by stylites -

Super VC at Burberry

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Beijing brit-rock band Super VC is a fan of Burberry and enthusiastically welcomes the new store. Burberry Creative Director Christopher Bailey came to Beijing for a single day to attend the opening and I gave him a Stylites pocket square, which he found a bit surprising. In the Jinbao Place Shopping Mall, also home to Gucci, Buttega Veneta, Vertu, and the Swank, mentioned in the post before, this new outlet on Jinbao Street is Burberry’s sixth and largest store in Beijing. Someone evidently has a plan to make Jinbao street into Beijing’s answer to Madison Avenue or Via Spiaggia. Jinbao street also has the Peninsula hotel, and its shopping mall, the Beijing Hong Kong Jockey Club Clubhouse, dealers for Maserati, Ferarri, and Bugatti, as well as the subtly designed Legendale hotel, which could have been the brain-child of Harrod’s owner Mohamed al-Fayed.

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On both sides of the roped-off entry to the shop were standing some spectators from the neighboring hutong. As it turns out, the lady in red crocs worked as a seamstress until retiring in her forties. She doesn’t expect to ever enter the Burberry shop, despite its proximity to her home, but maybe she could get a helping with alterations? I wonder what she thinks of the Legendale.

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The Swank lands in Beijing

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Export Manager Mr. Edoardo Simone of Brunello Cucinelli was in Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of Hong Kong’s The Swank, the first retail outlet in the mainland that will be carrying his brand. The Swank opened its first outlet last Friday with a celebration (covered by luxury insider) at the Beijing Hong Kong Jockey Club Clubhouse.

Brands on offer include Isaia, Balmain, Dormeuil, Andrew GN, to name a few. This is, in a sense, only the second major multi-brand high-end retailer to land in Beijing with the first being Lane Crawford, also from Hong Kong. The norm here is free-standing boutiques in large malls, of which there are an ever-growing number. This limits the market to those companies that have the size to finance a major commitment in the form of staff, rent, etc.

This has a couple of effects, which I regard as largely negative. Mainland customers have been up to their ears in Prada, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Gucci, Armani, D&G, Hugo Boss, and other brands that are either part of major fashion groups or, in any case, heavily reliant on marketing. When a good portion of a company’s revenue flows into advertisements and public relations, one cannot be blamed for wondering how much is left for creating high-quality luxury goods.

Whereas Lane Crawford offers many fashion-forward and avant-garde brands, the Swank brings to Beijing relatively smaller Italian companies, like Brunello Cucinelli and Isaia, that invest in the best fabric, craftsmanship, and good working conditions. These cater to a somewhat more mature audience, from around 35 to 55. It will be very interesting to see how these brands perform in China. They are only recognized by a few and do not rely on heavy branding, glossy models, and appeal to the fashion crowd. Judging by the shawl-lapel suit worn by Mr. Simone, the garments do have some style.

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Cute Pair at H&M

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As you may have heard, H&M opened its first shop here amidst great fanfare. I had hoped to go into some detail about the opening party and the mobs who stood in line the rain on the next day, the official formal opening, but I have been extremely busy. Anyway, this cute pair was at the opening ceremony.

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LEON Magazine Fills a Gap

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The Chinese version of Japan’s LEON magazine is now available throughout the country under the title Nanren Fengshang (男人风尚). Ni Ya (倪亚) is Style Director for LEON, which he says will offer a functional approach aimed at teaching men how to dress their best while expressing personal style. This approach to fashion magazines is characteristically Japanese, in contrast to the abstract, slightly vague, representation of style that appears in Western fashion publications. Most men’s publications targeting Chinese men have adopted the latter approach.

Ni believes the main difference between Chinese and foreign fashion labels is that the former are more geared towards mass taste, while foreign labels focus on specific demographics. China Fashion Week was not an attraction. He explains that the labels present lack unique voices. His favourite fashion label is Phillip Lim.

