JUICE, a store we’ve covered before here and here has recently moved to a new location in Causeway Bay. The shop is the retail arm of Edison Chen’s CLOT brand, and is a Mecca for streetwear lovers due to its exclusive, limited-edition merchandise.

The store opening also coincided with CLOT’s six-year anniversary, which drew a a large amount of fashion industry insiders and press.

Though Hong Kong is already well known for fashion, CLOT helped put the city on the map for high-end streetwear. Over the years, CLOT has launched their own signature line along with a truly impressive number of collaborations. In addition to familiar names such as Nike, Levis, and Reebok, they have worked with a who’s who of sought after Japanese labels. Their latest collection continues in this vein with iconic partners including Stussy and Disney!

Which famous names in street fashion turned up for the opening?

In order to celebrate the occasion, there was a traditional lion dance performance held in front of the new ground-floor location. Major fashion figures and celebrities participated in the ceremony.

from left: Edison, Andre, Gildas, and Hiroshi Fujiwara

In addition to CLOT front-men Edison Chen and Kevin Poon, I also spotted Hiroshi Fujiwara, Kazuki Kuraishi, Andre (the French graffiti artist,) Gildas (from record label / lifestyle brand Kitsune,) and Nike’s Fraser Cooke in attendance.

I shot a short video of the scene as the ceremony took place. On one hand I wanted to capture the celebrities assembled, on the other hand, the lion dance was really out of the ordinary, so I had a tough time deciding what to focus on! The result is a somewhat schizophrenic video. Note the height of the lion dancer on the pole – it’s rare to see the lions climb that high in Hong Kong.

The new Juice store

The new Juice is just one block away from the previous store. The main difference here is that the new address is a ground-floor location with lots of windows facing the street. The previous shop was on the second floor of a mostly residential building and the security guard was always lazy to let people in!

The new shop makes good sense from a foot-traffic perspective. It’s situated directly across from the large, multi-brand i.t store, which does a steady amount of business with nearly the same demographic.

The interior of the new shop reminds me of the original design of JUICE, which contained lots of wood. It’s warmer, and less slick than the previous iteration.

Kevin Poon from CLOT (at center in white) at the opening

Congratulations to the CLOT / JUICE gang. Wishing you continued success in the new year!

Juice
Shop A, G/F, 9-11 Cleveland Street, Fashion Walk
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

a few days before the new JUICE store opened…

Hong Kong’s bad-boy jewelry brand, Rock Candy, relocated from Soho to shopping haven Causeway Bay last week. The new store is just one floor below the well-known boutique Juice, on Paterson Street.

What makes this change of venue such a smart move?

Rock Candy’s first branch was on Elgin Street near Hollywood Road in Soho. Although it was a well designed store with a cool location, the Soho neighborhood isn’t a shopping destination for stylish young consumers – the brand’s target audience.

Affluent young shoppers looking for something upscale with a little attitude would likely head to Causeway Bay.

Juice’s new neighbor…
Being located one floor down from Juice, has its advantages. The two stores may in fact develop a symbiotic relationship. Juice is already a destination shop for its limited edition CLOT merchandise and exclusive collaborations. Because both Rock Candy and Juice offer elite local brands, shoppers who desire something high-end, yet only available in Hong Kong are now more likely to make a pilgrimage to the building.

The two are not in direct competition. Though Rock Candy has dabbled in clothing, their main focus is on diamond jewelry. Juice, on the other hand is strong with clothing, shoes, and accessories.

The two can actually help draw traffic for one another. Shoppers that go to one store are now likely to visit both. For shoppers with little time on their hands, the fact that they can now catch two interesting local stores at one spot makes this a more attractive destination.

The new Rock Candy store

The store itself boasts a contemporary design, with raw interiors offset by sharp modern touches.

The support columns are naked cement, while the cabinets are gleaming glass boxes.

