3M and H&M Probe Claim They Used Chinese Prison Labor

Daniel Shane
CNN
Three big Western companies are investigating allegations that prisoners in China made packaging bearing their brand names.

In China, Flashy Logos Are Making a Comeback as a Status Symbol

Yiling Pan
Quartz
Over the past few seasons, logos have made a return to the runway. Even in China, where the industry consensus was that countless fakes and shallow status projection had created serious logo fatigue, people are no longer ashamed to flash luxury...

Victoria's Secret Meets China's Security

Christopher Balding
Bloomberg
At one point, it must‘ve seemed like a good idea. Victoria‘s Secret, the American lingerie brand, was making a major push to expand its business globally.

David Tang, Fashion Retailer and Raconteur, Dies at 63

Keith Bradsher and Elizabeth Paton
New York Times
David Tang, the founder of Shanghai Tang, a global chain of flashy emporiums of Chinese-inspired clothing, accessories and home furnishings, and a prominent writer and raconteur in Hong Kong and Britain, died on Tuesday in London. He was 63.

Why Chinese People Won’t Boycott Trump Fashion

BBC
In a week that saw a political storm after Nordstrom dropped Ivanka Trump fashion lines and reports in the U.S. media that her younger sister Tiffany Trump was “shunned” at New York Fashion Week, there was one unlikely win for the first family.

China’s Millennial Consumers: What Victoria’s Secret Got Wrong, and Nike Got Right

Helen Wang
Forbes
Chinese millennials are conflicted between their national pride and their love for western brands

The 80-Year-Old Runway Model Reshaping China’s Views on Aging

Didi Kirsten Tatlow
New York Times
Last year, at 79, Mr. Wang walked the runway for the first time, his physique at his age causing a national sensation

China: Through the Looking Glass

Maura Cunningham
Orientalism is generally understood as a bad thing. What the “Through the Looking Glass” exhibit designers attempted to do was reclaim Orientalism, demonstrating that Western designers might only have a superficial understanding of China, but that...

Culture

09.09.15

The Met Goes to China

Jeffrey Wasserstrom
In July, while in New York, I toured The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s much buzzed about “China: Through the Looking Glass,” a visually stunning multimedia exhibit that showcases the varied ways that Western fashion designers have been inspired by...

Q. and A.: Luo Yufeng, a.k.a. Sister Feng, on Life as a Manicurist in New York

Vanessa Piao
New York Times
Sister Feng, whose real name is Luo Yufeng, is an Internet celebrity with more than 4.7 million followers on Sina Weibo

Sinica Podcast

09.27.14

In Conversation with Mara Hvistendahl

Kaiser Kuo & Jeremy Goldkorn from Sinica Podcast
Kaiser and Jeremy are joined this week by Mara Hvistendahl, Pulitzer Prize-nominated author and long-standing resident of Shanghai, to discuss her two main works. Along with discussing the twists and turns of her murder novel, And the City Swallowed...

Viewpoint

09.25.14

How Bad Does the Air Pollution Have to Be Before You’d Wear a Face Mask?

Stephanie Ho
“Mommy, why don’t I wear a face mask?” asked my nine-year-old daughter Maggie nearly every day during the first few weeks of school. Two of her expat classmates had been in Beijing less than a year, but it seemed as if they wore theirs all the time...

China Said to Deport Models for Working Illegally

Edward Wong
New York Times
Chinese authorities have deported scores of foreign models whom they detained earlier this month in Beijing on accusations that the models were working illegally, said a model who once worked in China.

The Growing Allure of Designed-in-China Fashions

Christina Larson
Businessweek
Guo Pei, a couture designer based in Beijing, says she’s seeing increased demand for custom-made gowns as Chinese performers and socialites have more formal occasions to attend.

New Style in Old Beijing (Video)

Jonah M. Kessel
New York Times
This episode of the ‘Intersection’ video series takes place in Beijing’s Gulou neighborhood, where young Beijingers discuss their and their peers’ fashion styles and inspirations.

Media

04.02.13

Singing a Note of Caution About New First Lady Peng Liyuan

Xi Jinping, the newly appointed Chinese President, unfolded his presidency with a grand foreign tour to Russia, Tanzania, South Africa, and the Republic of the Congo. While this series of state visits unequivocally underscored China’s diplomatic...

A Retailer Discovers China’s New ‘It‘ Girl: Grandpa

Laurie Burkitt and Josh Chin
Wall Street Journal
Retired Farmer Becomes Fashion Sensation; He's 5-8, Thin and Looks Great in Crimson

Fashion Magazines Laden With Ads Thriving

CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY and JONATHAN...
New York Times
While fashion labels are spending more on magazine advertising in the United States, they’re pouring even more money into magazines across mainland China.