Fourteen years ago the United Kingdom handed over Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China after having previously leased it for 99 years. Since that handover the former British dependency off China’s southeastern coast has become a de facto expression of the mainland’s juggernaut status on the world stage. Hong Kong, flush with cash and promise of boundless growth, is attracting Western luxury brands at an astonishing rate. This attraction has in turn also precipitated a cultural boom with an emerging emphasis on local cultural producers, artists, and designers according to a recent article appearing in the Guardian. Locality has also crept into nodes of luxury with a history that extend far beyond the recent handover. Take, for example, the latest Lane Crawford F/W 2011 campaign by Mert & Marcus that features Ford’s Ming Xi and a cast of top Asian talent. Style.com today reported an “exclusive” preview of this luxury retailer’s new campaign, which goes a long way to position itself firmly within the Chinese new wave despite having a history that dates back to colonial times. The Chinese after all hold Hong Kong’s purse strings so it makes perfect sense for a Chinese model with the stature of Ming Xi would feature in Lane Crawford’s campaign along with top creative talent in Mert & Marcus and stylist Marie-Amélie Sauvé. So goes Hong Kong, so likely goes the world and leave it to Ming Xi to make it look smashing in the process.
Credits include: Client, Lane Crawford; Campaign, F/W 2011; Photography, Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott; Styling, Marie-Amélie Sauvé.
Ming Xi for Lane Crawford F/W 2011 (Video still: Mert & Marcus)
Ming Xi for Lane Crawford F/W 2011 (Video still: Mert & Marcus)
