Fashion: 2nd gig for Chinese stars
By Michelle Zhang |
January 6, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
LIKE their Western counterparts, quite a few Chinese celebrities make fashion their second job. Some start their own lines from scratch, and others work with established fashion houses. Michelle Zhang reports.
On an icy-cold morning, hundreds of young people were queuing patiently outside Xintiandi Style shopping mall in Shanghai's city center. Some had been in line since the night before.
It was the day after Christmas and passersby were astonished to learn that anyone would stand in line for a whole night just for a limited edition T-shirt.
Du Xiaoting, a 20-year-old college student, explained how special the T-shirt is. First, there are only 500 pieces worldwide. Second, it features a very cute rabbit for the upcoming Chinese lunar year of the rabbit. Third, it's designed by famous Taiwanese singer Ashin, the lead vocalist of popular rock band Mayday that held a concert in Shanghai the night before.
In fact, the limited edition T-shirt, priced at 299 yuan (US$45), was produced to celebrate the Shanghai opening of STAYREAL, a street wear brand launched by Ashin and his friend, illustrator No2Good.
Du and a friend, both loyal Ashin fans for years, went directly to the shopping venue right after the concert. The Shanghai natives were No. 35 and 36 among the 500 shirt recipients. They said they were not tired but excited and said a few girls at the head of the line had come all the way from Hong Kong to buy the T-shirts.
Like their Western counterparts, quite a few Chinese celebrities nowadays have made fashion their second job. Some of them, like Ashin, have started their own lines from scratch; others are first testing the waters by launching capsule/crossover collections with established fashion houses.
Renowned Taiwanese talk show host Kevin Tsai was recently invited by Highline United China, one of the leading shoe manufacturers, to create a capsule collection for JC Collezione, its best-selling shoe brand. The collection of seven styles will arrive in JC Collezione stores around the country in March.
Guest designer Tsai is one of the two hosts of the popular TV talk show "Kang Xi Lai Le." He is also a writer and former editor-in-chief of Taiwan's GQ magazine. Tsai has more than 3.8 million followers on weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter).
"Many girl friends of mine are crazy about shoes," he says, "but most shoe designers are male because men know better what shoes they would like to see on women."
His maiden designs are inspired by "a romantic love story," and include a pair of pink peep-toe ankle boots featuring layers of lace. The collection is named after the pinyin of his surname: "Cai."
Liu Yi, chief executive officer of Highline United China, says the company believes in Tsai's powerful influence and hopes the collection will help raise its reputation.
Wei Wei, a marketing executive at STAYREAL, says most customers at its Shanghai store are Ashin's fans, but the brand aims to reach a wider range of customers with its innovative crossover T-shirts.
"We believe in our products," she says. "Our products of high quality and interesting designs will certainly attract young people looking for a unique trendy style."
STAYREAL's best-selling products include cross-over projects with beloved cartoon characters such as Snoopy and Hello Kitty. Founded in 2007, it has expanded to three cities (Taipei, Hong Kong and Shanghai), with eight directly operated stores. This year, it plans to open stores in Beijing, Singapore and Tokyo.
Veteran Hong Kong actress Carina Lau recently held a star-studded fashion show in Shanghai to launch a fashion brand called giuliano Fujiwara. As the Italian brand's franchiser in China, Lau invited Chinese celebrities and stars to walk the runway as amateur models.
Tom Ford did the same with his new women's fashion line back in last September during the New York Fashion Week (Ford invited A-list stars including Beyonce and Julianne Moore as guest models). The sensational show helped to cause public buzz about the non-mainstream fashion brand.
Lau is also the franchiser of Los Angeles-based tattoo clothing line Ed Hardy in China.
Another Hong Kong actress, Shirley Cheung, goes even further by developing her slimming and beauty chain Sau San Tong (Slim Beauty Shop) into a publicly listed company in just a few years. Founded in 2000, Sau San Tong is best known for its weight management and slimming programs.
Cheung, called by some "the most beautiful CEO," has a special talent in selecting celebrities as successful and persuasive spokespersons. The best example is Hong Kong actress and singer Joyce Cheng, who has completed a mission impossible by losing 102 pounds (46 kilograms) in nine months.
Today, Sau San Tong Holdings operates 12 slimming "institutes" in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Vancouver. It aims to expand business on the Chinese mainland by opening as many as 500 licensing outlets.
According to Cheung, the beauty and weight-loss business has great potential in China due to growing demand for beauty and health treatments and products. She hopes to attract post-1980s generation entrepreneurs.
"I started my company when I was 25," recalls the 35-year-old CEO.
