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L!ve in Beijing

In Beijing for just over a month, this modelling couple – he is from Croatia and she is Canadian – were at the tennis club, wearing new items from Lacoste. On him is a polo from LACOSTE L!VE, the new youth-oriented collection that will be available in a couple months here in Beijing. This new range is more fashionable than previous Lacoste offerings, while remaining faithful to the crisp sportiness of the brand.

这对模特在北京不到两个月。他是克罗地亚人，她则来自加拿大来。他们身着LACOSTE L!VE新款。这个比以往Lacoste的设计更前卫的新系列很快即能在北京买到。

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Yoox’s China Chip

Online luxury retailer, Italy’s Yoox will not be taking risks in the country that is about to become the world’s largest luxury market and also makes the most of the world’s fake luxury goods. After opening Armani’s online store, the first online retail outlet for a luxury brand in China last week, Yoox held its first Mainland China press conference today with founder Federico Marchetti explaining strategy of the next few years.

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LV is China’s Number One

Louis Vuitton is the most desired luxury brand in China, according to a list by Bain & Company, that ranks Chanel and Gucci second and third. Despite the omnipresence of those tired names, the retail and luxury landscapes are diversifying. According to this Global Times piece, Chinese are becoming more selective, focusing on style rather than merely the perceived status of a brand, and CNN reports that many Chinese luxury consumers don’t care about brand name at all, prioritizing the shopping experience.

More and more, luxury buying will be happening beyond conventional shopping centers.

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Renzo Rosso

There would have been a lot of people to photograph at Diesel’s giant Sanlitun Village North shop opening the other night, but unfortunately I forgot to recharge the battery in my camera. It was a busy day at the magazine and my mind wasn’t on Stylites.

I did get to meet Diesel’s founder and CEO, Renzo Rosso.

Diesel在三里屯揭幕当晚一定有不少人用相机记录下了此次盛会，而我却忘了给自己的相机充电。那天编辑部特别忙，我的精力完全不在Stylites上。

当晚我见到了Diesel的创始人兼CEO，Renzo Rosso。

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Galeries Lafayette Coming to Beijing

The legendary Paris department store, already a favorite of Chinese tourists, will be arriving in Beijing by 2014. They are teaming up with HK retailer I.T. It seems they’ve been thinking about this since 2007. I wonder if the major American department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Barney’s, etc. would do well here. Currently, the only department stores of their type are the Swank and Lane Crawford, both from Hong Kong.

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On Lookbooks

The post just bellow, circle circle, was featured on lookbooks.com in their weekly Street Report, which “scours the web’s top street style blogs for the most killer looks”. The trend highlighted in their post is mixing of loud patterns.

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More Mont-Blanc

Some viewers were interested in seeing more of the Montblanc event, so I am posting additional photos.

Word on the street was that the total cost for the Montblanc event topped RMB 100 million or USD 15 million, which might be an exaggeration since the massive Fendi event at the Wall is supposed to have cost a mere USD 10 million. Germany’s Montblanc is big globally, but even bigger in China, which is already its number one market according to CEO Lutz Bethge.

据说万宝龙在这个活动花了一个亿，但我不知道是不是这么多。万宝龙在中国比在西方更有名气。中国已经这个德国品牌第一大市场。

The point of the night, beyond serious marketing and a big party, was introducing the China market to Metamorphosis. In the course of the night, the invention of this new watch was mentioned along side that of the automobile and the internet.

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Gap Here This Week

The Gap is opening four large stores in China. The grand launch party for the American brand is this Friday. The two Beijing stores are at Xidan’s Joy City and on Wangfujing street. Here is a more detailed overview of Gap expansion plans in China. As I have mentioned before, Gap is a late entrant to this market compared to European fast fashion brands. I am curious to see the product mix and price point. Will the items be cut slimmer for the China market?

我们美国的Gap终于到了中国。这个品牌在这里会成功吗？这里的剪裁会不会比在美国的合体一点？

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A Lavish Night

Last night, I headed with my little entourage to “Metamorphosis”, Montblanc’s launch of its double-faced new watch, at 798. This was a truly gigantic affair with performers and celebrities shipped in from all over the world, including, from the US, Brand Ambassador Nicolas Cage, whose face might have looked better less stretched and with more wrinkles, and the well-received Blue Man Group. There was even rumor that Lady Gaga would appear, but I suspect this is said at many outrageously gigantic parties like this.

昨天晚上的万宝龙“梦幻迭变”发布会真是个巨大的活动。万宝龙请了好多外国的明星和表演者。品牌代言人尼古拉斯凯奇来了。有好多人说过Lady Gaga也要来，但果然没有。

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A Well-Covered Fashion Week


Photos: Suzy

Most spectators at China Fashion Week were not as stylish as the average shopper Sanlitun Village let alone the guests at most fashion parties hosted by foreign brands. Most days at 798 or Beijing Hotel, one could hardly spot the up-to-style bloggers, editorialistas or models with fashion accessories straight off the runway – images so familiar in Paris, New York and Milan. Only the number of media, though almost entirely local, approached international levels.

大部分来中国国际时装周的人没有一般在三里屯逛街的人穿得时尚 － 更没法跟在北京参加时尚活动的人比。这个跟纽约、巴黎和米兰的时装周完全不一样。只有媒体人的数量可以跟国外的时装周比。

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Model Prefers Berries

Cabbeen’s collection won him the overall award for best designer at this year’s fashion week, and Wang Yutao won it for menswear. Model Sean was in both shows and he says he prefers the Wang Yutao’s collection for Beauty Berry.

这个模特在卡宾和王玉涛两个秀都走过，但我个人更喜欢王玉涛的设计。

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From Sports to Sartorial

I dislike calling Zara “sartorial” but its new popularity does represent a sea change in the fashion consumption habits of Chinese. Five years ago foreign brands fell into two groups: luxury and athletic oriented. Nike, Adidas, and Reebok were on middle market shopping promenades in cities from Beijing to Chengdu. The above picture of the new Zara next to on major shopping street Wangfujing may not seem meaningful, but it represents the rapid expansion of fast-fashion that has been achieved in the last year.