Kiki works with Modern Sky, China’s largest independent record label. She is also in a band that performs frequently at Dongcheng District clubs. With a different bag she would look even more sixties Brit Pop than she already does.
Cola has been a frequent star of Stylites. I like the way that he wears sweats with a leather jacket. These two Northeastern boys run the recently expanded Vogue, a menswear boutique on the forth floor of 3.3, a Sanlitun mall. Vogue specializes in “replicas” of Dior Homme, Comme des Garçons, Dolce and Gabbana, and other popular brands.
China is the new retail giant – and a fashion-conscious younger generation is bringing a fresh look to its city streets
As the finishing touches are made to the Olympic venues, across Beijing another temple to sport is rising from the ground. Or rather, a temple to sportswear in the form of a colossal Nike shop. International shops and malls are springing up in the city faster than a 100m sprinter.
With China predicted to become the world’s biggest luxury market within the next decade, every well-known international label wants a piece of China’s retail pie. In the Oriental Plaza mall in Beijing, Louis Vuitton, Burberry and MaxMara have all opened sleek new shops. There is a popular conception that the Chinese are obsessed with big brands, and to a great extent this is true, as the obvious logos that emblazon everything from an office worker’s fake Louis Vuitton bag to a teenager’s copycat Kappa tracksuit attest. It’s even possible to determine the popularity of a brand by how heavily it is imitated in one of the country’s malls or markets.