In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of February 18-22: Design Spotlight: Ji Cheng At London Fashion Week Award-winning Chinese designer Ji Cheng (Jenny Ji) has been showcased at Shanghai Fashion Week so many times, you would need more fingers to count her appearances. Yet in London, the designer is still a relatively fresh face. This week, Jing Daily was invited to see Cheng present her A/W 2013 collection, Koi’s Whisper, during London Fashion Week. The collection was shown in association with “Design By Shanghai,” an initiative that gives established Chinese designers exposure to international markets. No End In Sight For China's Stiff Luxury Taxes As Chinese tourists crammed into luxury boutiques in Europe and the US while domestic spending on high-end goods remained, relatively modest (with the exception of duty-free shops in Hainan) during China’s Lunar New Year holiday, once again the official Chinese press has brought up the issue of luxury tax reform. A regular (and controversial) topic in Beijing, policymakers in the Ministries of Finance and Commerce have been engaged in a tug-of-war over the question of lowering China’s stiff import taxes on luxury items for years now with no clear end in sight. 10 Minutes With...Hong Kong-Based Menswear Designer Anthony Hill Standing at the forefront of Hong Kong’s menswear revolution is British designer Anthony Hill, whose eponymous label Hill has injected a shot of sartorial vigor into the city’s fashion scene. Creating deftly tailored blazers, chinos and shorts proudly made in Hong Kong, in just over one year Hill has become the go-to designer for classic cuts with a hint of unpredictability, making contemporary style look easy. Recently, Jing Daily spoke to Hill about the Anthony Hill aesthetic, Hong Kong’s fast-growing menswear market, and the future of fashion in the fragrant harbor. What Gucci’s New Tiered Model Could Mean For China's Luxury Market Industry experts have long known that the Chinese market is far from homogeneous. With a tiered socioeconomic landscape, an aspiring middle class, and varying levels of taste, sophistication, and connoisseurship, hitting the Chinese target is not always point-blank. Arming themselves for the fast-changing landscape in China, many brands with a relatively long presence in mainland China — such as Gucci — are adopting new models for retail and merchandising, referred to this week by WWD as an “à la carte” approach. Q&A: Haizhen Wang Closes London Fashion Week Following Haizhen Wang‘s AW 13/14 catwalk show, which closed out this installment of London Fashion Week, Jing Daily was invited backstage to speak to the Fashion Fringe Award-winning designer. Seductively structured and unlike anything we have seen from him before, Wang’s latest collection saw the young designer congratulated after the show by both British and Chinese Vogue, marking his shift from emerging to established designer.
