A look from Wan Hung’s Autumn/Winter 2016 collection shown at London Collections: Men. (Courtesy Photo) For the recently concluded London Collections: Men Autumn/Winter 2016 shows, Wan Hung Cheung returned for a second season to showcase his latest contemporary menswear collection. Originally from Hainan in China, Cheung moved to the UK to study at Central Saint…
From DVF To DKNY, Chinese Stars A Front-Row Fixture At New York Fashion Week
Zhang Lanxin (L), Li Siyu (M), and Hou Honglan (R) at the Diane von Furstenberg Fall/Winter 2014 runway show for New York Fashion Week. Chinese celebrities—with their requisite following of Chinese photographers and press in tow—are a common sight at fashion weeks across the world, and New York Fashion Week was no different this season….
Interview: How Value Retail’s CEO Makes Outlet Shopping Chic In China
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…
Jeweler To The Stars Loree Rodkin Talks How To Build Trust With China’s Luxury Consumers
With her creations worn by Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Streisand, Madonna, Cher, Elton John and even First Lady Michelle Obama during the 2008 inaugural ball, Loree Rodkin is one of the most celebrated jewelers in the United States. Now, she’s looking for her next big market, so she’s expanding in—where else?—China. This week’s episode of Thoughtful…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…