crafts including silks, cottons and local designers.

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Confucian High Schooler

hong kong girl

Confucius said good government means the ruler acts as a ruler, the minister as a minister, the father as a father, and the son as a son. He might have added that all rulers should be stylish rulers, fathers stylish fathers, etc. This high school student from Hong Kong, in Beijing for several years, does not try to dress like anything other than a student but does an original, chic, take on student style. The look is also most Beijingy.

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Metropolitan Girl

zhao

Zhao Qiang, an editor, at Metropolis Magazine (大都市), came by my place a few weeks ago to interview me. The resulting profile is in the current issue of this magazine for urban professional men that is part of the Modern Media Group. Ms. Zhao also worked for the ill-fated Chinese edition of Rolling Stone.

Beyond the great publicity, she also gave me four bottles of Ketel One. She doesn’t drink it but acquired several cases somehow.

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Boyz at Vogue Night Out

xander

Xander Zhou (周翔宇) was one of a huge crowd of celebrities attending fashion for Anna Wintour’s Fashion’s Night Out. All eyes have been on this young fashion designer since he guest edited the August “Gay China” issue of media sorceress Hong Huang’s (洪晃) fashion magazine “ILOOK” (more at Gayographic and China Hush). Though there have been many smaller gay-friendly publications opening and closing over the last decade, this was the first time a mainstream magazine made nature’s bachelors and their role in fashion the focus of an issue. I met Xander last at a fabric store in Muxiyuan.

rockers

Also at the Vogue party in the basement of the World Trade Center was Beijing brit-rock band Super VC (at a Burberry event). There were huge crowds and droves of celebrities making more stylites photos during the after-party up at Aria difficult.