Style

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Explains unravels the ideas and context behind the headlines to help you understand news about China. Videos of stylish people walking on the streets of China are cropping up on social media out of seemingly nowhere. A couple in matching black and white outfits, paired with a bag by an avant-garde Japanese designer. A buff man wearing a white tank top that exposes his defined biceps, with a guitar bag on his back. A woman dressed in traditional Chinese hanfu and elaborate makeup while holding a fan. The videos have racked up millions of views on TikTok and Twitter in the space of a few months. street fashion in china is a whole nother breed and i love it

China buys, produces and exports most of the world’s clothing, but most Western consumers would struggle to name a Chinese fashion brand. This begs the question: why are Chinese labels still struggling to find the spotlight? Xiaofeng Gu, a fashion marketing expert living between San Francisco and Shanghai, believes the absence of Chinese designers from the global fashion stage comes down to a combination of complacency and high cultural barriers. “China’s domestic market is so big that many brands are simply not motivated to make a global expansion,” he says. “Marketing to Western audiences is another challenge – I have seen a few shows staged by Chinese fashion brands at major fashion weeks

On October 15, 2018, 46-year-old tech expert Jason, from New York, flew to Hong Kong on a week-long business trip.  He checked into a room at the Four Seasons, in Central, and when a lunch appointment was canceled, he happily nursed an afternoon drink at the hotel’s Pool Bar. “Then I looked up,” he recalls, “and this incredible, striking woman walked in.” Jason remembers her warmly embracing the waitstaff, who responded with a fawning adoration reserved for regular clients. “She was shown to the table next to me, we made eye contact, she smiled, and that was it,” Jason says. Newly separated from his wife, his enchantment could be forgiven. Her lips were full, her flowing, lust­rous hair fram

In China, the craze for buying sneakers is at a fever pitch. With the growth of digital platforms, fueled by China’s deep love for basketball, the resale sneaker business is growing and enthusiasts are driving soaring prices on online “sneaker exchange” platforms.

Scarlett Hao, a China-born fashion influencer based in New York, is redefining beauty for Asian women.  One of the first Asian plus-size influencers, Hao is breaking stereotypes of what Asian women can be.

Even though streetwear brand Supreme doesn't have a single store in China, you'll probably see it in almost every major Chinese city. While the brand selling "Supreme" in China might not be the original from New York, it is a testament to the immense popularity of streetwear in China. Last year, Chinese spending on luxury streetwear goods rose by 62%.  And as the industry grows, foreign brands are trying to capitalize, while Chinese streetwear labels aim to expand abroad. In the video above, we dive into the Chinese hypebeast scene and see how streetwear is growing among China's young, wealthy people.

Wang Jianfeng is no ordinary barber – he sculpts faces of celebrities onto the backs of his customers’ heads. He serves around eight to 10 clients a month with haircuts that depict the likes of Chairman Mao and former England soccer star David Beckham. Inspired by the famous American hair artist Rob Ferrel, the barber in eastern China’s Zhejiang province started doing hair art in 2015. Watch the video, above, for more.

The Fall/Winter edition of China Fashion Week has just wrapped up in Beijing. The week-long event, which has been running for some 22 years, saw designers from across China present their work to the world. Check out our gallery, above, for a taste.

For the Lunar New Year in February, China’s ubiquitous mobile payment service WeChat Pay hired Becky Li to be a “chief experience officer,” showing off how easy it was to pay for things with your phone, even when traveling overseas. “I thought WeChat would hire a celebrity,” said Li in her office in the heart of Guangzhou. Li is no pop star or TV personality. But in a way, she’s exactly the kind of celebrity that brands increasingly lust after. With more than 7.5 million combined followers on social media platforms WeChat and Weibo, Li is one of China’s top fashion bloggers. She’s one of China’s influencers, known locally as KOLs – key opinion leaders – who have been able to convert fans an

Rachel Lai Yee-laam is an amateur photographer, artist and plant-breeder from Hong Kong. The self-taught photographer draws on a unique aesthetic and sense of color to create her works. Check out our gallery, above, for more.