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subscribe to style file blog via RSSRinging In The Chinese New Year
February 13, 2010 6:05 pm
Yes, Lane Crawford took advantage of the overlap of Chinese New Year and New York fashion week to introduce itself to New Yorkers with a new year’s bash—complete with ceremonial red envelopes handed out by owner and president Jennifer Woo—but the store isn’t interested in your run-of-the-mill East-meets-West scenario. Fashion director Sarah Rutson, whose own gushing (and well-deserved) fan base on street-style sites continues to grow, has been busy orchestrating the brand’s 160th anniversary project and she wanted something new. “I thought about asking designers to do a China-inspired collection,” she told us last night. “But then I thought I didn’t want the same old references. So I looked at what sells best, and we’re known for emerging designers. So it’s more about introductions. The customer wants to know who all these fashion people are.” That thought translated to tapping friend Christopher Bailey at Burberry to send over 20 trenches for Rutson’s friends, who include Simon Doonan and Lynn Yaeger, to customize with free rein. (Not exactly emerging designers, but fashion people par excellence.) The final projects will be presented at Lane Crawford stores, along with a bit of info on each collaborator come April. The power of a Lane Crawford introduction hasn’t been lost on one attendee. “They flew me out to Hong Kong and China a few months ago just to introduce me,” Jason Wu (pictured, with Woo) said. “You just don’t find that every day.”
tags: Christopher Bailey, Jason Wu, Jennifer Woo, Lane Crawford, Lynn Yaeger, Sarah Rutson, Simon Doonan