Lest we forget the brand’s music-themed merchandise and motifs, an entire wall of the shop is made up of real speakers!

Rock Candy store
1/F, Hyde Park Mansion
53 Paterson Street
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s CLOT crew often take a creative approach to generating buzz for their high-end street wear. Over the years they have proven masterful at fermenting interest in their brand by playing with the perceived value of limited edition items.

The Juice Secret Box Store, which launched last week and will close after February 4th, is the latest incarnation of this formula.

Stopping by on a recent afternoon, the fully enclosed shop is located in a small, cordoned-off area of LCX in Causeway Bay. At the time of my visit there was a line of people waiting to get in.

A method of standing out and driving traffic
The project is a smart move for LCX, which still hasn’t defined itself as a destination in shop-saturated Causeway Bay.

The Juice Secret Box store, stocked with rare items, is a good way to differentiate LCX and provide an increase in foot-traffic. Even if just temporary, the Juice Secret Box store adds something to their mix that shoppers can’t find anywhere else in the city.

Feeling lucky?
If a pop-up shop packed with exclusive merchandise still isn’t enough, there’s also a smart little Hong Kong twist to the equation that adds extra excitement. It arrives in the form of the Secret Box lucky draw.

The lucky draw is a Hong Kong favorite and a staple attraction that can be found at nearly every type of function in the city. (Hong Kong loves a good old-fashioned something-for-nothing give-away.)

In a traditional lucky draw, when consumers purchase something, they qualify for a chance to win a prize. (Lucky draws by the way, are also an excellent way of grabbing contact information from consumers.) After a certain time period, a winner is chosen randomly and a prize is handed out. However, this special Secret Box Lucky Draw allows shoppers to purchase the box blindly, and gives them the opportunity to receive surprise items inside.

A giant secret box?
The store itself has an air of mystery. The four walls around it are covered floor-to-ceiling in a graphic that makes it resemble a giant cardboard box. Shoppers are let in, only a handful at a time, and exit from the opposite side of the structure.

Juice Secret Box Store
LCX – Causeway Bay
1/F, 9 Kingston Street
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Thursday I ran into six different friends who each asked me the same question: “Are you going to the Adidas party tonight?”

With that level of interest, I made plans to arrive unfashionably early. What made the Adidas 60th anniversary such a major happening?

To be honest, the root of the occasion, the anniversary, wasn’t the main draw. The average person has no clue how old Adidas is, nor do they actually care. But birthdays provide a great excuse for a celebration, and if handled correctly, a major anniversary can provide an excellent marketing opportunity.

A combination of factors lead to the surge of interest in the Adidas event. First of all, there hasn’t been a big blow-out party in a long, long time. (And given the current economic climate, there may be fewer mega-events this year.)

To generate the biggest buzz, Adidas smartly combined forces for their anniversary. They hired the right PR companies as well as enlisted friends and associates to collaborate on the night.

Hong Kong based fashion and entertainment company CLOT was one of the major organizers of the bash. This was their first big party since the massive Coach launch last year. Several of their past events have been my pick for party of the year, so many people had high expectations.

Adidas also included Hong Kong retailer D-mop in their alliance. D-mop has both an extensive network and a cool crowd at their disposal. The retailer hosted a special J-01 branded VIP room at the party. Combining guests from CLOT, D-mop, Occasions and Alive Not Dead made for a diverse and substantial turnout.

The location of the event also contributed to the anticipation. The venue was an industrial building in Wong Chuk Hang, a sort of a barren area between residential neighborhoods on the South West side of the island. Attending a party in a non-traditional, multi-level setting adds a sense of adventure to the night. I’ve been to the same location before for a Hennessey Artistry event. With a little creativity and vision, it’s possible to convert the large, empty factory into a special branded world, which is exactly what Adidas did!

Adidas – marketing ninjas?

