by suzy -

Eco-Queen


Photo: Suzy Words: Colin

You can always trust in the eco-credentials of this pretty face. From Switzerland, Amihan Zemp is co-creator with Hans Martin Galliker of NEEMIC, a fashion project based in Hong Kong that works with young designers from all over the globe with three goals in mind: creating outstanding fashion, making the industry more environmentally sustainable, and building bridges between Europe and Asia. A member of agrachina. com, a network promoting organic agriculture in China, NEEMIC sources only quality, organic fabrics from local suppliers. NEEMIC collections infuse an industrial, urban feel into a product that attempts to be true to the buyer and the earth.

by suzy -

Xander Zhou and China Fashion Week

Photos: Suzy

One can either compare last week’s Xander Zhou show to those of other Chinese fashion designers at Mercedes Benz China Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012. Xander himself would probably prefer to have his show evaluated for its own merits or alongside foreign designers like Rick Owens and Christopher Kane. However, since I am not doing all that much coverage of Fashion Week here, I thought would use Xander’s show as a sort of foil for the other things I saw during this most historic week.

Of course, the first thing to point out is that Xander’s show is not part of the official schedule of Mercedes Benz China Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012. He put on his own event in an off-site location, D-Lounge, and the sponsorship and production were not connected to the official Week.

At least one consultant who will be working on upcoming China Fashion Weeks has suggested that there may be an effort to incorporate younger, hipper, more sophisticated, designers like Xander Zhou in the regular program of the Week.

by stylites -

Xander Zhou


Photo: Suzy
Xander Zhou. What comes to mind? A young, partying, larger-than-life sort of designer who gets a great deal of publicity. Fashion events and bottles of champagne. The cover photo of the October 2010 “Gay China” issue of Hong Huang’s Ilook Magazine. For me, the main memory is of that time I bumped into him on the streets of Paris.

In short, the hype around the man sometimes overshadows his fashion collections. He may be young and not too many retail points actually carry his brands, but Xander Zhou is already a big name in China fashion – especially for foreigners watching this space. Often, he is the only Mainland fashion designer that people from outside of Beijing have even heard of.

Due to scheduling conflicts, I had not actually been to one of his shows before and had only had the opportunity to see his creations hanging in BNC and on the man himself on one of the countless parties that we both attended. Given how much he seems to be out and the time he must take being interviewed by fashion magazines, I was not sure how he ever had time to design.

We will have more on his show last night later this week.