Fashion and apparel brands bring new flavors to the city

Ginori 1735

Italian luxury and lifestyle trendsetter Ginori 1735 opened its digital flagship store on Tmall early this month to expand its presence among the fast-growing Chinese consumer base, especially among young luxury shoppers and high-end buyers.

With the launch of the Tmall store, the three-century-old brand offers its porcelain collections and the home fragrance collection LCDC, La Compagnia Di Caterina, consisting of scented candles in various sizes and colors, incense burners, and room diffusers, designed by Luca Nichetto.

The LCDC fragrances developed by Jean Niel, the oldest perfume house in France founded in 1779, features Orange Renaissance, Black Stone, and Purple Hill.

Orange Renaissance, a joyful and charming blend, pays tribute to the orange blossom. Black Stone, with base notes of amber and musk, brings the aroma of spices, while Purple Hill is a fresh, light, floral fragrance.

"In order to win in the luxury market in China, it is necessary to conquer young generations, amongst whom we already have many clients. In recent years, we have systematically invested in a global 'digital first' approach, also through the creation of a solid, authorized, and personalized digital ecosystem, and the opening of the flagship store on Tmall fits perfectly into this strategy of our brand," said Alain Prost, Chairman and CEO of Ginori 1735.

Ginori 1735 is also accessible through its official account and its mini-program on WeChat.

Calzedonia Group

Italian leggings brand Calzedonia and lingerie brand Intimissimi, both part of the Calzedonia Group, have released their spring/summer 2022 collections.

The new Calzedonia collection is tinged with bright colors and cheerful floral patterns, which provide a boost of new, vibrant energy.

The increased use of natural, green materials is a salute to nature. Organic cotton, responsibly grown on organic farms using low environmental impact methods, is used to make tights in four shades: black, blue, brown, and mélange grey.

Prints, embroidery, appliqués, and lettering are featured across fun, colourful tights and socks. Many themes have evolved this season: love, navy patterns, floral motifs, Op Art geometry and street art motifs.

The brand's latest addition to the collection is "cotton-on-skin" tights, comfortable against the skin and hypoallergenic, while the outside features fully opaque microfiber in black, blue and brown.

This season Calzedonia is also featuring new collections in collaboration with Smiley and American artist Keith Haring, known for his illustrative depictions of figures and symbols.

The new collection of the lingerie brand Intimissimi features timelessly beautiful garments. Padded balconettes with high-waisted tulle briefs are detailed with scalloped profiles and laces that intertwine across the back, neckline, or around the waist to resemble precious body jewellery.

The must-haves for this spring season also include lingerie sets from the Jolie Poesie line, which feature black daisy lace in a 1960s style with the addition of pearls for a delicate and romantic aesthetic.

The floral prints of the Bloom & Blossom collection also adorn kimono dressing gowns, underwear, shorts, and lingerie with elegant cherry blossom motifs.

A palette of muted tones recalls the lightness of spring in the iconic Pretty Flowers line, created in soft colors such as lilac, yellow, green and light blue, combined with timeless white. A variety of floral motifs on cotton and tulle embellish lingerie and nightwear.

Galeries Lafayette

Galeries Lafayette is accelerating its expansion in China and has announced the opening of its new store in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, which will start its soft opening by 2022, as part of its strategic expansion plan that aims to open 10 stores in China by 2025.

After Beijing and Shanghai, Galeries Lafayette is now moving into southern China, opening a new chapter in Shenzhen's retail and fashion market. This metropolis of 15 million residents plays a key role in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Areadevelopment and is one of the world's fastest-growing first-tier cities.

In this booming market, Galeries Lafayette wants to establish itself as a mainstay at UpperHills, the new international urban complex developed by state-owned company Shum Yip to offer visitors an upmarket shopping, dining and leisure experience. Galeries Lafayette will roll out a brand-new store concept at UpperHills with a focus on unique store design and a highly curated multi-brand selection targeting the city's young, dynamic shoppers.

"In the midst of a turbulent health crisis, we have taken the time to deepen our understanding of the market and identify the most appropriate cities in which to deploy our brand for the long term," said Lawrance Shum, CEO of Galeries Lafayette China. "For this new stage of our expansion in China, we are delighted to join forces with the Shum Yip Group, a strategic partner that enables us to grow our presence in southern China and offer our visitors the Galeries Lafayette brand's fashion and lifestyle expertise."

Breguet

Swiss luxury watchmaker Breguet is celebrating the upcoming Year of the Tiger with an eight-piece limited-edition 7145 from the Classique collection, adorned with a tiger, a symbol of bravery and intelligence as well as strength in Chinese culture.

Using a play on perspectives, the dial motif is created in three stages. Firstly, the work begins with engraving the separation contours, part of the decoration, and the tiger on the gold using the bas relief technique, which consists of other patterns carved in extremely small dimensions.

These sculpted sections then are colored in black to provide the desired depth and contrast. Finally, the rest of the motif is created using guilloché work, an artisanal method that requires great dexterity.

Each dial takes a week to craft. When the final work is finished, the design in relief vividly depicts a great cat as if approaching the viewer.

The watch face also features Breguet's distinctive characteristics, such as the engraved logo between 7 and 8 o'clock and the blued steel open-tipped Breguet hands that indicate the hours and minutes. The chapter ring is punctuated by round gold hour-markers, and the 40 mm case is crafted in 18-carat rose gold.

This timepiece, produced in an eight-piece limited series numbered from 1/8 to 8/8, is fitted with an alligator leather strap secured by a pink gold pin buckle.

Frank And Oak

The sustainable Canadian fashion brand, Frank And Oak, recently made its debut in the China market with the opening of a retail store in Shanghai's new Tai Koo Li development and the launch of its WeChat mini-program.

The product assortment at launch features Frank And Oak's most iconic winter products made with sustainable fabrics and processes. These include sweaters made with Seawool?, an innovative fabric that blends crushed oyster shells upcycled from the food industry, with recycled PET plastic bottles, yak wool sweaters, and accessories sourced from farmers in Tibet and Sichuan. The outerwear is made with 100 percent recycled polyester and vegan PRIMALOFT? insulation.

In a nod to the brand's Canadian roots, the Shanghai store was designed by the team at A00, led by founder and head architect Sacha Silva, a Montreal native who has been a pioneer in sustainable design and construction in China for more than 20 years.

The 115-square-meter Shanghai store sets a new sustainability benchmark for retail stores in China and was designed for both disassembly and reuse. Special features include 62 percent of the materials used in-store being biodegradable or recyclable at the end of their life as well as demountable and modular display systems for use across future shops.