The “Adidas 60th anniversary house party” was a masterful experiment in creating covert brand awareness. The exterior of the venue featured giant Adidas logos projected onto neighboring buildings and an Adidas branded ice-cream truck was parked out front giving away free ice-cream!

The interior of the space was a sea of props including various logos, an Adidas scooter, and a tennis room.

People in the industry have caught on. Filling an event with logo-bearing props does magic that you couldn’t possibly pay for. There were photo opportunities galore, and instead of having to push people to take photos in front of various logo settings, the guests were doing it on their own!

The end result of this strategy is that Facebook is now awash in Adidas imagery that gets broadcast throughout people’s social networks around the world. Adidas isn’t paying to put an ad on the page, it’s getting something far better – a near personal endorsement, as it is placed there by the individual. The branding effects of the party linger far after the free alcohol wears off! Advertising campaigns just don’t get much more effective than that!

The Party
Sure enough, arriving a little before nine, there was already a line of people waiting to get in. After taking a few photos, I headed inside.

The venue, which consisted of two floors and an enormous rooftop space was accessible by taking an Adidas-painted freight elevator up several stories.

When the doors to the industrial elevator opened, they revealed an Adidas-themed playground. There were sneakers, lollipops, tables, chairs, balloons, and even bathrooms emblazoned with the classic Adidas logo.

Down a set of spiral staircases on either side was the main stage where the fashion show would take place. The set-up here was different from what I’ve seen before. Ringed by the runway was a large faux swimming pool filled with plastic balls colored in Adidas hues.

The d.j. booth at the center was built to resemble an Adidas shoe box!

In one corner there was a bathtub filled with bottles of beer. On the other side was the J-01 VIP area with a separate bar and bathrooms. (The bathrooms here were unisex, which made it democratic, but a much longer wait for the guys than usual!)

The first act to come on for the night was 24 Herbs, followed by a cake cutting ceremony with Hsu Chi, Jan Lamb and Stan Smith (yes, the guy who the sneaker is named after!)

The party-goers snapped away!

The fashion show took place next with the models dancing around the pool, and finally jumping inside.

There was a larger than normal amount of press taking up the space directly in front of the stage.

After the fashion show, Steve Aoki came on and slowly all the security barriers came down. People began to play in the bubble pool and gather around the d.j. booth.

I’ve never seen people crowd around the d.j. as much as they did for Steve Aoki. The models and guests showed their support and Steve Aoki obliged by pumping up the audience with some bopping and hands thrown in the air.

Two stories above the main stage, the rooftop was a whole universe unto itself. Different tribes of Hong Kong’s nightlife took up spots in opposite corners of the enormous space. The whole area was packed.

I spent my time (as I usually do,) walking through the crowd, checking out the scene and running into friends. Massive events bring out people you haven’t seen in a while, and I was curious who I would bump into. The rooftop had a second d.j. booth set up and featured several d.j.s including Gilbert Yeung from Dragon-i. (Gilbert’s a well known Adidas aficionado!)

Alcohol was flowing everywhere, with people walking around holding bottles of vodka towards the end of the night. The mood was great and the crowd was buzzing with energy (and perhaps Redbull!) The multiple bars were crowded, but never too long a wait to grab a drink.

Towards the end of the event, I took one of the last elevators down from the middle floor of the party space. The rooftop was closed and the bottom level was being dismantled as I left.

The unique spectacle of the converted factory, combined with the huge turnout made the Adidas anniversary another legendary mega-party.

Aside from throwing some of my favorite parties around town, the CLOT crew have a very successful clothing store called JUICE in Causeway Bay. It’s here that they sell top designers from all over the world as well as showcase their own CLOT clothing line which has been a big hit on the international street wear scene. Most of the clothing they carry at JUICE is extremely limited edition and represents a who’s who of contemporary street fashion.

In order to make room for all the new gear they’re going to be debuting in 2009, the gang is holding a major sale to free up some space.

