Luxury's Frontier
By Kate Betts
 |
Spring 2005 Style & Design
Growing up in China in the 1960s and '70s, designers like Han Feng and
magazine publishers like Hung Huang had no experience with fashion at
all. Back then, there were no fashion magazines or designer labels to
speak of, only drab Mao suits. But that's changing as Chinese women
begin to embrace style and, in turn, as Western luxury-goods companies
like Louis Vuitton bet on the future of the Chinese market. At places
like Shanghai's deluxe shopping center Three on the Bund, once grimy
windows are now filled with the latest from Giorgio Armani, Ermenegildo
Zegna and Cartier. And local magazines like Hung's Beijing-based I-Look
advertise the latest from Proenza Schouler and Narciso Rodriguez. Sales
of cosmetics and other beauty products in China have ballooned from $24
million in 1982 to a projected $21 billion this year. This special issue
of TIME is dedicated to the rise of the Asian luxury market—from the
burgeoning Chinese cosmetics business to the influence of Japanese
shopping habits on Western designers. These days Asian designers like
Nigo of A Bathing Ape and Jun Takahashi of Under Cover are as
influential abroad as their Western counterparts. While Japan remains
the leader in luxury-goods consumption, the most profound changes are
happening in mainland China, where young women are discovering the magic
of Louis Vuitton bags and Crème de la Mer face products. As Joanne Ooi,
creative director of the Hong Kong—based luxury emporium Shanghai Tang,
says, "The train is about to leave the station in China." —Kate Betts
|
His life and death recalled in images
Premium Content