Beijing's Answer to the Dover Street Market

The I.T. Beijing Market

Last spring, when I passed by Sanlitun Village, a new shopping area in East Beijing, I saw that a lot of big-name designers, like Balmain, Balenciaga, Lanvin, Bape and Comme des Garçons, were building stores. This Christmas, when I went back to Beijing for holiday, Balenciaga had opened, its racks fully stocked with the A/W10 collection. Next to the new boutique stood a 4-floor-store called “I.T. Beijing Market.” Looking at the familiar logo of the store, I wondered if it was related to London's Dover Street Market.

The I.T. Beijing Market celebrated its grand opening on December 23rd. Many of the opening party’s guests wanted to call it “The Beijing Dover Street Market.” According to one of the store's employees, I.T. Beijing Market is based on the long-term relationship between Rei Kawakubo and Hong Kong retailer, I.T. Just like Dover Street Market, the I.T. store works with Rei Kawakubo to stock Comme des Garçons and many other edgy brands. The two markets share the same concept, which is to offer a platform for communication between fashion designs from around the world. I.T. Beijing Market will bring in foreign fashion designers’ work and introduce it to China.

Rei Kawakubo at I.T. Beijing Market's opening party. Images courtesy of Vogue.com

I am surprised by how fast the Chinese fashion industry is growing. Five years ago, the luxury brands were limited to just a handful of mysterious stores hiding in very expensive hotels and a high-end  building called “The China World Trade Center”. Now, you can see luxury stores in all of China's major shopping areas. Two years ago, Comme des Garçons was a name known only by young people who were interested in Japanese street or pop culture. Now, the brand has a four-floor store in Beijing’s most important fashion center. Furthermore, three years ago, the Chinese design aesthetic consisted of boring Qipao collars and traditional prints (just like the Louis Vuitton SS11, which is clearly inspired by Chinese costumes but not welcomed by the Chinese people). Today, with more and more young Chinese designers attending Central Saint Martins and, after graduating, returning to China, the Chinese aesthetic is becoming increasingly modern, combining world trends with more traditional Chinese designs. 

So, to all the fashionistas out there, welcome to China! I hope you feel at home. --Yoanna Liu

A Glimpse at I.T. Beijing's Brand List:

Alaia, Alexander McQueen, Ann Demeulemeester, Commuun, Dior Homme, Gareth Pugh, Hussein Chalayan, Kitsune, Maison Martin Margiela, MM6, Peachoo+Krejberg, Raf Simons, Rick Owens, Thom Browne, Undercover, Visvim, Yves Saint Laurent, Comme des Garçons, Celine, Chloé, Givenchy, Jil Sander, Marc Jacobs