It’s not the Star or David because the line is double. Still, it is hard not to think they are implying that Jews are more creative. I find it odd that there is a symbol for creativity and even odder that someone would get a tattoo of it.
Tag: Wangfujing/Dongdan/Dongsi/Qianmen 王府井/东å•/东四/å‰é—¨
Street fashion from the area around Wangfujing, including Dongdan, Dongsi, Oriental Plaza, and Longfusi Walking Street as well as the more distant Qianmen. Stylish young people frequent Oriental Plaza and a higher spending set can be found at the Qianmen’s Legation Quarter. Wangfujing is filled with a rowdy bunch of peasants.
The Value of Chinese Art
Outside of the Beijing Center for the Arts in Qianmen’s Legation Quarter (read more at the IHT), I met Lu Wei (陆薇）, the “Responsible Editor” at Art Value, a new art magazine established in cooperation with the Art Research Analysis Center of Central Academy of Fine Art. We had both just seen the opening of avant-garde artist Gu Dexin works that included a three story high transparent pillar filled with thousands of pig hearts, which, incidentally, had leaked small amounts of blood on the basement of the gallery.
So what is the value of Chinese art these days? Brian Wallace of Red Gate Gallery tells NPR that values have dropped by over fifty percent, on average. It could be a great time to stock up. Chinese art might be going back to being for its own sake.
China Fashion Week, Beijing H&M, and Shanghai Barbies
The timing of China Fashion Week was a subject of some debate among my contacts. According to China Apparel Net, it will start，here in Beijing, on March 24. China fashion week has been going for eleven years.
H&M will open one shop this Spring (at Joy City in Xidan) and one this fall. Outside of Beijing, H&M will open three shops in China in 2009 for a total of five new shops this year. Unlike Zara, H&M is staying out of India for the time being.
Mattel opened its House of Barbie Mattel in Shanghai and is looking to the China market to help it recover from a 21% plunge in sales as a result of the slowdown.
Beijing, Impossibly Small
The China Post tells us the total population of the municipality of Beijing, including legal and illegal migrant workers, is 17 million, a figure cited by most others. The Embassy of the PRC in the USA frightens us a bit more with 20 million. Many of my acquaintances, aiming to drive the annoying foreigner from these teeming shores, claim 25 or even 30 million. When talking to friends back home, I round up to a neat 100 million. Any fewer would be a let down. This is China.
And yet, I have almost never in recent memory walked down Nanluoguxiang without encountering at least three people I know. In evenings, when I don’t really photograph, the number is even higher. At times, it approaches 100 million. In Sanlitun, it is also common for me to run into people I know, though there I often pretend I am someone different. Granted, in the other million hectares of this miasma of concrete devouring the North China plain at light speed, it would be almost shocking to see a familiar face.
I literally always run into photographer Xiao Yang. Though I do like him, our meetings have not been intentional after the first one. Xiao Yang was on his way back from photographing the famous British-born art collector and critic, Karen Smith, who resides and houses her myriad works of avant-garde modern Chinese art in a courtyard near Jingshan.
Does Law Read Kafka?
Rico and Erica have both read at least a couple works of Kafka, in translation, but Rico says she prefers Milan Kundera. These two Czechs came up because Rico said she studies finance but wishes she could focus on literature. The Kafka should still come in handy once she enters a cubicle. Please note that I have a gnawing feeling that there is a debate somewhere on whether Kafka can be considered Czech. Or maybe this isn’t even debated; he was a Jew from Prague who wrote in German.
Earth-Like Jacket at Longfusi
He shows how to wear those eye-grabbing streetwear pieces. Also a lover of hip-hop music, this fellow must be one of those fans that actually understands the culture behind it, mainly because his pants aren’t too baggy or worn below his thighs. He shops at Bustout, profiled below, the newest and largest streetwear shop in Beijing.
Holy Warrior
There’s a military vibe here, and the Saudi style head-dress used as a scarf doesn’t take away from that. Wearing these as scarves was very popular in London and elsewhere a while back, but I haven’t seen too many here in China. He was well aware of the associations of the piece and wears it with pride.
LV+Converse
The maddening crowds of LV carriers thronging Oriental Plaza made me vow not to photograph a single bearer of the brand, but the editor of an IT magazine, Ms. Xu, was eye-grabbing for the genuineness of the bag and the fact that she wasn’t trying to hard to be fashionable.
Bordeax Academician
Academics from France are scarce on Dongsi Dajie, but when they appear, they do not disappoint with their shoe choices nor do they fail to don bright scarves, insignia of Gallic-ness.
No Chinese Brands
In “creative work†and tourism respectively, Mr. Yu and Ms. Sun refuse to wear Chinese brands before they turn 30, explaining that local desingers have not been able to capture how to design stylish clothes suited for young people. For this, they must rely on foreign brands. They prefer include Adidas, Mango and Vero Moda (I must observe that Vero Moda seems to have localized its designs quite a bit – seeing their products its hard to believe the brand is Western European). She would only wear a Qipao at Chunjie.
Really Stylish People Buy in the UK
Harry has the real Paul Smith Mini Satchel, bought in the UK – the plastic version is available on taobao.com. After all the shining black, it’s nice to see brown boots made of supple leather from Herbal Heaven on Dongsi. He works at Juicy Couture as a brand development manager, but never wears that brand and, in general, for his own fashion consumption tends to avoid big names.
Stolid Militaristic Man
The jacket is from Kuhle, a frustrating shop in Oriental Plaza, one of Beijing’s most popular malls. Kuhle is like H&M in that it offers some cool styles at low prices and quality levels. He wears the piece well though.
Magic Dance
On this guy a frilly shirt and super-tight pants might be a welcome addition. In the eighties, millions of girls had crushes on King Jareth (and he is my hero), and here is his Chinese brother. His outfit could have been more interesting but the wicked hairstyle alone can get you into Stylites.
Fuax Fur-Clad Recorder
Only black guys can pull off those huge capacious fur coats, only Asian guys can wear fitted faux-fur jackets, and white guys are left with thinsulate ear muffs. Fur is one of those thing where if a guy has to first ask his friends whether or not he should be wearing it, he probably just shouldn’t bother. Fur (or faux-fur) wearers already know that they should be wearing fur. This record producer is one those guys who can pull it off and look good.
Scarfy Student at Oriental Plaza
The choice by this student of black and white with a dash of red is actually quite common for fashionable people in China but the studs on the trousers make the scarf seem like a reference to prison, while the shrunken pea coat seems militaristic and the hat a bit threatening – all together an interesting effect. This was at Oriental Plaza.