Installment 2: Brilliant Colors

*UPDATE (Jan. 8) - My roommate thought I was loosing my firm grasp on the English language from being in China for 3 months, so he suggested the alternative title of "Installment", which I will continue with for this series.

So anyway... (almost original post)
Because it's the New Year, I felt bad having a negative post greet my readers. Thus, I give you Installment 2!

Although not as flawless as real Givenchy couture by perhaps some definitions, it's still worthy of being installed amongst MY all-time-favorite styles I've seen practiced in Shanghai because it's a functional/modern interpretation of (seemingly) ethnic clothing, which renders the subjects as appropriate but enigmatic (these outfits are spatially and contextually appropriate, but the subjects are definitely different from most Chinese people in terms of clothing).

DISCLAIMER: I have to admit that this situation was a bit sketch. I saw these two people outside of my bus window and tried to snap some quick shots. I missed but it didn't matter because they ran to get on my bus. What luck! They came RIGHT to where I was sitting on the bus, and they were so interesting both individually and as a pair that I tried to get as many shots as possible, and this is what I got (post bus ride):


Here's a peak into the inside of this techni-colored coat, which looks like a beautiful white something. The trim is also techni-colored!:

And his and hers close-ups (you really should enlarge all the photos and try and see as many details as possible):

Imagine the Funniest/Coolest/Best Thing You Could Possibly Wish to See in China...

and then watch it in this video. This occurred at 9 a.m.:



I absolutely LOVE this video for a number of reasons:

1 - You NEVER see people breakdancing in China in public, especially not old people. Thus when context is considered, he's super unique and not afraid to be different... stylish, I dare say (which I don't say often).
2 - His trench, hat, shoes, gloves, and sunglasses are phenomenal, but when he takes off his trench at the end he reveals an even more beautiful brown suit and a burnt orange sweater underneath.
3 - The video demonstrates an interesting point that Lu Kun once told me. He said "People stare in China because we learn through our eyes. We watch, and we learn"... there's one guy at about :35 attempting a similar mode of dance as our main man, but it's a little confused (but nevertheless endearing... he's trying to learn!).

Enjoy this video as a special holiday gift from my blog to you... And look for another special post on New Year's Eve! For those of you stateside, it will be posted December 30th at 11 a.m. EST.

Qiu Hao, Man of Vision

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.