Hot off the global press, Temper Magazine presents you with this week’s most brazenly beaming stars in the world of Middle Kingdom mode. From (trail)blazing techie innovation to fashion classics raging against the dying of the light… It’s Temper Trending Time!
A tale of rise and fall — and rise: Shanghai Tang SS11. Courtesy of Shanghai Tang
Temper Magazine’s Trending segment casts a net upon all that is throwing tantrums within the world of China Fashion across a variety of global sources. This very necessary segment dips its toe into the deep indigo-dyed pool that is the ocean of Middle Kingdom fashionable astonishment.
This time around, we handpicked five trending stars vogueing headlines in the beginning stages of 2018. From pure star power to martial arts and old-school hard hitter Shanghai Tang, take a look at the up-to-the-minute in China Fashion news!
South Korea’s G-Dragon exudes true star power across China. Courtesy of South China Morning Post
The Power Of The Dragon
The G-Dragon, that is. This one South Korean superstar is quite the heavyweight in terms of China merchandise sales, judging by how his fans spend millions on items related to him. Apparently Taobao purchases are a big indicator of a celebrity’s popularity in China. In this ranking, G-Dragon came in fourth and was the only foreigner while others on the list were Chinese stars. According to a news report by Koreaboo, last year alone, Chinese Dragon purchased the singer and style icon’s merchandise and clothing items worth at least 247 million yuan.Read the full story over at New Straits Times!
The “Made In China 2025” strategy has catapulted innovation in homemade design, proving especially fruitful in the field on technology. Courtesy of China Daily
The “Created In China” Tag
Moving over to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), then, Temper’s “the New Made In China” mantra once again finds itself confirmed as the popular heavyhitter publication on January 11 runs an expose by Louise Moon on the transition from the “Made in China” to “Created in China” byline occurring across the Mainland’s tech design scene. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in 2015 launched the “Made in China 2025” strategy for industrial modernization, with the aim of supporting China’s conversion from a manufacturing hub into one of next-generation high-tech revolutions. Government backing and market demand have shaped an innovative environment, with the city of Shenzhen functioning as a center boasting many ground-breaking companies. The result is a new class of Chinese firms that no longer only receive manufacturing orders from overseas companies, but have created their own brands and products that are sold overseas. Get the full Moon report on SCMP!
Kicking things up in all the arts: Ye Yongxiang. Courtesy of Ye’s personal Weibo account
Martial Arts, Ye Yongxiang And Fashionable Power
Time to lighten things up a little with a snippet from… The Daily Mail – yes, The Daily Mail, “shame” holds neither power nor boundaries in the Temper lookbook. 31-year-old Ye Yongxiang （ 叶泳湘）is a world-class Kung Fu fighter whose daily companions include swords, blades and rods. This Shanghai-born, London-educated Tai Chi teacher with the svelte physique has captured the hearts of Chinese netizens and in the process has shot to fashion fame. “The 5ft 2in beauty has frequented glossy magazines in China and been dubbed the nation’s ‘hottest Kung Fu fighter,,” Daily Mail reports. Yongxiang is the sixth-generation heir to the Yang Style Tai Chi, a prominent school of Tai Chi dating back to around 1840. With more than 110,000 followers on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, Yongxiang posts short videos and stunning photographs regularly on her account to spark the public’s interest in Tai Chi. Having taught Tai Chi for 13 years, Yongxiang hopes to correct the common misconception that Tai Chi is a slow and boring exercise belonging only to pensioners. Yongxiang argues, ‘Who says Tai Chi can’t be young, elegant and fashionable?’ Find out more right here on Daily Mail UK!
Victoria’s Secret model He Sui’s Weibo account features a lipstick set from Tom Ford. Courtesy of He Sui’s official Weibo account
China’s Craving For Fashion Brand Cosmetics
Next on the list, we spot a favorite star of ours: Jing Daily. The publication on January 11 finds out the answer to one budding question in the cosmetic cosmos… Why are Chinese shoppers so into fashion brands’ beauty lines? Reporter Yiling Pan takes off the foundation and lays bare the truth. “[Luxury brands’ beauty products are] a good entry point to the world of luxury,” says Louis Houdart, founder of the marketing and branding agency Creative Capital. “While nowadays a lot of office ladies [in China] can buy a luxury handbag, it is still quite out of the reach for the majority of Chinese people.” Without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars, Chinese consumers can enjoy the designers’ touch, implying a level of wealth and sophistication they have not yet obtained. The growing sophistication and segmentation of Chinese luxury consumers over the past few years is another reason fashion brands’ beauty lines have become so popular. Aside from the product itself, through the acquisition of luxury label cosmetics, the consumer gains more knowledge on the brands histories, stories and offerings in other categories. Read Pan’s full investigative report on the fashionabilization of fashion’s beauty lines right here, on Jing Daily!
Richard Ramos shoots for Shanghai Tang SS14. Courtesy of Shanghai Tang
Star Struggles: Shanghai Tang
This week’s fifth trending star once again shoots our way via Jing Daily, with the publication’s Huixin Deng telling a tale of rise and fall, namely that of China’s classic fashion mogul Shanghai Tang. Deng writes, “Founded in 1994 by Sir David Tang, Shanghai Tang became popular after Maggie Cheung wore the brand’s signature qipao （旗袍）in the Wong Kar-Wai masterpiece, ‘In the Mood for Love.’ Like the movie, which was an art cinema sensation in the West and Hong Kong itself, much of the brand’s success can be attributed to its inhabiting a space between China and the West. Now, however, the brand’s culture-fluid identity poses a real challenge to its growth.” The brand in July 2017 was sold on to Italian businessman Alessandro Bastagli. Now that it has been acquired by an Italian brand, will Shanghai Tang’s future be more promising? It depends on the brand’s ability to overcome an identity crisis: where does it truly belong? Read up on Deng’s findings right here, on Jing Daily!
That’s a wrap on this week’s Temper trending topics in the realm of China Fashion, one star that is surely shining ever more brightly. As they say:
“You don’t succeed, ’cause you hesitate
You think we’re flyin but we’ll levitate
Just be yourself, don’t ask us why
‘Cause if you don’t, we’ll make you fly.”
“Rockstar” by N.E.R.D.
Additional editing and introduction by Elsbeth van Paridon for Temper Magazine
Featured Image: Courtesy of G-Dragon, 2017 World Tour
Temper Magazine does not own any of the above English content. All featured English content belongs to New Straits Times, South China Morning Post, Daily Mail and Jing Daily, respectively. 2018. All rights reserved.
Perpetually in pursuit of the greater good that is “China Fashion”, van Paridon set up The China Temper to help promote the dynamite dynamic fashion scene sprouting within Beijing, Shanghai, and China overall. Catering to anybody and everybody who reads English and/or Chinese, Temper covers all the basics and bases. From China's street style scenery to its budding photographers, internationally renowned designers, and underground quirks plus phenomena: We present one hot-hip-happening current collective weaving The New "Made in China" tag.
The term “Made in China” is undergoing the ultimate 21st Century makeover. Escorted by the increasingly strong influence of a new thinking among China’s younger generations, regarding individuality and the expression thereof, the fashion scene in the Middle Kingdom is exploding. And stretches far beyond what meets the eye. It’s appliqué, one might say.
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