by stylites -

Wind: Back in Fashion?

girl in wind

Today the wind was blowing like it was about to go out of style. But, of course, it is one of the permanent things come October. We can debate whether wind creates beauty or disorder, but let us agree that it brings a mystery mixed with vulnerability to some pedestrians as they protect themselves from its gusts. One fact we know is she likes that sweet cheese concoction so popular on Nanluoguxiang. I think her succulent cashmere shawl comes from Woo Scarf, just down the street.

When I got home, my eyes were red and filled with dust, perhaps including some tasty fertilizer runoff particles just blown in from the countryside.


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Still Red at 60

Pics

Well, he’s a bit above sixty, but he professes to love what the Party has done for him and he was the most interesting person I found on the square. I only made it to square in the very last hours before they removed all of the displays that were there for the bash celebrating 60 years of progress and prosperity under the reds. New comfort and wealth is probably what made all the tourists on the square happy, but the October One event itself seemed more of an old school dictatorship-style parade celebrating military prowess, nukes and all.

Anyway, jet lagged, I raced to the square not long after arriving from the States, hoping to find all sorts of bizarre provincials wearing dramatically overwrought ensembles proclaiming their new treasures. I longed for LV print alligator-skin coats with chinchilla fur collars or people walking stylish poodles. Failing the horde of brazen arrivistes, I thought there would at least be packs of dainty lads with bleached blond hair, ass-tight black jeans, Jackie O style sunglasses, leopard print windbreakers, and zebra print scarves and the equivalent females. Previous forays into the provinces have yielded visual delicacies such as these. The square was instead filled with a group that showed to me that rising living standards have brought less risk taking in fashion. The provincials are not an exciting bunch compared even to Beijingers I encounter in the subway. The homogeneity of the crowd was almost like a return to Mao suits, but that would have had quite a bit more charm.

by stylites -

Lingxifang

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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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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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Millinery Among the Skyscrapers

For Self-4

Mother and daughter wear creations from Elisabeth Koch Millinery. With her studio, the place where the magic occurs, not five minutes from the Kerry Center, milliner Elisabeth stands out from her peers for her own attire and for the creativity of her designs. Born in the US of Dutch and Welsh parentage, Elisabeth has adored hats and distinctive dressing since girlhood. Slaving for a time in tedious white collar jobs, she finally has started making her quirky dreams into reality here in Beijing, after studying the art of hats making at Wombourne School of Millinery in the UK.

Inspiration comes from her surroundings here at the heart of the Celestial Empire and from the styles of the 1960 and 1970s. Every single hat is made entirely with her own, exquisitely manicured, hands. She has not been tempted to capitalize on the cheap labor yet. Though the majority of clients are of the foreign persuasion, those who order the greatest number of hats are locals including the nonconformist wives of industrialists, government officials and wily magnates. Her hats are borrowed by Trends’ Bazaar and other magazines for photo shoots every week. They add some spice to the looks that tend to be shoulders to toes in the usual brands.

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Cuddly Creative

For Self-5

What a great representative of the China’s exciting new “creative elite”! From Guangdong, Lin Lin lived in London for some time and then returned to China to develop Jellymon, her fashion and design empire which acts as creator, consultant, and partner for numerous brands home and abroad. Beijing is her new base and her command center is in Jianwai Soho. Here, the places she enjoys most are Q Bar (for its classic margarita), Opposite House’s Bei (Sushi and Italian food) and DEAL and Lane Crawford for enlarging her shoe collection.

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Mon Cheri

For Self-3

In the field of polyestrous clones of Dior, Comme Des Garcons, Vivienne Westwood and other “big in China” designer names that is 3.3, seeing something with its own unique brand is always stimulating. Cecaa (霍亮), 24, has a shop selling a brand with the saccharine name “Mon Cheri” in shop number 2008.

The name refers to clothing being his most adored object as he grew up. He was a shy boy and clothing was an escape and an chance to be creative. A goal of his brand is helping clients find clothing that will be adored and soon have its own story. From Beijing, his childhood was spent in a military household. Mother approves of neither his style of dress nor his chosen career.

Favorite designers are Coco Chanel, Hedi Slimange, Anne Demuelemeester, Raf Simons, and Yves Saint Laurent