Photo: Anne Li

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“China’s Françoise Sagan”

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From Heilongjiang Province, Niu Mingyu (牛明昱), 27, has been described by French friends as China’s Françoise Sagan. His life is far more adventurous and debaucherous than hers was, he says. In addition to novellas, he writes regularly about beauty, culture, and lifestyle for Trends’ L’Officiel, Rayli, New Weekly, and a range of other publications. Last month, he wrote eighty-thousand characters.

Mr. Niu also works full-time as an editor at China Cosmetics (中国美容时尚画报), a recently founded bimonthly magazine that is an offshoot of ten year old China Beauty (中国美容时尚报) magazine and claims a circulation of 170,000. These are part of the media group founded by one Zhang Xiaomei, who is also a CPPCC National Committee member and keeps a blog.

His jacket is from Croquis, the male line that is part of Hangzhou-based JNBY, one of China’s most successful brands that was formed completely locally.

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Shichahai Community Green Market

The Shichahai Community Center is hosting a green flea market focusing on the crafts they make and secondhand goods that residents of this community and beyond can bring to sell, exchange or give away. Contact me if you need directions. Hope to see you all at 9:30 tmw!

Show this address to your taxi driver:

什刹海社区服务中心

西城区德胜门内大街刘海胡同11号

Contact me if you become lost.

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Ad Man and Mad Men

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John Charles is one of the creatives at Thompson Advertising, Inc here in Beijing. This look is really quite punk in a way. I always find it interesting when people can wear a single color and still make it interesting. The Thompson website says that they are “business people, helping business people take care of business…Yes, we are creative, but you couldn’t tell by looking. ” I must say that I can tell from looking at John Charles is creative.

Could one say the same of the characters from Mad Men, my current favorite TV series? Perhaps in their own day, this would be the case, though my sense is that the intention was to make their costumes seem stylishly conservative – even for their own day – rather than edgy. As it turns out, this past weekend, Yan Zhang, a successful and very interesting young entrepreneur here in Beijing, hosted a Mad Men Party. Here are some of the photos. Compare the contemporary Beijing ad man with modern interpretations of 1950s/60s Ad Men.

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Investment banker Mark is wearing a Senli and Frye suit. Julie is wearing a vintage 1960s dress and brooch.

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Ben is hitting the look pretty accurately. Of course, they rarely wore suits this dark in the show, but medium grays are surprisingly rare these days.

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Warren is manager of Punk, the club at Opposite House, currently Beijing’s hippest boutique hotel. Bill is working at the American Embassy and wearing a lovely suit from Saville Row that is in a shade quite like what one would have seen in Mad Men. I love the green knit tie.

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Yan Zhang is the man who made it all happen. Nice tie, great apartment.

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Nicholas had not seen the series, but he captured the spirit very well. The hair and glasses are perfect. The vintage suit made it seem a bit like a cross between Sterling and Pete Campbell while hunting in the English countryside.

by stylites -

Men at Diesel Spring Preview

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On the scene commenters at 798 praised Diesel for the creativity displayed in its new collection. I’m not a fan of the label, but I did find the hats entertaining.

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Will Wu is an editor at Trends Esquire, the flagship men’s magazine of giant Trends Group, China’s leading fashion and lifestyle magazine group that publishes Bazaar, Food and Wine, Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health and countless other publications with names familiar to Western readers. These magazines are entirely owned by the Trends Group and tend to use 50-90% original local content. They merely pay a licensing fee to Hearst and the other publishing groups in the US that own the rights to these publications. Readers should correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the situation is different with Condé Nast publications, Self and Vogue, which are actually part of the global corporate structure. Trends Esquire is expected to have a new competitor in the form of GQ, also from Condé Nast, later in 2009.

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I don’t know that I have ever seen such an unusually cut blazer. I haven’t decided whether or not run out and commission one in tweed today.

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Istanbul: Next Stop after Beijing?

While browsing the interwebs, I happened upon Istanbul Street Style and Moda Turkiye, two websites focused the street scene in the second city of seven hills, capital of the Byzantines and the Ottomans. Suddenly, I am fired with a strong desire to see the place. Or I should say, to see it as a youngish man. I was there several times as a boy and the trips stand out mainly for the fake rolexes purchased there.