The sale actually began on Friday, but it will be going on until 10pm on Monday night. The sale venue is not at Juice, but at another nearby location in Causeway Bay. See the map below!

JUICE Garage Sale
It’s not at the Juice store
From Friday, December 12th, until Monday, December 15th
12 noon until 10:00 pm
3/F, 487-489 Lockhart Road
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Dear readers, thank you for all of your support over the past year! You might be wondering what’s happened to the look of the site. I assure you that this is a temporary change. Hong Kong Hustle is getting ready to launch a new interface in the new year (if I can figure out exactly how to make it work!) so please be patient. I will continue to update the site while working behind the scenes on the interface.

Thanks again for all of your emails and comments. I apologize that I simply don’t have enough time to respond to each and every one. It’s not because I don’t want to help, it’s because I’m often busy attending events, writing up posts and editing photos! I believe some of the new features of the site will help provide you with the additional information you’ve been requesting.

But what’s the significance of the shoes in the photo above?

Something I’ve seen in Hong Kong, but nowhere else in the world? Old people wearing street wear brands!

You think Run-D.M.C. is old-school? They ain’t got nothing on this guy! I’m walking down the street a few days ago and in front of me, an old man in his 80′s is wearing a cool new pair of Christmas-colored Adidas!

This is not an isolated incident. Over the years I’ve had tens of sightings like this one. They are often hard to document since you need to have a camera handy, and you must be willing to sneak a photograph of a stranger in a couple of seconds.

I always wonder what’s the story behind this choice of attire? Did someone buy it for them to be “trendy”? Did they buy a fake somewhere and are clueless about the brand? Do their children own a shop, or work for the company? Is their granddaughter a stylist?

I’m not alone in my appreciation of these incidents. Pavlos from CLOT documented a similar case several months back involving A Bathing Ape. (He even pulled off a photo in an elevator, now that’s some 007 type of stuff!) If I was a little more ambitious, I’d set up a special gallery where people could submit similar photos…

Looking forward to sharing more observations about life in Hong Kong with you in 2008! Wishing you all the very best during this holiday season.

Last week I stopped by the opening of the new DevilCLOT store in Soho. It’s a temporary boutique, only open for a month and a half, until the end of December. (For more background info, please see my previous post here.)

Endo from Devilock was in the house, along with Edison from CLOT, and Madsaki (pictured above from left to right).

Earlier in the day I had passed by and watched through the window as they applied the finishing touches.

The concept of the shop was to create a space utilizing local, well known materials. Madsaki, one of CLOT’s frequent design collaborators conceptualized the interior.

I understood the concept as soon as I walked in. The large empty metal cans of cooking oil, the long fluorescent light bulbs, and other miscellaneous items are all debris that you might find in an alleyway, cast off to the side. Neon lights designed by Madsaki bathed the shop up in a familiar Hong Kong glow.

For me the place had an instant charm to it. The clothes are displayed hanging from bamboo scaffolding, which can be seen throughout the city on buildings being constructed or undergoing renovation.

Music for the event was provided by DJ Tommy.

One notable feature of the space is the large bar that was well stocked with Hennessy, who is one of the partners in the shop. Pavlos from CLOT, who helped construct the place, pointed out to me that the bar was built of multiple layers of cardboard! The over-flow crowd who filled the shop included music and film stars as well as fashion heads.

A few days after the opening I already began to see signs of the shop’s success. Walking past at around 4 am on Saturday and Sunday morning, I saw a line of trendily dressed youths slumped against the escalator, waiting for the store to open the next day to purchase limited edition Devilclot items!

The address of DevilCLOT is: Shop A, Upper Ground Floor, No.30 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong. It’s located on the corner of Shelley Street and Hollywood Road.

DevilCLOT is a collaboration between the Japanese brand Devilock and Hong Kong’s CLOT label. The shop is actually a temporary store that opens on November 15th and closes for good at the end of December. How much more exclusive can you get? Limited edition clothing for sale in a shop with a time limit!

