February 2012
7 posts
13 tags
Kansei Division - Digital Fashion - 3D Fonts -...
We’re in that time of the year again, with the whirlwind of fashion weeks in London, Paris, Milan etc. But rather than scroll through the usual array of pretty runway clothes this year on Style.com, I’ve taken to selectively ignoring a large part of the shows. I’m fatigued to the point where I no longer feel a sense of excitement or discovery when I see new designs for the...
6 tags
Motion - Goldfish Obsessions by Riusuke Fukahori
Koi fish paintings have played a long and illustrious role in Chinese and Japanese art, often depicted in smooth, minimalist styles. Steeped in buddhist history, this motif is often associated with wealth, prosperity and adversity. This video features the work of Riusuke Fukahori, who made his debut exhibition in London’s ICN gallery last December. The three-dimensional pieces were created...
6 tags
First Person - Plastic Surgery and Opium in...
I’ve recently been fascinated by the way women’s lives are affected by the different global standards of beauty. From looking at make-up trends, to the latest beauty products, to facial features and proportions, to the pursuit of youth, beauty is not only skin deep but clearly an obsession of human civilization.
This first article looks at the growing, but still very nascent stages...
9 tags
Citizenry - Smart Cities - Razing Beijing - Marina...
Urban development is one of the hottest topics to hit the globe . Whether it is the large quantities of people migrating from the country to the city, or the hazy air pollution that is affecting the health of dense populations, or creating an infrastructure that can efficiently support the demands of mass transit, complex problems have forced great minds to think outside of the box....
5 tags
Motion - Redesigning the Japanese Capsule Hotel
If you don’t already know, I have a very soft spot for both Monocle Magazine and Japanese culture, hence why I am posting this up. This video looks at a newly redesigned capsule hotel in Kyoto, with bare minimalist features and functional design. Found mostly in Japan, capsule hotels have a clearly different offering from luxury hotels. Just as there are certain airlines in the travel...
Food Armoury - Pancake Parties - Insect Cuisine -...
Food Armoury is a new series of blog posts that will look at the social, gustatory, economic and design aspects of food. Exploring the modern consumer’s concerns about the understanding the origins of our food, to exploring avant-garde trends, to answering the question of what to put on the dinner table, we hope to delight you with a selection of well-curated articles.
We start off with...
8 tags
Yin Chao X Ujin Zhao for Vision Magazine
These beautiful collages were created by photographer Yin Chao and Vision Magazine editor Ujin Zhao. The esoteric mixture of art nouveau, Alexander McQueen and rocker style chic blend together to create an androgynous intensity.
January 2012
2 posts
3 tags
Domenico de Sole of Tom Ford International
For those who may not know, Domenico de Sole was Tom Ford’s better half as the dynamic duo that helped Gucci avert bankruptcy back in the day. He now works for Tom Ford International. He makes a very strong point that fashion brands have forgotten, which is that customers are always looking to purchase something that is of good value. This does not necessarily mean that goods should be...
A Rather Late Notice
Dear Readers, I hope you all have a wonderful Chinese New Year. 2011 has been a very eventful year for me, and am excited to see what lies ahead. As some of you may have noticed, the number of posts that I have published recently has decreased dramatically. Some of you have asked me about this absence, and I am grateful for this concern. A large part of my disappearance was due to personal...
November 2011
3 posts
6 tags
8 tags
Qiu Hao X Matthieu Belin
Nick Knight and Alexander McQueen were undoubtedly a killer combo, creating some of the most arresting works in fashion. However, this latest collection designed by Qiu Hao called Serpens and shot by Matthieu Belin is equally as divine. I’m completely awestruck by the exaggerative lines and unexpected silhouettes. My collage of these photos does not do justice to how great the photos are,...
1 tag
消息: The Woman Behind Hermes' Windows, China's...
Trendland | Leila Menchari - Behind Hermes Windows
If you’ve ever marvelled at the storied window displays at the Hermes flagship store in Paris, then Menchari probably had something to do with the design. This trendland article provides a brief biography of Menchari and an array of Hermes eye candy.