These websites make the city seem funky, unfettered, creative, and relaxed. The style and vibe of the people reminds me of Berlin. In recent years, I have visited Tel Aviv, Beirut, and Tehran, which were all dull and depressing compared to Istanbul. This is hardly surprising, given that their three countries are about to play leading roles in Armageddon, but I’m still surprised at just how Westernized and vibrant Istanbul seems compared to Beirut. Half of it is in Europe. Anyway, I must learn more.

My reaction to these websites is some proof that there is a business opportunity in linking street fashion websites to tourism.

by stylites -

Men In Skirts

Trousers are over-rated. Their dominance in the West is only since the 16th century. In China, trousers were reserved for the cavalry until the 20th. This constricting garment was favored by the ancient Persians who mocked the Greeks for being effeminate skirt wearers. Scottish historian, A. R. Burn remarked that this was “not the last time trouser-wearing men made that mistake about kilt-wearing men.” In modern times, many argue that skirts make sense for the male anatomy, if not for a Beijing winter.

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The man-skirts this past Saturday bore little resemblance to Greek uniforms worn at Thermopylae or even Chaeronea. This highlander by the name of Jin could use a few more pleats in his kilt; the feeling of voluminous scottish wool swaying in the Beijing wind must be satisfying and the heaviness of the fabric prevents any Marilyn Monroe moments. Otherwise, the completeness of this outfit is inspiring and apparently it is all “Made in Scotland” and lent by someone from a clan that lays claim to this particular tartan.Designer Ivy is very cute too. Perhaps I had had a bit much to drink, because I assumed she was French. Her having just arrived back from Paris the day before saved me from total foolishness.

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Next year, Stylites will organize a competition: Who has the best outfit for the holiday season? This year, this outift would be the winner. Celebrity make-up artist and stylist Li Dongtian or Tony Li, founder of nationwide Tony Studio, is sporting a Comme des Garçons (or Yohji? The skirt seems Comme) cloak. Actually I’m not sure if “cloak” is the right word as capes and cloaks are supposed to be sleeveless and this one does seem to have sleeve holes. The green stockings are masterful. On the first weekend of December, he set the bar pretty high. Are his outfits going to get better and better over the next twelve or so days? Can I get his itinerary?

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Even curmudgeons who have been doubting the skirt thing must confess that this outift is original and sophisticated. The skirt on designer Xander Zhou appears to be Viktor and Rolf. Find more about Xander at Time Out and CRI.Engliish.com.

Almost no element of this outfit is strictly conventional, which makes it even more notable that the look works well. Perhaps I’m going out on a limb by lavishing praise here and maybe this fellow has just copied a runway look that I failed to notice. I do find it to be a fresh but pleasing look.

As for skirts in general, most men may not be able to achieve the pleasing results that we see here. These gentlemen are clearly addicted to fashion, have the resources needed to procure skirts expressly designed to look good on men, jobs without conventional restrictions on dress, and are slim enough to worry little about showing off their legs. The average Zhou or Joe or Nels might be awkward in these styles. Still, I hope more men choose to wear skirts in the future.

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Yves Saint Laurent Biker Jacket

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This Yves Saint Laurent motorcycle jacket from the fall/winter ’08 collection is quite a remarkable piece and I am envious of Richard, who I meet often meet at fashion parties. This jacket and several of the other ones from this collection dispense with almost every bit of construction. In a a felt-like stiff wool, this jacket is distinguished by its lack of any structuring, lining, or interfacing. It is just one layer of fabric with a minimal amount of stitching. This collection from Stefano Pilati, which used a video rather than a runway show, is my favorite from him.

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Chinese Vogue Christmas Gathering

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Agu Anumudu is a freelance creative director who does events for China Doll Club. He was attending the Bogue event with Ai Wan, President, Founder and CEO of ChinaDoll Culture and Entertainment. Ai Wan is an actress who was described as a “leader of the new rising creative class in Beijing” by Outlook Magazine. Having arrived recently from Nigeria, Agu quickly got in with the right set.

