by stylites -

On Crossover

Yesterday, I appeared with designer Candy Lin of Candy and Caviar on CCTV9’s “Crossover” with Eyee Hsu. There to offer my insights on Candy’s designs and the fashion world, I was exhausted since it was filmed on the morning after the Lacoste party. Perhaps finding that I wasn’t a particularly brilliant commentator, they decided midway to use me as a model. So watch to the end.

by stylites -

A Sharing Somebody

One of our favorite Shanghai-based dandies, Yann Debelle de Montby is now contributing to the How to Spend It “diary of a somebody” blog. Yann, who excels in articulately sharing his approach to life and luxury, discusses the excitement, pleasures, and occasional frustrations of living in the Paris of the Orient. It’s interesting and instructive to see how a man this elegant handles life in China. I must say that even in the glam parties of fashionable Shanghai, Yann stands out like a well-patinated brogue for his taste and style.

by stylites -

Paul French on Retail in China

Here, Paul French of Access Asia explains to Forbes that 20% growth of retail in China is not an exaggeration due to skyrocketing incomes in second and third tier cities. Fast Fashion brands Zara, Mango, H&M, and others are having their moment while The Gap missed the boat.

这个有意思的采访的中文在这里。

by stylites -

BLV and ALV

There were all kinds of types at the Armani store opening. I would prefer this shirt in a brown and beige print like the classic monogram bags.

One tends to think of China’s development in terms of pre and post Reform and Opening. I think it is also instructive to think in terms of Before Louis Vuitton (BLV) and After Louis Vuitton (ALV).

by stylites -

ffiXXed at Triple-Major

The official opening of Triple-Major is tomorrow night (October 29) from 8 to 10pm. As part of the opening event, the Australian collaborative art and design project ffiXXed will have their first solo exhibition “everything, everywhere, all the time” which includes a series of new works examining the cultural, social and economic dimensions of contemporary consumer lifestyles. The exhibition will go till November 12th.

‘Triple-Major位于北京代理世界各地前卫和非主流设计师的概念店将在10月29日晚上8点到10点开幕。作为开幕活动之一，澳洲艺术和设计组 合ffiXXed将在Triple-Major概念店举行首次展览。组合将展出一系列从文化，社会和经济角度探讨现代中国及全世界消费和生活形态的新作 品。

by stylites -

Editors on Marc Jacobs’ Orientalist Collection

NY Magazine quoted my post on Marc Jacobs’ latest collection for Louis Vuitton.

Thinking I should get the opinions of the real experts, I turned to three of my friends who are editors at local fashion magazines for their assessment of this collection. They do not want to give their names, though two of them have been pictured on here before.

The Senior Fashion Editor at the China edition of a major biweekly European title thinks women with a “more edgy sense of style will have no mixing some pieces from this collection into their look”.

by stylites -

By the City Wall

Before the Phillip Lim show at Dongbianmen, this man seems like someone with power, money or both. In China, it is rare to see such people wearing so many colors.

Also, Stylites coverage of the Phillip Lim 3.1 fifth anniversary events was just mentioned in this piece on Jing Daily, which also explains more of the reason for the presence of this designer here in Beijing. Here is another piece from the Jing Daily on the rise of Chinese American designers.

by stylites -

Getting Bigger in Japan?

Just one percent of my visitors were from Japan over the last year. Obviously, there is a language issue, but I would expect a country so interested in personal style to take more of an interest in how its neighbors dress (and to what extent they hipsters in Shibuya and Harajuku).

Fortunately, Chiemi Isozaki from Japanese online publication Hitspaper just interviewed me (click here for the piece in Japanese) . Select “more” for the Engish.

by stylites -

Marc Jacobs’ Orientalism

The obsession of Western designers and just about everyone else with “Old Shanghai” will not end. Whether a fashion collection or a drink specials night at a club, the grand dame of the orient attracts with her gaudiness and perceived decadence. In the 1930s, this least Chinese of Chinese cities possessed, in our modern minds, elements of glamour, eclecticism, and exoticism that other historic periods as well as the present never seem to match. For Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs designed a new Shanghai-inspired collection now being panned by fashion critics as reeking of orientalism. More critique from the Shanghaiist and pictures from the NYT. Despite the tacky aura of the collection, a few pieces look marketable, but I fear that many of the looks could be achieved after an afternoon excavating at the Xiushui market, here in Beijing. Of course you could save the stress of haggling by going directly to the LV boutique not ten minutes away.

by stylites -

An Aesthete’s Apothecary

The new Triple-Major shop does not clash with its surroundings. The design is even more traditional than nearby establishments – inexpensive restaurants, alterations shops and sundries stalls – on Baochao Hutong, an as yet ungentrified alley running north from trendy Gulou street. Triple-Major is disguised as a traditional Chinese drugstore and even contains all the necessary accoutrements such as Qing Dynasty medicine cabinets and statues marked with all the vital points for acupuncture treatment. For lovers of obscure US and European fashion labels all previously unavailable elsewhere in China, the retail nourishment available here may be as essential as the physical boon from imbibing Chinese medicines. The funniest thing is that I met proprietor Ritchie Chan for the first time earlier this year outside Bryant Park, during fashion week in New York. At that time, he was considering a move to Beijing. It’s impressive that he has been able to pull together this enterprise so quickly. Ritchie自己这样形容他的新店：“Triple-Major是一家隐藏在老胡同百年中药店里的欧美前卫服装概念店。店内独家代理来自十多个国家像Daniel Palillo, Fabrics Interseason, Pelican Avenue, Skywardç­‰20多位设计师。店的主要目的是让国内渐趋商业化的时装界带来一些不一样和新鲜选择，并希望购买者能更深入地了解每件衣服背后的故事和意义。”

The new Triple-Major shop does not clash with its surroundings. The design is even more traditional than nearby establishments – inexpensive restaurants, alterations shops and sundries stalls – on Baochao Hutong, an as yet ungentrified alley running north from trendy Gulou street. Triple-Major is disguised as a traditional Chinese drugstore and even contains all the necessary accoutrements such as Qing Dynasty medicine cabinets and statues marked with all the vital points for acupuncture treatment. For lovers of obscure US and European fashion labels all previously unavailable elsewhere in China, the retail nourishment available here may be as essential as the physical boon from imbibing Chinese medicines.

The funniest thing is that I met proprietor Ritchie Chan for the first time earlier this year outside Bryant Park, during fashion week in New York. At that time, he was considering a move to Beijing. It’s impressive that he has been able to pull together this enterprise so quickly.

Ritchie自己这样形容他的新店：“Triple-Major是一家隐藏在老胡同百年中药店里的欧美前卫服装概念店。店内独家代理来自十多个国家像Daniel Palillo, Fabrics Interseason, Pelican Avenue, Skyward等20多位设计师。店的主要目的是让国内渐趋商业化的时装界带来一些不一样和新鲜选择，并希望购买者能更深入地了解每件衣服背后的故事和意义。”