Advertising Age | Why China’s Distinctive Creative Aesthetic Has Been Slow To...
October 2011
4 posts
6 tags
Interview: Monocle in Brilliant Beijing
Imagine how ecstatic I was this month when I found out that Monocle Magazine managed to snag 6th spot in AdAge’s 2011 Magazine A-List. Well earned on all accounts, the magazine consistently features “flawless editorial, luxury advertising, brand extensions and confidence in print.” Needless to say, I was definitely excited to learn more about their first retail foray into China...
6 tags
Amasia by Robert Hamada
A breathtaking film featured in the A Shaded View on Fashion Film’s 2011 line up.
8 tags
ASOS X HK Fashion Blogger Interview
Check out my AnyWearStyle interview with 5 of Hong Kong’s liveliest fashion bloggers as they collaborate with e-tailer ASOS.com! Names from top left clockwise: Denise from SUPERWOWOMG, Christing from Fashion Hedonism, Tania from T Like Bubble Tea, Sybil from The Style Voyager and Geneva from A Pair And A Spare.
7 tags
Creativity at Hong Kong's Daydream Nation:...
It would be fair to call fashion arts house Daydream Nation as a hub for creative visionaries. Headed by brother and sister team Jing and Kay Wong, the pair of designers take on a multidisciplinary approach to fashion with backgrounds in music, dance, theatre and puppetry. Highlighted as well in Vogue Italia’s “Vogue Talent 2010”, they currently sell in over 20 countries and most recently on...
September 2011
5 posts
Retrospect: An Interview with Lagerfeld on Chanel...
9 tags
China’s Cheerful Lookbooker: Zeng Hui (曾晖)
Zeng Hui (曾晖) is a small town girl that hails from the coastal city of Fujian. Studying Fashion Design and New Media at Donghua University Shanghai, she posts photos under the moniker 欢呼cheer on Voguemate, where she first caught my attention. An eye for prints and retro silhouettes, fleeting moments of childishness and a gleeful smile are all thematic trademarks of Zeng. But more importantly,...
1 tag
The Outlook of Hainan’s Pearl Industry
Silky beaches and azure blue skies may not seem like the typical images that come to mind when people think of China. But that is exactly what onlookers see at its southern-most island, Hainan. Now a hot-spot with tourism as one of its pillar industries, the island has seen considerable economic growth with the past two decades witnessing a nine-fold increase in the island’s gross domestic...
1 tag
August 2011
11 posts
6 tags
Content 目录 A/W 2011
Content 目录 is a Chinese fashion label that showed recently at Shanghai Fashion Week. With the collection named “Watching / Watched”, inspiration came from the voyeuristic nature of security cameras and this breach of privacy. The black bands that the models wore during the fashion shows were actually cameras that faced the audience, thereby inverting and subverting the very nature of...
6 tags
Retail Curation at 33WILL's Konzepp: A Talk with...
Walking up the steep hills of Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan precinct amidst the sweltering heat, I am growing slightly impatient and weary. The soles of my shoes now scuff the sun-drenched sidewalk as I wonder how much longer I must climb. Not much longer I guess, as I see the destination at hand: a yolk-yellow geometric display of an entrance that stands out in Hong Kong’s sea of monochrome asphalt...
AnyWearStyle Website Launch
AnyWearStyle has been launched! As promised, you can find the home page here and my interview with feted London fashion designer Viking Wong here. Let me know what you think about the website design such as strengths and areas of improvements. Hope you enjoy it!
Image Source: Viking Wong
1 tag
消息: Luxury Malls in China, The New Silk Road,...
Fast Company | China’s Return to the Silk Road
I first read this article on South China Morning Post’s Post Magazine, where it was syndicated from. Asking the author (Dan Levin) if I could scan the article online for my blog readers, he suggest I find the shortened version online at Fast Company. An eloquent article that elucidates the trade industry in inland China.
The Guardian...
Coming Soon: China’s Thirst for Heritage (Part 3...
You will find a documentary on silk craftsmanship and Parts 1 and 2 of this series after the jump.