Temporary high-end retail seems to be in vogue. French hybrid brand Kitsune recently opened a temporary boutique in Milan. There’s also been a touring shop that travels around the world selling exclusive streetwear.

The location of DevilCLOT is interesting. It’s at the very start of Hong Kong’s Soho neighborhood. (Soho in this case stands for ‘South of Hollywood’.) It’s actually on the main passage way into the area, being located both next to the escalator and on the corner of Hollywood Road. The Soho neighborhood has excellent foot traffic due to its abundance of foreign-food restaurants. Though there are a handful of clothing stores in Soho, there are no other street wear labels nearby. The building that it’s in has recently undergone a renovation. It’s been renamed from the original Al Aqmar House, to Shama Place (Shama being a hotel / serviced apartment conglomerate.)

Historically, the building didn’t do well for shops. Though certain floors can be seen from the escalator, which itself guarantees tens of thousands of eyeballs every day, getting people to get off and enter the building has seemingly been a challenge. Salons, wine stores and home furnishing shops have all open and closed. The entrance to the building is located on Shelley Street.

If you’re walking down Shelley Street, traditionally, the right side of the escalator doesn’t get the same foot traffic as the left side, simply three steps away. This is due to the fact that the right side is a much more narrow space. Recently this has begun to change due to the four newish restaurants on the right hand side.

It makes sense to have CLOT open a shop in the building for a limited time. It’s an excellent strategy to drum up foot traffic and have people get used to entering the space. The building is guaranteed to get a certain amount of exposure once the shop opens due to the long lines that form for people interested in purchasing limited edition items.

If you’re a real estate developer sitting on a similar property, placing a temporary shop for an exclusive brand is a brilliant strategy. Essentially it adds value to the space. It’s similar to the provenance of a painting.

Hong Kong underground music fans might remember the building as the former site of Amnesia, a small club which hosted occasional Drum N Bass parties and a few cool band shows, the most infamous being Japan’s Electric Eel Shock.

DevilCLOT is the second CLOT shop, the first being JUICE in Causeway Bay. That store has hosted a handful of interesting events and has become an important destination on Hong Kong’s street fashion scene.

The address of DevilClot is: Shop A, Upper Ground Floor, No.30 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong. It’s located on the corner of Shelley Street and Hollywood Road.

Previous CLOT anniversary parties have been my pick for best party of the year, so I attended Friday’s event with great anticipation. A combination of factors make their events consistently excellent: the venues they choose are always interesting; the crowd is a diverse mixture (though heavy on the entertainment side;) the music is provided by top international d.j.s.; and the champagne is plentiful. As far as parties go, their formula is a good one!

This year the CLOT anniversary was held in tandem with the tenth anniversary of the APAX GROUP, one of the premier event production companies in Hong Kong and China. I’ve worked with Apax on several major events in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong and they’re extremely professional.

The venue for the night was the same former warehouse space as the Stella McCartney party I attended a month ago. Located in Aberdeen, it’s a two-level venue occupying the sixteenth floor and rooftop of an industrial building. Each level is further divided into two sections.

Although having a party on a rooftop or high floor with a great view is a big plus, any venue where guests need to take an elevator represents a potential bottleneck. The problem arises when guests all arrive at the same time, creating a traffic jam. I’ve witnessed this at other venues, and it also occurred here on Friday night. Thankfully, the crowd was orderly and the elevators were industrial-sized, which helped to speed up the process.

Arriving on the sixteenth floor, the party was just starting to fill up at around eleven. People in the know were there early. A quick walk around the sixteenth floor revealed two installations by sponsors: one by the watchmaker Jacob & Co. in the main room, and another by Adidas in the smaller room. A d.j. booth was also set up in one corner of the smaller room.

