Week In Review: March 14-18

Jing Daily's Top Posts for the Week In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily's top posts for the week of March 14-18: Is China's middle class really the luxury force they're made out to be? (Image: MO Down) The Rise Of The Chinese Luxury Market: Reality or Illusion? Zeng Fanzhi: "Untitled 08-4-8" (Oil on canvas, 2008). Image courtesy Christie's McKinsey’s latest report, “Understanding China’s Love for Luxury” has forecasted that China will comprise 20 percent of global luxury sales by 2015, surpassing Japan as the world’s single largest luxury market. While this extensive report surveyed over 1,500 luxury consumers in 17 Chinese cities in spring 2010, and cites McKinsey’s 2009 wealthy consumer and urbanization models spanning 800 cities, an article in the Chinese-language portal Dayoo is skeptical, questioning whether McKinsey’s forecasts are too optimistic. Christie’s, Rockbund Art Museum To Present Zeng Fanzhi Solo Exhibition This May Beijing designer Vega Wang (Image: Sina) Although the auction world is eagerly awaiting the upcoming Ullens Collection and Contemporary Asian Art (April 4-5) auctions in Hong Kong, rival Christie’s isn’t content to rest on its laurels. Set to take place at the same time as its spring auctions (May 27-June 1) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, Christie’s and the Rockbund Art Museum (previously on Jing Daily) will present “BEING” (界線的共鳴), an exhibition featuring 30 works by Zeng Fanzhi, one of China’s top contemporary artists, sponsored by the Francois Pinault Foundation. As an added bonus to the exhibition, Zeng will hand-pick one work, to be valued around HK$10 million (US$1.3 million), to be auctioned off at Christie’s Asian Contemporary Art & Chinese 20th Century Art Evening Sale on May 28, with proceeds going to the environmental organization The Nature Conservancy. Chinese Creativity: Who Are The Emerging Designers? Preliminary design for the National Art Museum of China new phase Last month, Reuters quoted fashion executives and designers as saying that Chinese designers “will drive catwalk trends more than deep-pocketed Asian buyers as China’s creativity becomes fashions’ next big thing.” While China’s money has been an economic driver, and Chinese design cues have been picked up by some designers, the next part of fashion’s eastward tilt may be the rise of Chinese creativity. Editor, blogger, journalist and media figure Hong Huang believes that China’s fashion climate needs additional confidence, since Hong sees the fact that the Chinese market constantly looks for Western confirmation before being ready to buy. With Shanghai Fashion Week about to kick off, and Beijing Fashion Week just around the corner, Jing Daily is looking forward to the newest collections by some of the top emerging designers in China. Beijing To Build “World’s Largest Art Museum”: What’ll They Fill It With? Shanghai Tang's runway set, featuring Miao culture symbol, the butterfly This week, as part of its 12th five-year plan, Beijing announced a new phase for the National Art Museum of China, a massive, glass-covered structure that is being touted as “the world’s largest art gallery.” Currently in the design process, the new National Art Museum will be located next to the current museum and near the Beijing National Stadium, with construction expected to begin next spring. While the new National Art Museum sounds like another example of the Chinese government building a mammoth public venue for the sake of getting another “world’s largest” title under its belt, as museum director Fan Di’an told delegates at the recent National People’s Congress, China’s public art facilities haven’t lived up to the promise of the country’s burgeoning interest in the arts. Shanghai Tang Spring Summer 2011 Runway Webcast (PHOTOS) Shanghai Tang celebrated their spring summer 2011 Miao culture inspired collection today with a runway show, accompanied by a live broadcast online. On the heels ofChloé’s fifth anniversary show broadcast, Shanghai Tang suggests that runway show webcasts may start to become the norm in China. The pre-runway red carpet lasted from 8:30 to 9:45pm and featured brief interview segments with guests that included rising male model Godfrey Gao and actress Fan Bing Bing. The runway show, taking place in Beijing, started at 9:50 and lasted for 20 minutes, displaying the womenswear and menswear collections, as well as the evening collection for women. The “Metamorphosis” theme was carried through, with the set displaying a lit butterfly, echoing the Miao culture imagery in the collection. With each collection, Shanghai Tang presents China’s rich culture in a modern way and with the Miao culture, the focus was on the close relationship between the Miao people and nature.

Week In Review: March 14-18

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Published March 18, 2011

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Week In Review: March 14-18