Related Posts:
1. China’s Thirst for Heritage (Part 1 of 3): Jade
2. China’s Thirst for Heritage (Part 2 of 3): Cashmere
Image Source: Daniel Kong
5 tags
Viking Wong For AnyWearStyle
Today I had the pleasure of interviewing British-Chinese designer Viking Wong for AnyWearStyle. As expected, I will link the interview to the AnyWearStyle website once it’s up and running. You can find his website here, Twitter here, and Facebook here!
8 tags
Japan's Quality Movement: A Model for Future...
Utter the three words “made in China” and consumers often reel back in horror. More than any other country right now, China faces mounting international and domestic pressure to up its stance on quality control. The country suffers from a bad manufacturing reputation, one that says low in quality and high in defects. Notable examples include the milk powder and melamine fiasco in 2008 and leading...
6 tags
15 tags
The Luxury Liveability Brand Index: An Answer to...
This month Monocle magazine published their fifth international cities liveability index. Surveying cities all across the globe on metrics such as transport, public service and low crime, this year’s findings also looked at three new factors: These included (1) opportunities present in these cities, (2) their ability to deliver goods and services on a 24 hour time span, and (3) that fine balance...
8 tags
Colonial Goods x G.O.D.
Yesterday evening, I attended the launch party of Colonial Goods X G.O.D., who have relaunched the iconic Bruce Lee white T-shirt. I came to support a great friend Carmen Chan, who took the photos for the advertising campaign! I will let you know when the article is published on AnyWearStyle! Until then, please check out what happened by visiting JJ’s post on The Wanderlister+ Asia!
Image...
July 2011
5 posts
5 tags
Louis Vuitton & Angelina Jolie
I am at once attracted and repulsed by this new ad by Louis Vuitton and Angelina Jolie. The video shows a sensitivity and honesty of the plight that faces many Cambodians, and certainly brings an entirely new dimension to the resulting photo shot by Annie Leibovitz. The storyline however seems at odds with a company that supplies and encourages blatant materialism. Let me know what you think by...
1 tag
China’s Sartorial/Experimental Lookbooker: Aron Hu...
At first glance, it may seem that Aron Hu’s self-portraits follow a thematic reverence to a European past. Beautifully tailored jackets and trousers are situated in an anachronistic, colonial world. But plough through a few photos here and there and you will notice the occasional but regular pop of an experimental modern spirit. It would seem naive to label Aron, who currently studies fashion...
电影 - Liu Wen & Edoardo Ballerini
3 tags
The Who's Who of Hong Kong's English Fashion...
If you have seen the flurry of press from fashion bloggers, magazines and newspapers about Richard Nicoll, you will know he was in Hong Kong just last week to promote his latest Resort Collection. Rest assured that I too had the privilege of interviewing the man, who was at once charming and delightfully down-to-earth. The interview was conducted as part of my job at AnyWearStyle, which I will...
11 tags
GINZA-FICATION & GENTRIFICATION IN HONG KONG’S...
Hong Kong is unapologetically crowded. And with steady growth in the past few months bolstered with the support of mainlanders, businesses are moving ahead in full swing. Retail space has seen tremendous demand and as a result rents are climbing higher and higher. As rent is the central cost-driver of most brick-and-mortar stores, this article will look at two trends that are influencing the way...
June 2011
1 post
Fashion Publications: When Digital Means...
Digital magazines have enjoyed their celebration of novelty, riding along the uproars of early adopters and trendsetters who have lined up eagerly outside electronic stores for their beloved iPads. And while there have been some forms of success online, a large portion of publications have failed to successfully translate themselves between the two mediums. In the Business of Fashion article,...
May 2011
2 posts
Some Exciting News!
Hi everyone! I just wanted to let all of you know that as of today, I am officially a writer for a new fashion website called AnyWear Style. Just to let all of you know, AnyWear Style used to be called Yitrends, and this same group of people are currently undergoing a rebranding / rehauling process. The concept of the website is similar to mine in that the focus will be on China-centric fashion...
Are Fashion Brands Destroying Beijing's 798?
