to catch a thief

so excited to finally behold and hold some non-fall/winter items. Whereas our love for shearling and camel runs unabated into the rapidly descending winter, on one level, there is only so many times the same sheepskin coat can go back-and-forth from PR to magazine before the craving for something new begins. at first, resort confused, but now I realise they invented it to bestow upon us ivory Celine shifts and cream Chanel jumpsuits to brighten up the dull winter days. Add one retro Chinese pastiche of a 'French brasserie' + coiffed hair + pearls + lashings of red lipstick for a femme fatale-cum-jewelry thief, Beijing, circa 1925.

a little Rochas // towering Gucci's // pastiche Art Deco with 70's carpeting // acrobatic photog // taking a break with Chanel + cigarette

need to get over

but can't. such an amazing image.

Daphne Groenveld by Mert & Marcus, Vogue Paris, September 2010

Anne + the Artist (in Armani)

there's always a slight note of fear that strikes in one's heart when you get an address for a shoot along the lines of, '.... turn right at this farm, cross the main road after the signal light, make a left at the crocodile farm (what?), cross the first small bridge, and look for the house behind the bamboos...' Hm. GPS couldn't do much with that. But one traffic jam and three times up and down the same country track later, we finally arrived at artist Huang Zhiyang's studio. It was my fault I didn't do any research, but as I walked into the studio and was confronted smack-bang with a hanging golden sculpture, it was one of those 'oh, I've seen this before' moments. The converted space was, of course, amazing, (why else live in rural Beijing next to a crocodile farm?) and reigned over by a benign artist in beautifully cut Armani. Amidst the laid out canvases and works-in-progress, he posed with the French designer, Anne Valerie Hash. Together, they're doing that really cool thing where an 'X' gets added between their two names - can't wait to see the combination of her French-chic flowing pieces + his amazing colours. Of course the relationship between fashion and art inevitably came up for discussion, but really all answers could be found in Huang Zhiyang himself, who looked so dapper from head-to-toe, wearing shoes he designed himself.

at work with Quentin

the newest Quentin Shih + Dior collaboration will be hitting a vintage vibe and it was so great that Quentin asked me to help out being one of his background characters. In between many awkward poses, the triumph of having a dress steamed for me, and the moment of realisation that yes, the camera does indeed make people look fatter, it was enjoyable to simply catch up. The busy man had been working straight for four days, and sorely looked in need of his 13 hour plane-flight-sleep back to New York tomorrow. Still, the coffees were downed, the jokes flew around, and he chain-smoked away on top form before we let the Lady Dior take the driving seat on the way back.

rainy day with Derek

another shoot, another far too early start on a drizzly Monday morning... only this time Derek Lam swooped in and brought his much needed all-American charm to brighten up the proceedings. Hong Huang's new shop B.N.C. had been requisitioned as the backdrop for his 'conversation' with local designer, Fan Ran and it proved absolutely perfect because a) it's a beautiful space that stocks only locally designed brands and b) it turned into a jolly shopping spree as everybody (led by Derek and his team) eagerly zoned in on the wares. He lamented missing Phillip Lim's show just two days ago, and talked about doing his own in Beijing one day. Most endearingly, after a week spent with blasé celebrities, Derek proved so refreshingly enthusiastic and interested in things. Later in 798 (after more shopping) not only did he have a lot to say about contemporary Chinese art but he was also incredibly receptive to all the information we could throw at him. Such a cheerful end to what became the-week-Chinese-American-designers-all-came-to-town/ Jason Wu - Phillip Lim - Derek Lam.

11:46pm

7 straight days of shooting, sorting, (un)packing, steaming and panicking about nearly losing clothes ended at this point. Through the bleak coma of sleep deprivation and Starbucks, it is amazing how lovingly crafted and beautiful things can still inspire hope. The Miu Miu platforms and Burberry jacket could really lift even the most tired of souls.

work horses + show ponies

after an amazing day at Phillip Lim, I struggled up on Sunday morning and met with grey skies. Temperatures had dropped like ten degrees in the space of 12 hours, and we were doing an outside shoot at some stables. It soon turned out that the stables were actually private, attached to a country house on the outskirts of the city. Erm, to reiterate: a country house, in Beijing, with stables. Still, nothing could detract from the fact that the staff canteen where we set up shop was just a tad grimy, that it was just far too cold for the model to even pretend and frolic in fields and what would have been a lovely picnic lunch turned into desperate clutching of hot soup cartons. Still, you gain some, you lose some and we wrapped up the shoot in record speed. Only for me to leave my phone in the taxi going home.

a working saturday for sunshine + Phillip Lim

the 24-hour notice for a Saturday shoot was like death tolling from fashion editor Yoyo until I remembered she was shooting at Phillip Lim's Beijing show for his Lane Crawford collaboration. The fact that I would be working both days this weekend was quickly disregarded in favour of enthusiastic nodding. A surprisingly peaceful afternoon was thus spent atop an old city watchtower where: I basked in the continuing autumn sunshine, hung with photographer Zack, secretly delighted over the fact that the show had menswear, admired Lim's suave New York team, snapped away happily at the lovely sights... and then got told I could actually stay for the show itself. Perfection.

watchtower + huge white flower lights // runway // photog ZACK // PHILLIP + his crew // run-through begins // ♥ DU JUAN // the best shoes + LI DANNI's vintage dress // LIU WEN // finale // dressing DU JUAN // SUN FEIFEI at make-up // Vogue time // PHILLIP LIM + LIU WEN + DU JUAN + SUN FEIFEI // YOYO // runway waiting + sunset + lights // ANGELICA in 3.1 Phillip Lim // action: first look // walking // beautiful beading + sheer + long + slit = want this // finale // bar // lit //enter-exit.