Lane Crawford Celebrates 170th Anniversary With Seven Exclusives
SHANGHAI — Hong Kong’s prestige department store Lane Crawford turns 170 this month and is marking the occasion with seven exclusive collaborations, ranging from Thom Browne, Gabriela Hearst, Sacai, René Caovilla, Knoll, Fornasetti and Baccarat.
Over the years, the retailer has been pivotal in cultivating an appetite for luxury fashion not just in the former British colony but across Asia. Since its founding in 1850, it’s since expanded from its Hong Kong headquarters to include stores in Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu, an online site and a WeChat store.
“What matters most to Lane Crawford in 2020 is the same thing that mattered to Lane Crawford in 1850,” said Andrew Keith, president of Lane Crawford. “Being able to source exceptional products and provide amazing experiences and service to our customers. We want to ensure that we continue to use our creative power to do that.”
To celebrate the anniversary, designer Thom Browne reworked 17 suits from his personal archive. The unisex pieces are all handmade in his Long Island, New York tailoring facility and have been customized with patches of 20th-century American teams’ sports, hand-distressing, and his trademark grosgrain ribbons.
Similarly, Gabriela Hearst created a “retrofit” collection, which consists of 18 archival styles that have been reinterpreted with upcycled materials including cashmere and leather, employing tie-dye and hand embroidery, and updated silhouettes. The capsule includes skirts, dresses, blazers, trousers, knits and puffers — one bearing the badge of the famous Hearst family estate San Simeon. Hearst will also stage the global launch of five new handbags via a pop-up at Lane Crawford IFC mall at the end of the month.
The department store also enlisted Sacai designer Chitose Abe with ceramic artist Li Lihong. Li is known for combining traditional blue and white painted china techniques with sculptural pieces of iconic consumer products and brands including Mickey Mouse ears and the McDonald’s logo. Together, they have created 20 sets of Coca-Cola bottle sculptures painted with Sacai’s latest prints, held in a classic buddy bottle holder made of Perspex and emblazoned with the Sacai logo. Five signed, limited-edition sets are available in Hong Kong.
Smaller collaborations with shoemaker René Caovilla and homeware brands Knoll, Fornasetti and Baccarat will also debut.
In-store, customers will be able to experience and star-in a virtual reality-enhanced installation, beginning Oct. 8. “A 3-D world built from archival Lane Crawford imagery, featuring beautifully choreographed dancers moving through time, has been created by renowned digital artist Justin Ridler, working with CGI and particle animation,” said Lane Crawford. “The film is viewed with VR headsets along with a special postcard exhibition of 17 historic moments from Lane Crawford’s storied history, in a time-tunnel installation.”
However, for those that can’t visit in person, the company is also releasing a Spotify playlist. The tracks, which are selected by a host of fashion and design figures — Andre Fu, Angel Chen, Anya Hindmarch, Barnaba Fornasetti, Christian Louboutin, Feng Chen Wang, Gabriela Hearst, Gaia Repossi, Nicholas Kirkwood, Jack Mccollough and Lazaro Hernandez — will be available for streaming starting on Oct. 20.
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