DVF’s “Journey of a Dress” exhibition written in Chinese characters
The 798 Art District of Beijing has recently carved itself as an avenue for international fashion brands to stamp their mark in the emerging Chinese market. Most notably and recently, Diane von Furstenberg last month entered center stage with an exhibition, “Journey of a Dress” generating considerable press...
April 2011
2 posts
16 tags
消息 - China's Creative Bastion: Jeffrey Wang,...
Each time I spend countless hours trawling through my daily reads on fashion and China-related news, I’m always somehow awed to discover new creative talent that I would not have found otherwise. A large part of the reason I’ve chosen to spend so much time on this blog is because I want people outside to see the China I can see: one that is sometimes mistakenly stereo-typed, but one...
10 tags
China’s Vintage Lookbooker: Juliette Xiao
With an eye that conjures up a colonial Shanghainese past, Juliette Xiao’s style is purposefully constructed. It is a succinct mixture of nostalgia and thoughtful spiritedness. East and west seem to mix and coalesce in her garments, with allusions to traditional Chinese art, Qi-Paos and western influences. As Lookbook gawkers click the hype button, they’ll be pleased to know that many of the...
March 2011
3 posts
13 tags
Narrator: Central Saint Martin's Chinese Prowess
Note: I’m not the type that is usually vain enough to believe that everybody wants to hear my voice. That said, this audio slideshow was inspired by the many videos that I have enjoyed viewing from Cathy Horyn from the New York Times.
If you’d like to see more of these videos, please let me know!
10 tags
消息: Retail Curation, Googling Art, Trend Hunter,...
I’ve gone on a personal tangent lately in my interests, specifically with art, curation, interior design and architecture. Although these sites are not all predominantly centered around fashion, they provide different ideas and invoke that seem to inspire, and take inspiration from fashion.
Japan Times | Well-Edited Shopping for Discerning Travelers
A beautiful, abstract take on what...
14 tags
The Net-A-Porter of China: Wooha 唔哈网
One of the promotions found on Wooha’s home page
The launch of Mr Porter by Natalie Massanet and her crew is a clear sign that E-tailing in the western world is both feasible and profitable. With the recent boom in digital commerce, it comes then as no surprise that there are Chinese versions of Net-A-Porter that serve the domestic market in China. These websites aim to position...
February 2011
1 post
7 tags
Facebook: The New eBay of Counterfeit Goods?
Counterfeit goods have long been the bane of any fashion company’s existence. So with the recent explosion of digital commerce, these copycat goods, which were once confined to shady flea markets and back-alley rooms, have been translated online worldwide. Facebook is no exception. Recent layout changes made by the social media website have meant larger ad spaces for text and images,...
January 2011
4 posts
7 tags
China's Top Lookbooker: An Interview with Leopard...
The infamous firewall of China has caused not only a political divide amongst netizens of China and the West but also a cultural one, specifically with fashion blogs in this case. Whilst sites like Tumblr, Blogspot and Wordpress are show prominent usage by bloggers in North America and Europe, their Chinese counterparts have had little representation in these fields. Instead, the Chinese end up...
Separated at Birth? Nowness and Business of...
When I saw the similarities, I just laughed. I think the minimalism is simply a trend we are seeing in aesthetics…
Image source: screenshots from nowness.com and businessoffashion.tumblr.com
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消息 － Rise of the Gaysian：Bryanboy, Xander Zhou,...
Gaysians are making headlines more significantly as of late in the media. Apart from the rise of the Asian Americans such as Alexander Wang, Prabal Gurung, Jason Wu etc, I thought these links below give justice to the other world views that represent the gaysian community in all of its diversity.
CNN TalkAsia | Phillip Lim Talks with Anjali Rao
A wonderful introductory video into the...
8 tags
Taobao Revolutionizes E-Commerce with Fashion Week...
As contemporary times has seen a marked trend in Chinese consumers finding less and less time shopping, there has been a tendency in how e-commerce websites have presented their website navigation systems. If one looks at sites like Net-A-Porter, consumers are guided to find products with ease and comfort (see image above). And though this may be extremely convenient for consumers who don’t...