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Jane and I seem to cross paths all the time, frequenting the same bars and parties. She always wears a hat.

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Paris correspondent for Madame Figardo, Xiang Sun, who has appeared here before looking a bit Lagerfeld-like, explained that today he was dressed more in his usual style. Dressing like Lagerfeld is intended partially as flattery of a designer and friend whom he greatly admires. He also has a lot of Lagerfeld items that he received as gifts.

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Lane Crawford, Shanghai Tang and Le Divan Parties

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This past weekend there were several parties thrown by fashion labels and stores. At the parties, I spent most of the time talking to friends, but I did take a couple pictures. Here are Fu Yuanyuan, creator of Marzipan, and Andrea Jacomelli, of Nestlé. Andrea is wearing a three-piece suit from Senli and Frye. The waistcoat is single-breasted with notch lapels. Andrea is heading to Singapore next week, after spending two years in Beijing. The suit is in a light-weight fabric, but I suspect he will be shedding the coat frequently. While she was a PR executive, Yuanyuan worked for two years on the Nestlé account, though this was the first time she met Andrea.

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Hervé is the Head of the Visa section of the Embassy of Switzerland. His family left Catholic Bavaria for Switzerland during the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) since they were Lutherans. Hervé retains a fondness for his family’s ancestral home and he picked up this lovely wool jacket there. Several of the guests at the party complemented him on his “Chinese style” jacket. There is a resemblance but it is difficult to find wool of this type in China.

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This young lady from Reims was surprised that an American like me would not only have heard of her town but also know that it has a nice church.

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Here is Tomasz wearing a jacket from Le Divan Studio, which just moved to a new home in Caochangdi. This was initially bad news for me. Aurelien and Tony, the creative directors, used to be my favorite neighbors when their studio was near my courtyard in the Deshengmen area of Central Beijing. The move was a good idea for them though. The new space is much bigger, providing much needed room for workshops and living quarters for their team.

In addition to several appearances on Stylites, Tony and Aurelian have been in more obscure street fashion blogs like the Sartorialist.

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Slim black ties paired with a suit jacket and jeans as party wear are pretty tedious. Clearly many men believing donning such ties automatically moves them up several notches in hipness. This casual use of the tie seemed more interesting.

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Christian Dior Opening at Ullens Center

This fabulous Christian Dior exhibition at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art is a must-see, and I am rarely so positive. The designer’s beautiful creations from the 1940s and 1950s make it worth the price of admission, despite having to wade through the generally obnoxious of Galliano. The conception and design of the exhibition are innovative as well as entertaining. I’m just sorry that I had to rush through because I was on crutches. The narrow walkways that made me more concerned about keeping my footing than looking at the art.

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This former model and present editor at Madame Figaro captures a style that one sees a great deal at fashion events and magazines here in China. There are quite a few recent runway looks mixed together here. There is no fear of an angular kind of drama The style is harsh but not macho, esoteric but not eccentric. He is a noble from the future.

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This jacket that also seems distinctly futuristic is an original design by its wearer, a Belgian curator at the Ullens Center. It was a perfect choice for an exhibit that seeks to blend Western fashion with Eastern art. He also had on beautiful J. M. Weston shoes.

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From London, Emilia is an intern at the Beijinger who just arrived in town. She hopes to do more in the field of writing about fashion. With every woman being so dolled-up and glittery at these events, it is always the simpler, more humble and cute styles like this that catch my eye. Or maybe I just find the vamps too intimidating.

My mission was again to photograph the best dressed men, but my state made accomplishing the mission difficult. A huge number of well dressed people escaped me. Events are just so tough. I also have to learn a lot more about flash photography. It is also hard to steal enough space to get full body shots. That said, fashion parties are really the best events in town. Events with free flow of champagne and all the guests trying to look their most fabulous are just so much better than the grinding tedium of typical nightlife.