"I was very brave at that time - after all, I had nothing to lose. Also, young people have more creative ideas, which are essential to run a successful business."
On an icy-cold morning, hundreds of young people were queuing patiently outside Xintiandi Style shopping mall in Shanghai's city center. Some had been in line since the night before.
It was the day after Christmas and passersby were astonished to learn that anyone would stand in line for a whole night just for a limited edition T-shirt.
Du Xiaoting, a 20-year-old college student, explained how special the T-shirt is. First, there are only 500 pieces worldwide. Second, it features a very cute rabbit for the upcoming Chinese lunar year of the rabbit. Third, it's designed by famous Taiwanese singer Ashin, the lead vocalist of popular rock band Mayday that held a concert in Shanghai the night before.
In fact, the limited edition T-shirt, priced at 299 yuan (US$45), was produced to celebrate the Shanghai opening of STAYREAL, a street wear brand launched by Ashin and his friend, illustrator No2Good.
Du and a friend, both loyal Ashin fans for years, went directly to the shopping venue right after the concert. The Shanghai natives were No. 35 and 36 among the 500 shirt recipients. They said they were not tired but excited and said a few girls at the head of the line had come all the way from Hong Kong to buy the T-shirts.
Like their Western counterparts, quite a few Chinese celebrities nowadays have made fashion their second job. Some of them, like Ashin, have started their own lines from scratch; others are first testing the waters by launching capsule/crossover collections with established fashion houses.
Renowned Taiwanese talk show host Kevin Tsai was recently invited by Highline United China, one of the leading shoe manufacturers, to create a capsule collection for JC Collezione, its best-selling shoe brand. The collection of seven styles will arrive in JC Collezione stores around the country in March.
Guest designer Tsai is one of the two hosts of the popular TV talk show "Kang Xi Lai Le." He is also a writer and former editor-in-chief of Taiwan's GQ magazine. Tsai has more than 3.8 million followers on weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter).
"Many girl friends of mine are crazy about shoes," he says, "but most shoe designers are male because men know better what shoes they would like to see on women."
His maiden designs are inspired by "a romantic love story," and include a pair of pink peep-toe ankle boots featuring layers of lace. The collection is named after the pinyin of his surname: "Cai."
Liu Yi, chief executive officer of Highline United China, says the company believes in Tsai's powerful influence and hopes the collection will help raise its reputation.
Wei Wei, a marketing executive at STAYREAL, says most customers at its Shanghai store are Ashin's fans, but the brand aims to reach a wider range of customers with its innovative crossover T-shirts.
"We believe in our products," she says. "Our products of high quality and interesting designs will certainly attract young people looking for a unique trendy style."
STAYREAL's best-selling products include cross-over projects with beloved cartoon characters such as Snoopy and Hello Kitty. Founded in 2007, it has expanded to three cities (Taipei, Hong Kong and Shanghai), with eight directly operated stores. This year, it plans to open stores in Beijing, Singapore and Tokyo.
Veteran Hong Kong actress Carina Lau recently held a star-studded fashion show in Shanghai to launch a fashion brand called giuliano Fujiwara. As the Italian brand's franchiser in China, Lau invited Chinese celebrities and stars to walk the runway as amateur models.
Tom Ford did the same with his new women's fashion line back in last September during the New York Fashion Week (Ford invited A-list stars including Beyonce and Julianne Moore as guest models). The sensational show helped to cause public buzz about the non-mainstream fashion brand.
Lau is also the franchiser of Los Angeles-based tattoo clothing line Ed Hardy in China.
Another Hong Kong actress, Shirley Cheung, goes even further by developing her slimming and beauty chain Sau San Tong (Slim Beauty Shop) into a publicly listed company in just a few years. Founded in 2000, Sau San Tong is best known for its weight management and slimming programs.
Cheung, called by some "the most beautiful CEO," has a special talent in selecting celebrities as successful and persuasive spokespersons. The best example is Hong Kong actress and singer Joyce Cheng, who has completed a mission impossible by losing 102 pounds (46 kilograms) in nine months.
Today, Sau San Tong Holdings operates 12 slimming "institutes" in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Vancouver. It aims to expand business on the Chinese mainland by opening as many as 500 licensing outlets.
According to Cheung, the beauty and weight-loss business has great potential in China due to growing demand for beauty and health treatments and products. She hopes to attract post-1980s generation entrepreneurs.
"I started my company when I was 25," recalls the 35-year-old CEO.
"I was very brave at that time - after all, I had nothing to lose. Also, young people have more creative ideas, which are essential to run a successful business."
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