I.T Beijing Market (China's DSM)

[Monty76]

Opened today and looks promising...

http://hypebeast.com/2010/12/i-t-beijing-market-opening-recap/#

[StrAngeRy]

thanks for posting.

gonna pay a visit next time I am in peking. do you have the address?

[grapz]

Sweet. About time they do it big in beijing. Anyone know the address

[Monty76]

N5, Village North, No. 11 Sanlitun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing

[sagill1119]

Missed the opening, but will pop in soon.

[soulp0]

i wonder what the mark-up will be...

[ink]

THIS DSM WILL BE SIMILAR WITH THE ONE IN TOKYO BUT NOT THE ONE IN LONDON......

[Faust]

Rei talked to WWD about the store.

Here are some excerpts:

WWD: How do you feel about the Beijing store?

Rei Kawakubo: Well, this isn’t about the store, but I first came to China 30, 40 years ago, and I've been here many times in the past 15 years and I have witnessed many changes. Now with fashion, at the very least you can find all the brands in Beijing and Shanghai. So I wanted to do something new…a new method or expression…with fashion and Comme des Garçons in a place that has everything. I'm very happy to have worked with I.T in order to realize that.

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WWD: How has the inspiration for your collections changed over the course of your career?

R.K.: Do you think it's changed? For me it hasn’t changed at all. The way I approach each collection is exactly the same…the motivation has always been to create something new, something that didn't exist before. The more experience I have and the more clothes I make, the more difficult it becomes to make something new. Once I’ve made something, I don’t want to do it again, so the breadth of possibility is becoming smaller.

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WWD: Everyone is talking about how the Japanese market for retail and luxury goods is just terrible right now. Do you think that will change? Do you think there is a way to get consumers excited again?

R.K.: Now, with fast fashion, the value of creation is diminishing, and very expensive things are not interesting.

WWD: Is there any way out of that situation?

R.K.: I always think that I'd like to do something about the situation...it’s a very profound motivation...but I don't think it's something that can really be changed. I'm not powerful enough. There's a closed-mindedness that prevents movement and change. I always think that I’d like to break that, and I've used it [this closed-mindedness] as a theme for collections, but I just can't seem to break it. I want to wake people up, but I don’t think I succeed in doing this as much as I would like to.

------------------

WWD: You mentioned fast fashion. That's been a huge story and obviously you had your collaboration with H&M. Would you consider doing something like that again?

R.K.: That was a special case. They were making a new store in Japan, so it was just a short, two-week relationship. It wasn't a big thing, but I thought it was interesting because they asked me to do all the advertising and visuals as well. H&M has a very different way of thinking and a different business model, so it was interesting to see how much of a connection we could make. But in the end I realized that there wasn’t very much in common, so I don’t think I'll do it again.

---------

WWD: So, for right now you're just concentrating on your business? You're not thinking about a succession plan?

R.K.: Of course there are things to be thought about. There's nothing much I want to say now but probably the company will carry on with the staff that we have. The staff that I'm bringing up.

WWD: Would you consider selling it or listing it on the stock market?

R.K.: I don’t think there's anyone who would want to buy it. I do everything on my own, so there are very few people who could do it. Do you think there's anyone who would buy it? [Joffe interjected half-jokingly with a laugh: "We’re waiting for an offer."]

--------------------

WWD: Are there any young designers coming up through the ranks you’re keeping your eye on?

R.K.: There are very few. There are few people who, like us, have the values and the way of thinking to really try hard. They lack discipline. And it's not just fashion, I think…[young people] get satisfied too easily. They're not strict enough with themselves. They’re too soft on themselves.

[Fade to Black]

WWD: Are there any young designers coming up through the ranks you’re keeping your eye on?

R.K.: There are very few. There are few people who, like us, have the values and the way of thinking to really try hard. They lack discipline. And it's not just fashion, I think…[young people] get satisfied too easily. They're not strict enough with themselves. They’re too soft on themselves.

as discussed in another thread on here, this can be true. And I suffer from this too at times. Although I don't think it's necessarily the only explanation or justification for a lot of things. I don't think the higher volume of noise is any better for things either, makes it harder for one to distinguish themselves while also finding oneself out.

[Monty76]

Visited the store - it's a beautiful space in a very unique, high-end shopping complex. But it is really more of a CdG store with a splattering of other brands, nothing like the brand selection at DSM and lacking the designer specific spaces.

Small selection of Rick and Ann, also McQueen and DH. Have a feeling the store was limited to brands that I.T had existing relationships with so it kinda felt like just another I.T.

Markups make purchasing anything out of the question. But I guess that is to be expected in China.

[Faust]

Could it also be that it's just the beginning of the season and most deliveries are still on the way? But, yea, from the pictures it did not look like DSM at all - too squeaky clean.

[soulp0]

thanks for the report. just as i expected. I.T mark-up and Chinese VAT help me save RMB!

Visited the store - it's a beautiful space in a very unique, high-end shopping complex. But it is really more of a CdG store with a splattering of other brands, nothing like the brand selection at DSM and lacking the designer specific spaces.

Small selection of Rick and Ann, also McQueen and DH. Have a feeling the store was limited to brands that I.T had existing relationships with so it kinda felt like just another I.T.

Markups make purchasing anything out of the question. But I guess that is to be expected in China.

[dddr]

guess not many here subscribe to hypebeast, but here's an interview they did with Adrian Joffe, nothing particularly inspiring or exicting or whatsoever, but it did clear a few things imo.

http://hypebeast.com/2011/01/adrian-joffe-the-idea-of-comme-des-garcons/

"In a recent interview, Rei was quoted as being dismissive of the current crop of younger designers. Could you shed some light on what exactly she meant?

I believe you mean the interview that was published from the establishment rag known as WWD. We were rather upset if not shocked by the way they twisted the words of Rei and made it sound like she was dismissive of young designers in general. Everyone knows that Rei respects enormously all-young designers that work hard and believe in creation. COMME des GARÇONS are constantly on the lookout for creative talent to have in our multi mark shops, and anyone who knows Dover Street Market London will know we have many young designers there. She was merely making the comment about a lot of young people in general these days, not just in fashion, as they hope and expect for success too quickly and are too impatient. In her time, it took years and years before she was really able to make a proper living at making clothes. However she knows that the times are very different now and she knows how hard it is. She is in no way dismissive of young designers, as she only wants to encourage them to be strong and creative and follow their own vision. Sharing spaces with people like them is the fundamental idea behind Dover Street Market London and I.T Beijing Market."

[Faust]

PR Damage Control. BTDT.