In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of September 3-7: Asian Art Momentum Likely To Pick Up At Upcoming Autumn Auctions Auction houses probably have good reason to be optimistic about the long-term potential of the Chinese collector, particularly now that speculators are increasingly leaving the market or staying away altogether. For one thing — as Jing Daily has consistently pointed out — Chinese collectors tend to be highly pragmatic, buying partly for interest and partly for investment. Having relatively few alternative investments at their disposal, these collectors should continue to look towards the art auction market as other asset classes have shown mediocre performance in 2012. As François Curiel said, “Art is still viewed as a good investment in the Chinese collector’s mind…I have yet to meet someone who buys art and think they are going to lose money.” Why China's Shangpin Could Beat Major Luxury E-Tailers At Their Own Game This week, the two-year-old Beijing-based e-tailer Shangpin, which bills itself China’s first members-only online retailer of authorized designer and contemporary fashions, announced the launch of its full-price, O2O, retail section, which will offer Chinese consumers access to current season designer and contemporary fashion from nearly 80 brands, many of which have never before been available in China. However, with American and European heavyweights such as Macy’s, Neiman Marcus and Net-A-Porter already adopting a full-price, O2O model and teaming up with Chinese luxury sites including VIPStore’s Omei, Glamour Sales, and Shouke, how will Shangpin fare amidst such fierce (and well-capitalized) competition? Pre-Fall Chinese Art Roundup 2012: Must-See Exhibitions This Friday, the sixth edition of the Asia-Pacific Contemporary Art Fair, better known as SH Contemporary, kicks off at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre, making this one of the busiest weekends in the city’s art calendar. SH Contemporary 2012 will feature over 100 selected galleries this year, with a focus on exhibiting and supporting contemporary art from throughout the Asia-Pacific region. With a jam-packed schedule filled with openings, studio visits and events, organized in cooperation with the some of China’s leading galleries and cultural initiatives, this year’s SH Contemporary will undoubtedly trump the high standards set last year. Zara Jumps On China's E-Commerce Bandwagon Now with more than 100 brick-and-mortar locations in more than 40 cities in China, on September 5 the Spanish fast fashion juggernaut Zara will launch its mainland Chinese online store, jumping on the country’s multibillion-dollar e-commerce bandwagon. Having entered the mainland China market in 2006, two years after its Hong Kong debut, Zara has capitalized on China’s massive demand for foreign fast-fashion brands in recent years. In an astonishingly short time, Zara has built a vast retail footprint throughout first- and second-tier cities throughout China, investing heavily to take on home-grown Chinese competitors as well as global rivals like Japan’s Uniqlo (which is also engaged in China’s e-commerce market via an official Tmall store), America’s Forever 21 and Sweden’s H&M. Designer To Watch: Yirantian Guo Recent London College Of Fashion graduate (and newly admitted MA student) Yirantian Guo (郭一然天) may be young, but she’s already gaining accolades for her unique sense of design and style. Recently, the Chinese site Fashion Trend Digest caught up with Guo to discuss her development as a designer, fashion inspiration, and dream collaborators.
