Shanghai-based fashion blogger Meijia S. (Meijia S) Chinese consumers’ growing fashion sophistication is now a well-documented phenomenon: in first-tier Beijing and Shanghai, ostentatious, logo-heavy designs are on the way out, while smaller niche labels such as Stella McCartney, Marchesa, Rag & Bone, and Proenza Schouler have been making headway with China’s fashion elites through runway…
Interview: Asia Fashion Collection’s Rising Design Star Tzu-Yun Wu
Fashion designer Tzu-Yun Wu may only be 24 years old, but he’s already had the opportunity to present his collection for label AUSTIN.W at major global fashion weeks such as New York and Tokyo. As one of the multiple Asian designers that make up incubation project Asia Fashion Collection, Wu has the opportunity to receive…
Can Gucci Turn it Around in China?
A Gucci boutique in Beijing. (Shutterstock) Despite strong sales of portfolio brands like Yves Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta last year, French conglomerate Kering this week reported a drop in net profits in 2014. According to The New York Times, Gucci—Kering’s most important brand, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the group’s revenue—remained a drag…
Price-Savvy Chinese Tourists Step Up Europe Luxury Outlet Shopping
McArthurGlen’s Castel Romano luxury outlet. (McArthurGlen) China’s notoriously high tariffs on foreign luxury goods have made shopping a key travel motivator for Chinese tourists headed abroad. As a growing number of middle-class Chinese consumers travel internationally, their price-conscious mindset is sending them to luxury outlets in Europe in record numbers. According to a new report…
Spring Festival Spotlight | Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi Year Of The Horse Watch
As the list of special-edition Chinese New Year luxury products gets longer, Swiss watch and jewelry company Chopard joins Vacheron Constantin in crafting a year of the horse watch to celebrate the January 31 holiday. The watch is part of the brand’s prized Urushi series named for the Urushi method of lacquer art used on the…
Rising Stars On China’s Retail Scene: Homegrown Multi-Brand Stores
Multi-brand boutiques such as Glossy, which features labels such as Raf Simons and Rick Owens, are on the rise as Chinese consumers develop a taste for niche brands. While foreign and Hong Kong multi-brand luxury stores such as Lane Crawford, Galeries Lafayette, and I.T make strides in mainland China, homegrown multi-brand stores have been sprouting quietly…
Chinese Gucci Fans Divided Over “Horror Movie” Runway Show
Alessandro Michele, the creative director of Gucci, astounded audiences this week by showing his Fall 2018 collection in a Milanese operating theater. Models carried baby dragons, iguanas and fake human heads, and some wore third eyes on their foreheads. Online, Chinese fashion fans were divided over its success. This fake human head was made using a…
Mainland China Drives Hermès’ Sales Growth in the First Half of 2017
French leather goods house Hermès saw solid sales growth of 10 percent at constant exchange rates during the first six months of 2017. Hermès’ consolidated revenues totaled 2.7 million euros, or $3.2 million, an increase of 11 percent at current and 10 percent at constant exchange rates, for 2017’s first half. The French leather goods…
NEEMIC’s Sustainable ‘Hybrid’ Style Attracts China’s Eco-Friendly Fashionistas
NEEMIC’s brand philosophy is equal parts sustainability and design. (Huang Weijie) China’s rampant pollution and numerous product safety scandals have placed environmental issues front and center in the lives of China’s urban residents. As a result, companies featuring eco-friendly, natural products are hoping to gain the attention of Chinese consumers looking to buy goods that…
Which Met Gala Guests Didn’t Go Overboard With the China Theme? Chinese Celebrities
Pop star Li Yuchun in Givenchy at the 2015 Met Gala. (Weibo/Metropolitan Museum of Art) Gold dragons, lavish imperial robes, and over-the-top headdresses were part of some of the attention-grabbing looks that could be seen on top celebrities at this year’s China-themed Met Gala. But there was one group of stars that took a decidedly…