Value Retail’s Suzhou Village shopping center. (Value Retail) One hundred five luxury brands, 15 food and beverage venues (including a farm-to-table restaurant), interactive art performances, and a members-only VIP reception center are among the attractions featured at Suzhou Village, a luxury outlet mall that had its soft opening in May 2014. Located in Suzhou, a…
Category: Fashion
Chinese Models Emerge As Growing Force In Global Ad Campaigns
The rise of Chinese models has been a hot topic of conversation after Forbes revealed last week that supermodel Liu Wen is the first Chinese model to make its highest-paid list. So where are they making their money? In addition to runway shows and editorial appearances, more and more fashion, beauty, and retail brands have been…
Designer Diplomacy at Paris Fashion Week: Grace Chen Charms Chinese and French Elites
Grace Chen after her Paris Fashion Week runway show. (Brandie Raasch) To be invited to show during Paris Fashion Week is an acknowledgement every designer—in every country—dreams of. To be invited by the Chinese Embassy in Paris to stage a show during this key week is an accolade that has only been accorded to one…
How Self-Actualization Became the New Luxury for Chinese Millennials
As generations evolve, so too do their markers of luxury. Price points, heritage and access barriers that once defined luxury along a clear spectrum have given way to something more multi-dimensional for Chinese millennial consumers. Whether post-80s, post-90s or even post-95s, this powerful demographic is redefining what affluent consumerism means, and just as they seek…
Burberry Has All Eyes On Japan’s Rising Chinese Tourist Numbers
Burberry’s Shanghai celebration of its Jing’an Kerry Centre store opening in April 2014. (Burberry) After a year of solid China sales growth announced in Burberry’s year-end financial report released yesterday, the company reported that it is planning to amp up its Japan marketing this year with Chinese tourists in mind. Although China’s luxury market remains…
A Day in the Shopping Life of a Young Affluent Chinese Man
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, my Chinese investment banker friend Fred came to pick me up at my apartment to take me shopping. While Fred, aged 31, has the money to spend on clothes and his lifestyle—he works at one of those storied financial institutions on Wall Street and claims to make more than $200,000—he…
David Beckham Bets on China’s Love for British Heritage with ‘New Vision’ for Kent & Curwen
Creative director Daniel Kearns and business partner David Beckham brought their new vision for British heritage brand Kent & Curwen to China on Tuesday, with an evening of cocktails and an immersive presentation at The Waterhouse at South Bund, Shanghai. Since announcing the collaboration with David Beckham in 2015, the partnership has made no secret…
Apple Watch and Hermès: a Match Made for China
The new Apple watch with a Hermès band. (Courtesy Photo) As Apple continues on its quest to up the fashion quotient of its Apple Watch, the brand’s newly announced partnership with luxury brand Hermès could give the wearable gadget what it needs to take off Apple’s most important market for the future—China. This week, Apple unveiled…
China’s Growth Potential ‘Impossible For Retailers To Ignore’
The top 11 countries in A.T. Kearney’s Global Retail Development index for 2014. (A.T. Kearney) China’s retail growth may have slowed over the past year, but its spot as the second most promising location in the world for retail development still makes it a vital market for brands, according to A.T. Kearney’s annual Global Retail…
Wang Peiyi: Chinese Designers Must Express Voice On Global Fashion Stage
Wang Peiyi, the first mainland designer to hold a runway show at Milan Fashion week, told CCTV in a recent interview that in order for Chinese designers to have a growing role in the international fashion scene, the entire fashion industry needs to get involved. “We need to make a voice altogether on the global…