Preparing for the fall and the winter

By Annie Wei
Thousands of Western-educated Chinese young adults are moving back to China to build their careers in different areas, instilling new concepts into old industries – like fashion. Beijing Today spoke with some independent brands and designers to see what they have come for the cold season.

Vega Wang, 25, graduated from the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and set up her own brand at Jianwai Soho earlier this year. Three other stores that sell her designs, and several magazines have showcased her work.
“My design is not restrained by seasons,” Wang said. She’s not one concerned with whats “in,” as she wants her designs to be timeless. Her work reflects her life and things happening at the moment.
Wang’s last collection, themed “first love and last ceremony,” was like that. When she designed that collection, she realized that she still retained a passion for drawing, which she’s been doing since she was a child. So “love,” in this case, doesn’t have to mean that between couples – it’s a person’s love for hobbies or anything of interest.
“An independent brand should have something it wants to express,” Wang said. She does not read fashion magazines or care what is popular in Europe or North America. “After all, our body shapes are different,” she said.
Wang is currently working on a new collection that will feature something she has not used before: leather.
Seeking an environmentally friendly leather, she searched for a while before finding a reliable manufacturer in Shanghai.
Her new collection will have fewer looks because she will focus more on accessories like necklaces and scarves. Her previous collections had 40 and 35 looks, respectively.
Wang, who said she prefers living in Xiamen, Fujian Province because it’s considered “the utopia for young Chinese literates,” said she also likes Beijing for its mixed culture scene. “Art, music and fashion are always growing together.”
Her boutique at Jianwai Soho carries all her original designs, like ready-to-wear shoes, bags and accessories, and also provides custom-made and made-to-wear services.
Vega Wang
Where: Jianwai Soho Building 6, Level B1, Boutique 662 (across from Tony’s Studio, near SHINE boutique)
Open: 1-6 pm
Tel: 5900 2279
Website: Vegazaishiwang.com

 This brand is designed and operated by Candy Lin, who grew up in California, US. Lin did not major in fashion but she discovered her passion for it after college and started the brand two years ago.
Candy & Caviar’s latest collection, Spring 2011, is inspired by black and white movies. The pieces are scheduled for release at the beginning of September. The items will be available on its newly updated online shop, along with a Beijing showroom in China Central Place opening at the end of September or beginning of October.
The brand tries to bring together the classic and unconventional and bring a touch of sophisticated evening glamour to the light of day. Its coming collection is for young urban dwellers who are looking for polished and quintessentially chic modern looks.

Candy & Caviar
Where: Room 921, Building 16, China Central Place, 6, Xi Dawang Lu, Chaoyang District
Open: By appointment
Website: Candyandcaviar.com

 Since 2007, Shokay founders Maria So from Hong Kong and Carol Chyau from Taiwan have grabbed many headlines on the mainland for the way they started their brand.
The two young women were interested in social enterprise when they studied at Harvard in 2004. On a trip to Qinghai Province and Tibet, they wondered how they might help improve local herders’ living conditions.
That thought budded into a business plan that won first prize in competitions at both Harvard and Amsterdam. With the money they won, they started Shokay in 2007, “a lifestyle brand that designs stylish products made from soft yak down,” according to the website.
They have a flagship store in Shanghai’s Tianzifang – a shopping district somewhat similar to Beijing’s Nan Luoguxiang – and sell products in 100 other locations in 10 countries. The global consumer interested in ordering can do so from shokay.com, said Jocelyn Xie, the brand’s marketing manager.
Compared to wool or cashmere, Shokay’s yak down is a luxury fiber that cannot be mass-produced. Shokay yaks mainly live in the mountainous Himalayan regions of Western China. Each yak produces about 100 grams of fine downy fiber. The average fineness of down from an adult yak is 18 to 20 microns, while the length is 30-40 milliometer. Unlike wool, the scales of yak fiber are in a waved mosaic pattern, resulting in a smooth fiber that does not cause irritation.
The brand sources yak fiber directly from Tibetan herders, and in that way helps them earn a sustainable living while preserving their traditional lifestyle. The brand works with 260 households in the Heimahe township of Qinghai Province, where they source fiber, train the herders how to hand-spin yarn and provide health-care training to local women. 
Most of Shokay’s products are adult accessories and home collections made of 100 percent yak or yak blends, starting from $30 (200 yuan). The design is simple but functional, like a hand warmer, hat or scarf, soft and cozy for the winter.
Shokay
Website: Shokay.com