Lane Crawford

Me looking good, notice the flat shoes, a long night.  

RM by Roland Mouret

Chloe Pants

YSL Cape

My colleague, Stinger, late nite DJ

I would go skiing, if I wore this Miu Miu jacket

My obsession, Kiki de Montparnasse, its mine!

 Biyan, an Indonesian designer, not my style, but happy to see an obscure designer at LC

I have been essentially living at Lane Crawford for the last 6 weeks.  Having done store installations before, I remember the initial awe of being surrounded by so much clothing, yet overtime, the awe quickly dissipates, when you start looking too closely at the dust on the mannequins, the lint on the black dresses etc and you see that the "glamour" isn't so glamorous after weeks of store walk thrus.  For those of you not in Asia, Lane Crawford is the Bergdorf Goodman of Hong Kong.  With 5 stores in HK and 1 in Beijing, they are the go to store for high end merchandise.  Not as fashion forward as Joyce, yet a go to choice for the fashion staples.  They certainly merchandise to the more conservative HK woman and expat and after 6 weeks in LC, I am ill looking at fur vests, short black skirts, black ankle boots, and skinny black leggings.  Mornings, late nights, lunch time, off times...the stores are always crowded.  I have decided to showcase some of my favorites.  Rather odd, they consist of mostly jackets, guess the mild HK weather has me dreaming of a more versatile closet.

Triple Major Pop Up

Store Front of Shop in Sheung Wan, HK

Interior

Triple Major Store Director, Richie Chan

We advised my friend, NOT to buy this piece....

I had the good luck of running into friends Thursday evening whilst they were heading to visit a temporary shop that opened from Beijing called Triple Major Nomad Store.  Triple-Major is a creative studio and concept store, which brings in avant-garde and lesser known designers from around the world such as Patrik Ervell and Pelican Avenue as well as experimental designers Anntian and Daniel Palillo.  HK is the first stop in the Triple-Major Nomad traveling tour (next stops likely Los Angeles, Shanghai and Copenhagen).

Each pop up appropriate local elements and attempts to fit both the exterior design and merchandise to the local market.  Their HK store front is disguised as a real estate agency, with its windows and interior covered in real estate ads (albeit ironic).

Strong concept, strong enough, I went back for a 2nd time this weekend.
www.triple-major.com

Chanel Resort Accessories

These hand and foot accessories stole the show...perfect for a mixed race Indian girl!

Chanel Resort Hong Kong

Yes, I have been quite absent, Lane Crawford Christmas Installs in 5 stores throughout HK, Chanel Casting & Collection Organization, and a move.  It felt like NY fashion week, yet a fashion week that lasted with such intensity for 6 weeks.  I am back and I look forward to pushing this blog forward.  Some lovely photos from Chanel's Resort Show that took place over the last few days.  9 shows, 2 days, 14 models from around the world and an amazing collection crew, the best I have ever worked with.  Collection not that compelling, but it is more about creating an atmosphere (theme St. Tropez) to encourage direct sales.   A team of sale persons sit with each guest post show to organize their order.  I don't think anyone walks out without a purchase.   Its a winning combination.

Model Casting HK

I have a few photo shoots and projects developing that require my immediate understanding of Hong Kong models and their agents/agencies.  First off, this is not NYC, not in the least, so it takes 200% more effort.  Visited four different agencies and couldn't help but notice that all of model agents were lesbian (a far cry from the shrieking feminine male in NYC).  I am only making an observation and certainly am not making any judgement on this.  But one couldn't help but notice.  There are few Asian girls to choose from which is tragic and reeks of colonialism.  Similar to India and the strive for lighter skin tone, the east asian image of beauty is still one viewed as western (those of you living or from the East won't be surprised by this).  The 1st photo above is Miin (Korean), 2nd photo is Bakker (1/2 Dutch, 1/2 Chinese).  We cast Miin.  We think she is our new muse...

Sham Shui Po, HK Fashion District

It seems that most fashion districts are disappearing world-wide as fashion production shifts almost entirely to China.  Among the benefits of living in Hong Kong is Sham Shui Po.  Over the weekend, I visited the area (Kowloon side, about 20 minutes from Central on the MTR), as I am styling a shoot that requires fabric for custom hats, trimmings, silver chains to make faux necklaces and belts.  Literally anything one needs to make fashion wise (fur, leather, feathers, crystals, buttons, lace, ribbons, silks, cotton, leather etc. etc) exists in a 10 street radius.  Certainly you must search around for the highest quality, but it is the variety and the immediacy that makes this a destination whilst visiting Hong Kong.  Anything is possible here and the prices are 70% less than NYC's limited fashion street.  Politics aside, it is thrilling for a designer, whom recognizes that anything is possible.

LittleShilpa, IMG Mumbai Fashion Week

I am so caught up in all things HK, that my India postings are quite few and far between.   Fortunately, IMG Indian Fashion Week just closed in Mumbai and I have been meaning to write about this accessories designer for a bit.  Littleshilpa is a Mumbai based designer whose handcrafted accessories, most notably her hat and head gear, make her Indian's answer to Philip Treacy.   Not certain if she sales in NYC, but can be found at Villa Moda's Middle East stores and My Sugarland in London. Her inspirations and references range from pure fantasy to India's complicated relationship colonialist history.  I am less enthused about her recent show in Mumbai (hope this was just a one off fashion blunder), so will share with you previous projects and collections.  This is certainly someone to watch.