LOUIS VUITTON EXPRESS STEAMS INTO SHANGHAI

The Louis Vuitton Express Train Station in Shanghai “A trip…. When the clock strikes 9 the train will pull into the station. Everything is exactly as it seems, apart from when it isn’t…..The passengers on the train have a chequered past. They arrive with a vast amount of baggage, from a journey began somewhere in the countryside traveling to this grand edifice in the city. Some of them come from here, some of them don’t…..” Such went the introduction of the Louis... Read More

LOUIS VUITTON OPENS BIGGEST CHINA STORE

Window Display in Louis Vuitton's New Shanghai Maison If there were any doubts that Shanghai was the ‘Paris of the East’ they were surely dismissed last week as Louis Vuitton (LV) took over the city.  LV banners lined the streets, massive LV billboards beamed from buildings, newspaper covers were dedicated to the brand,  and entire skyscrapers lit up with LV animations and logos. Major global popular websites including the New York Time’s also featured banner ads this... Read More

WOOLMARK PRIZE CHINA

Woolmark Prize China Contestants with Vogue China Chief Editor Angelica Cheung, AWI CEO Stuart McCullough, Chinese Designer Uma Wang and Chinese Supermodel Du Juan Last Thursday night in Beijing, Guangzhou based designer Ban Xiao Xue won the China round of The International Woolmark Prize.  He was selected from 10 finalists by judges Angelica Cheung – Chief Editor of Vogue China and Uma Wang – a leading Chinese fashion designer.  Other contestants who attended the ceremony... Read More

CHINA’S BEST DESIGNED LUXURY MALL

  One Side of Shenzhen's Mix C Luxury Mall with Dolce & Gabbana's Flagship Last weekend KPMG (who do great luxury reports) invited me to Shenzhen to speak on China market entry at the Shenzhen International Clothing and Accessories Fair. I have a strong case of OCD for checking out malls in every city I go, so I stole some time to check out Shenzhen’s Mix City luxury brand shopping mall. The second I stepped out of the taxi my expectations were blown away and... Read More

CHINA’S GROSS DOMESTIC COOL

Front Row Hipsters at Chinese Designer Simon Gao's Fashion Show China’s luxury market is expected to grow at 18% annually to become the biggest in the world by 2015 reports McKinsey. Similarly, Strangeloop predicts that in three years there will be 520 million online shoppers in China. Hardly a week goes by without a brand announcing that its planning to open X number of stores a year in China. Its always the numbers and data telling the stories. In March I spoke at a luxury... Read More

CAR CULTURE IN CHINA

China Traffic Images: 7am Congestion in Chengdu. Proud Trike Owner and MCM Backpack Hipster Hitching a Ride in Beijing. In October last year I wrote about luxury cars taking over the streets of China. Since that post the trend has continued and not only are the cars taking over the streets, but also airports, malls, fashion shows and hearts and minds of Chinese consumers as well. Chinese are still going crazy for car consumption and China now leads the global sales figures for... Read More