Shortly before midnight on Chinese New Year Eve, I found myself standing in the epicenter of the annual Lunar New Year Fair in Victoria Park.

Despite the cold, damp weather, the yearly celebration was unbelievably packed. The large scale event, which takes place over the days leading up to Chinese New Year, draws several hundred thousand people who inch their way through aisles browsing New Year related merchandise.

At one point, with many of the aisles at a complete standstill, people continued to converge from every side. As the crowd piled up around me, I wiggled my arm free and was able to shoot a quick (and shaky) 360 degree video to capture the insane sea of people.

Soon afterwords I changed course to a less crowded route and made my escape!

Cutest merchandise for sale?

The items for sale this year included the usual flowers, plants, and objects specially crafted for their New Year symbolism. As we have just entered year of the dragon, many of the items had a dragon theme.

In keeping with modern traditions, there was other merchandise for sale based on current events. I spotted super-sized cheques for $6000 HKD, relating to the Hong Kong government’s payment to permanent residents this year.

Other items that appeared new (or perhaps that had gone un-noticed previously,) were scratch-n-sniff orange and banana tree pinwheels made of paper, as well as plastic cherry blossom pin-wheels.

The cutest find? A colorful over-sized camera (that was actually a giant plush hand-warmer, made to resemble a Colorware Leica!)

I think last year’s giant bubble tea is still the reigning champion of cuteness!

A quick word of caution

Though the police monitor every part of the fair, the sheer number of people pouring in makes it un-weildly. The truth is that it’s an impossible event to fully control.

Small children, babies, people in wheel chairs, strollers, and the elderly, should not visit the market at peak times of the night. Even with all of the precautions, there is a degree of chaos that leaves those more vulnerable at risk.

Have a look back at previous Lunar New Year fairs: 2011, 2010, 2008, 2008, 2007, and 2006.

Fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 is opening their Hong Kong flagship store steps away from the busiest intersection in Causeway Bay. The shop will have six floors, and is located on a pedestrian path that couldn’t be better situated for capturing the neighborhood’s high foot-traffic.

The prime retail location is on the main route between two parts of Causeway Bay, the SOGO department store area, and the Times Square shopping mall side. As if that wasn’t enough, the Forever 21 store is also directly across from exit F of the Causeway Bay MTR station, which guarantees yet another steady flow of traffic throughout the day.

This will be the very first Forever 21 store in Hong Kong, so a high-profile location is warranted. However, it doesn’t come cheap! Forever 21 will be paying nearly $11 million Hong Kong dollars per month in rent.

In six months time you can expect this part of Causeway Bay to become teeming with even more shoppers (if that’s possible!). A short walk away is the new Hysan Place shopping complex that will add a massive amount of prime retail space to the neighborhood. The anchor tenants include a DFS flagship and Hong Kong’s second Apple store.

Forever 21 Hong Kong flagship store
5-19 Jardine’s Bazaar
Capitol Centre
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (directly outside of Causeway Bay MTR station exit F)

Friday night saw the opening of WOAW!, a very impressive pop-up store for fashionable eyewear, curated by Kevin Poon of CLOT. The shop is stocked with hard-to-find brands and is located on ‘Food Street’ in Causeway Bay’s Fashion Walk.

Fashion-conscious Hong Kong is obsessed with accessories that illustrate personal style, and perhaps nothing is more conspicuous than eyewear!

Eye glasses give off an immediate impression. Distinct, stylish eyewear (with or without lenses!) helps you stand out from the crowd and broadcasts personality.

Eyewear is also popular with collectors, as it takes up less space than shoes!

The massive selection of brands includes: Graz, Subcrew by Mikli, Garrett Leight, Karen Walker, Illesteva, Theirry Lasry, Colab, Benjamin Eyewear, Han Kjobenhavn, Andy Wolf, and Effector.

Highly recommended!

WOAW eyewear pop-up store
Shop C, G/F
Food Street, Fashion Walk
42-48 Paterson Street
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Reebok celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Reebok Pump with the release of sneakers designed by several exclusive boutiques from around the world.

In Hong Kong, Juice, the retail shop operated by the CLOT crew was selected to create their own signature sneaker. The result is what may be the best shoe out of the entire Reebok Pump 20th anniversary line.

The anniversary party, held at the medium-sized Juice shop in Causeway Bay, was a fun, invitation-only gathering of Hong Kong fashion folk, sneaker-heads and celebrities.

The entertainment for the night was provided by D.J. Miss Yellow and D.J. Be Careful (aka the actor Sam Lee.)

The store was fitted out with special displays showcasing the new models in addition to neon lights saluting the anniversary.

Arriving a little on the late side, Juice was packed with people socializing and rocking to the music.