After a few minutes of checking out the layout, saying hi to friends, and grabbing my first drink, I decided to venture up to the rooftop. The roof was initially intended to be the V.I.P. area, restricted to pass holders and stickered guests, but after a few hours it opened up.

Three quarters of the rooftop were covered by a huge tent that resembled an airplane hangar. The rest of the uncovered portion of the roof was filled with benches and chaise lounges overlooking the Jumbo floating restaurant, a somewhat kitschy Hong Kong landmark. At the opposite end inside the tent was the main stage where Hong Kong’s d.j. Tommy was on the decks.

It wasn’t crowded when I entered, but I knew it was only a matter of time before it would get filled. Sure enough after a quick thirty minutes the place was thickly packed.

One interesting novelty – there were several mechanical crane machines set up that offered players the chance to win prizes. The prizes were no joke! They included limited edition CLOT gear in addition to Black Berrys, Adidas sneakers, Jacob & Co. watches and other high-end goodies.

By the time guest d.j. of the night Just Blaze got on the turntables, the place was jumping. Just Blaze blasted through several of the party-rocking classics he’s produced and topped it off with a heavy dose of scratching. People were dancing from one end of the roof to the other.

Check out the videos of Just Blaze on the wheels and cutting it up!

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The crowd was packed with movie stars, singers, models, TV personalities, clothing industry people and scenesters. Nearly all the members of the CLOT crew were in attendance including Edison who just got back into town after traveling to promote his new album – ALLOW ME TO RE-INTRODUCE MYSELF. His first Mandarin-language album in years, it’s in the number one position on charts in both China and Taiwan. Last year I heard several of the tracks and they were all peak-time party cuts! Just Blaze played the track from the album that he produced while he was djing. The fact that Edison has enlisted prime international talent to produce his album aimed at the China market is extremely significant.

Just when it seemed like things in the tent couldn’t get any hotter, suddenly a huge downpour began, the rain driving everyone from the uncovered part of the rooftop into the tent. Small streams of rain were soon dripping down.

Do you know what happens to a tent in the rain? Pockets of water collect at certain points forming massive puddles, in effect ruining the structural integrity of the tent. This eventually will cause it to burst! In a quick move, some staffers began to poke holes at key points in the tent, allowing it to drain. However, the rain began to threaten the area of the d.j. booth! Just Blaze got on the mic and helped move the crowd downstairs to continue the party. Everyone was still having fun, including the Hong Kong police who stopped by. Check out the video of Just Blaze making the announcement as Poon from CLOT looks on!

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The party continued downstairs with most guests packing into the smaller room on the sixteenth floor.

Just Blaze and Poon from CLOT pose together at the height of the party, right before the rain storm!

Although there were no beer bongs this year, no one taken away in a straight-jacket, and no celebrity car crash outside the venue, the party did include things getting broken, crazy waterfalls in the tent, and of course the Hong Kong police! Another wild anniversary night, fully enjoyed, but only partially remembered by those who attended (and drank too much champagne!)

Featured on the front panel of the cover are a diverse group of heavy-hitters from Hong Kong’s entertainment industry. Shown are CLOT founder Edison Chen (center,) in addition to Hsu Chi, Cherrie Ying, Miriam Yeung, film director Andrew Lau (seated,) Anthony Wong, Eason Chan, and Josie Ho.

The second and third panels contain twenty members of the CLOT family including Sam Lee, Amanda S, DJ Tommy, M.C. Yan, Poon, Hanjin, Pavlos, Chef, Billy, Tony, Ken, Mike and a whole gang more.

To see the full tri-panel cover photo, please click here.

In addition to brief interviews with crew members, the magazine highlights CLOT’s over thirty(!) high-profile collaborations. Partners have included brands such as Nike, Levi’s, BAPE, Revolver, Neighborhood, Be@rbrick, Devilock, EA, Bandai, and celebrities such as Kanye West, and Maggie Q.

Sorry, but do you guys ever take a vacation?

To check out EAST TOUCH go here.