Fashion exists in China, but does style? What key people and institutions have and are facilitating the emergence, practice, and reification of the concept of style?
This blog is meant to debate and explore these questions.
No really people, this is couture. I wish people would stop using the word so indiscriminately.
I've been taking a bit of a break for the holidays (although Thanksgiving is not really the same in China I've found out recently), but I can assure you that I've been collecting many interesting photos during these past few days which will be put up (relatively) shortly for your enjoyment.
So anyway, these are the first photos that I've captured (albeit a bit blurry because the gold python skin is so metallic) worthy of being "Installment 1". In other words, these are the first photos to kick off a continuing series of shots of stylish subjects I find around Shanghai practicing individual style.
Not only is this look not doable for a majority of people, but no one other than the original purchaser of the garment could even buy it because it wasn't reproduced. This gold python corset is from a '97 Givenchy couture show, and the piece was worn by Naomi Campbell. Whoa.
Guess who I saw in Bund18 today? Vunderkind designer Uma Wang of course! (Uma's Site!), looking oh so fly in a pair of army-colored drop-crotch pants and a blazer silk-screened with distorted faces:
Not only was she doing her designer duties by exercising free style in the great state of China, but she was also getting down to a lot of business. She was there to discuss her participation in a fashion show in the Bund18 atrium on November 18th to commemorate Bund18's 5th Year Anniversary. She was also there to discuss her new collection being released in Bund18's special one-month store also for the 5th Year Anniversary called "Pop Up Shop by YOUNIK". Her line is called "White Label" and is a special line of made-to-order wedding dresses (you actually get to collaborate with Uma and her great assistant Nela). They are BEAUTIFUL!:
Also to note, a perennial favorite, the "Project East" fashion show at Harvard, is coming up this Saturday on November 14th, and it will also be showcasing Uma Wang and other amazing Asian and Asian American design talents! Check out their beautiful website for a sneak peak of what's to come:
The show is going to be AMAZING this year, and I'm sad I won't make it... they are showing Vera Wang, Derek Lam, Giuliano Fujiwara, and Uma! They'll also be showing up-and-coming designers from Parsons, like standout Edward Lorenz Tan who was Menswear Designer of the Year in 2009. It's bound to be wild and wildly fun, and here's a behind-the-scenes photo and an advertisement (both designs by Edward) if you're not already convinced it's going to be great... and it's all for charity! (China Tomorrow Education Foundation):
Now you all can see what sartorial boringness I have to deal with every day:
Best Quotes from Qiu Hao:
"My photographer friend told me: 'Oh Shanghai style is so interesting, because the street style is so boring.' Well, that's what I saw. It's kinda boring, ya, and also these days it's really fake."
Qiu Hao legitimizes my observations that people dress so blah here. As he later calls this predominant style, "like office lady style"... most everyone here is dressed in a sort of droopy style very similar to that of a rural office lady... or office man (sometimes in China, he or she has bedazzled their gear, but that doesn't really make it better).
Also: "In London, you just go out in the college or the street, you can see a lot of people that have their own style and it's not learned from a book or fashion magazine. They created their own style, and from their outfits you can see their personality."
This is totally true, and that is the second quote that he has talked about something being copied or fake... dress here is definitely not only boring but also fake. There is no interpretation of cultural materials in China. That is to say, clothing is adopted, rather than adapted, by Chinese from the West. So, because these styles are simply learned or copied, the situation demonstrates how many people just consume fashion in China... I guess you could say that this is a contributing factor to the success of large Western luxury brands in China. And I guess, by extension, counterfeit luxury goods.
That's Shanghai Fashion Special Qiu Hao was ranked as the number 1 most influential person in Chinese Fashion. The list also includes Vera Wang (she's American...), Angelica Cheung, and a few other surprises (meaning these people definitely shouldn't be on this list). Qiu Hao deserved to be on top though, especially with this response to a question about personal goals:
"I'd like to show my collections to more people. I thought about doing Shanghai Fashion Week... but I prefer to organize my own show."
Ouch... but I mean, I'd do the same. That's only a fair statement by anyone who has ever had to experience Shanghai Fashion Week.