The Juice / CLOT gang remain one of the few relevant style-makers in Hong Kong. They’ve now created special edition shoes with Nike, Adidas and Reebok!

Here’s a shot of the Juice Reebok Pump 20th anniversary sneakers in the wild!

Juice
Flat A, 2/F, 53 Paterson Street
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tuesday I was running errands related to the holidays. I headed up to Prince Edward and walked all the way down to Tsim Sha Tsui before heading back to Central. One thing I love about Hong Kong is the energy you feel just walking along the streets. Different neighborhoods have unique vibes. This sensation is amplified during the busy holiday season.

The photo above is taken on Sai Yeung Choi Street in Mongkok. On certain hours of the day the place is just buzzing with people. That’s Hong Kong to me. Every neighborhood has a point or points that personify it. It’s a combination of these places that make up the unique Hong Kong experience.

In our constant rush to get where we’re going, we pass by such places frequently, often taking them for granted. Over the holidays, take some time and think about which points of the city are the most “Hong Kong” to you. It could be crossing the street in front of Sogo in hectic Causeway Bay, or walking through Lan Kwai Fong on a busy Friday night, or something entirely different. Leave your choices in the comments to share them with other Hong Kong Hustle readers.

Wishing you all the very best this holiday season! (By the way, last year’s holiday message was pretty funny!)

In stark contrast to the majority of new shopping centers which seem to have an absence of local culture, the new Delay No More Mall located in Causeway Bay takes exactly the opposite approach. A quick look at the exterior of the retail space appears calculated to broadcast Hong Kong culture and style.

This departure from the norm is in line with the strategy of the G.O.D. brand who is the organizer of the new shopping center. G.O.D. currently operates several shops that retail a range of household products and clothing bearing signatures of life in the city. Everything from their pajamas emblazoned with old Hong Kong buildings, to their notorious play-on-word t-shirts, contain elements of the city’s colorful (and sometimes profane,) local traditions.

As you can see in the photos, there is a cinema-style marquee that wraps around the shopping arcade. It’s got the word ‘To-Day’ broken up, just as it is written in the old movie theaters around town. It’s a warm, localizing touch, which instantly differentiates it from the other new shopping spots around the city.

Design-wise, the Delay No Mall appears to be something fresh and exciting. Most of the newer mini-shopping centers look as if they were conceived by karaoke box designers. They come across as cold, uniform and calculated. Even the colors, lighting and small booths echo this karaoke-room formula.

The Delay No Mall, located at 68 Yee Wo Street, is slightly off the well-tread routes in Causeway Bay. Despite its proximity to high foot traffic neighbors, the site of the new shopping center was previously untapped as a retail locale. It’s situated on an odd patch that’s on the alternative, less crowded pathway between Sogo and Times Square, directly across from the Jia hotel on 1-5 Irving Street.

From what I’ve heard, it appears that they are also doing a good job attracting an interesting mix of exclusive tenants who are new to the Hong Kong market. In brand rich Causeway Bay, this is essential to attracting shoppers. If you have a variety of unique tenants, you give consumers a powerful incentive to depart from their normal routine and make your shopping center a new destination.

G.O.D. isn’t the only retail group expanding in Causeway Bay. LCX, a youth-oriented shopping arcade initially operating in Ocean Terminal just opened a new location at 9 Kingston Street across from D-mop. Fans of the large-scale $10 HK dollar shop that formerly occupied the prime retail space were sad to see it go!

I stopped by D-Mop‘s flagship store in Causeway Bay last week and stumbled upon an exhibition they have for the new Y-3 / Hacienda collaboration. For those who don’t know, the Hacienda was a groundbreaking club in Manchester, England that served as a melting pot and catalyst for music crucial to the eighties and nineties.

At one point in time it was considered the most famous club in the world and boasted legendary lines to get in. The Hacienda was partially financed by the group New Order, whose mixture of live instruments integrated with electronic sounds greatly influenced today’s music. As the exhibition notes, somewhat humorously, the Hacienda made history, but didn’t make money!

The large club was notable not just for its music, but also for its architecture and interior design. The venue, a former yacht showroom, was kept as a modified industrial space in stark contrast to other clubs in England at the time. One particular strength of the Hacienda was that it opened its doors to multiple genres of music, and played host to everyone from Madonna and Kurtis Blow, to The Smiths, The Stone Roses, New Order and Oasis. Over the years a legion of famous d.j.s passed through its doors.

The Hacienda / Y-3 collaboration was designed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the club, as well as the opening of the first Y-3 shop in the U.K. A special limited edition run of Y-3 sneakers has been created by the club’s designers and owners. The packaging comes with a documentary DVD and photographs. A unique box was made for the shoes in the shape of the Hacienda’s dance floor!

D-mop, 8 Kingston Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Just around the corner from Times Square shopping center in Causeway Bay is one of Hong Kong’s few indie music shops. If you’re interested in discovering something beyond what’s out there in the commercial music market, White Noise Records is the place to go. But beware – if you have diverse taste in music, White Noise is a dangerous place to browse! It’s almost guaranteed that you’ll find something cool and new.

The shop features a large selection of cds as well as a solid collection of off-beat music even on vinyl! On a recent trip l saw several must-have items including old Soul and Funk collections on 45, in addition to new issues of hard to find underground music magazines. White Noise is also a good place to acquire information about upcoming events in Hong Kong’s art and music scene.

For a peek inside the shop and advice on how to find the slightly hidden entrance, continue here.

Finding the shop!

Starting from in front of the Times Square cinema, cross the street towards the Circle K convenience store. Walk past the Circle K, and take a sharp right at the corner. Now you’re on Canal Road East. Start walking forward, (you’ll be going towards Hennessy Road) and keep looking up. Soon you will see the sign above your head for White Noise.

Take an abrupt right into the narrow stairwell where there may be a woman selling jewelry. Walk up the stairs, and you’ll begin to see lots of street art. After about two flights, you’ll see a door covered in fliers and stickers and you’ve arrived!

The exact street address for White Noise Records is 4 Canal Road East, Causeway Bay. For more info, and to check their recent stock, have a look at their website.

When I found out that A-list models, Gaile, Cara G., and Kristen were going to be in the fashion show, I had an idea that the opening was going to be big. That, plus the fact that they specifically requested Hong Kong’s most fashionable d.j.!

Arriving at the venue, the extent of the production was evident. Sole Town’s branding, a New York skyline theme, dominated the outside of the shopping center!

Inside, the shop was similarly decked out – even the make-shift d.j. booth was decorated with the Sole Town city-scape graphics. I was actually spinning from inside a semi-enclosed glass display – no wonder they asked me how tall I was!

Doors opened at seven. Despite the early start time, celebrities, socialites, party-people and shopaholics poured into the store. The fashion show began around eight. Here’s a short clip of Kristin and Gaile from the show.

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I couldn’t resist playing Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Were Made For Walkin’” and K.C. & the Sunshine Band’s “Boogie Shoes” after the fashion show ended. Typically you want to have something immediately catchy since people tend to leave right after the show. It worked! The music, paired with a special discount for the night did the trick.

Guests weren’t buying just one pair of shoes or a bag, they were buying two or three! This was one of the few occasions where the models from the show actually stayed afterwards to shop! The wait for the check-out register was literally over half an hour long. I just had to shoot a video of the line!

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Shoppers walked out loaded with tote bags featuring the store logo – an excellent way to maximize free advertising after the sale.

Guests stayed practically until the gates were coming down. Given the enthusiastic response and the extreme number of sales, I’d say the event was a runaway success!

“Crossovers,” as they are commonly referred to, are essentially double, or sometimes triple branded products. Crossovers are often written about in the abbreviated form: Somebrand x Somebrand, with an ‘x’ in the middle. At one point two years ago, you could barely turn a page in a local fashion magazine without seeing some sort of crossover being touted. In Hong Kong, even mainstream businesses such as McDonald’s got into the act, adapting the advertising technique for their own limited edition items.

From a marketing standpoint, collaborations like this make sense. Harnessing the power of combining multiple brands opens products up to a greater numbers of potential consumers. Fans of both brands may be interested in acquiring the hybrid product.

The best crossovers blend brands together elegantly, creating something cohesive yet fresh. When crossover fever began several years ago in Hong Kong, the market became quickly flooded with awkward collaborations that were poorly thought out and just didn’t work. At their worst, the items seemed almost grafted together with no apparent logic.

For a successful crossover there are two routes to take, you can either build a product that combines the essence or mystique of each brand in a natural way, or you can aim for the opposite end of the spectrum, a deliberate, high-contrast clash.

As one of the city’s top style innovators, D-mop was chosen by Nokia to tap into the stores’ reputation as a beacon of cutting-edge fashion. Crossovers typically employ a sort of trickle-down theory: a high-end version of a product given to the right people will raise the cool factor of normal products. By offering a limited edition phone with D-mop, Nokia hopes to create demand among trendy locals, thereby giving the N76 phone a cool rep.

To tell you the truth, I was too busy socializing to have a good look at the phone!

The music for the night was provided by two of Hong Kong’s top creatives, Calvin Ho (on the right,) and Vicky Lam. Calvin is a veteran Hong Kong graphic designer, and the man behind Atomic Attack. D-mop invited Calvin to create graphics for the Nokia collaboration. Vicky is a famous local fashion designer and was the originator of the Blues Heroes brand as well as R.C.B.