My favourite editor Carine Roitfeld famously once said ‘With French women you first see the woman and then you see the clothes. Imagine countries like Russia or China, even Eastern Europe. They don’t have the culture of clothes so they want to show that they can afford to buy a Dolce & Gabbana bag, they want to show labels. In France you cannot see what labels we are wearing. It is very snobby.’
Although being Chinese (born in HK and raised internationally), I have to agree with this a little. On my many holiday trips to HK I see people queuing for hours outside expense designer stores to buy handbags, watches, shoes and jewellery. I, myself have to queue up with them so that I can actually touch and feel and lust over the latest designer creations of my beloved designers that I have seen from the fashion shows via the internet.
I think at a point in time HK use to have the most Mercedes ownership per headcount but seriously I think they should get the most Hermes bags per headcount….. Come on, a Hermes Kelly or Birkin bag would set you back at least USD10,000. Considering the average Honkie earns USD2,000 a month, how is this even possible? Oh sorry, I forgot the fake imitations that is easier accessible from China or that you can buy second hand bags from Milan Station and use for 3 months and then sell back to them for 30% less.
My Honkie hairdresser (who charged USD130 a haircut) once told me he owned about 10 Rolex watches (which I had learnt later they were fake). He told me it gave him a sense of prestige but I think it is so that he can make people think he has made it in the world. My best friend in HK would use her entire salary to buy a LV bag and then survive on nothing for the rest of the month.
If you ever go been to HK you will understand that the society is all based on your place in society, class and how rich you are. You are better treated if you are considered rich and can afford exorbitantly expensive luxury items. As much as I would hate to admit, the majority of Honkies all own a LV bag not because they love it but because they want to fit in with the rest of the society.
This really defeats my love for designer luxuries…. I love an item for its design, for its smell and for its touch and most importantly for the happiness it gives me. I love the workmanship of my 1940s Hermes Kelly and the history it carries, the design of my five inch Christian Louboutin pigalles as it elongates my legs and the exquisite details of any Valentino masterpiece.
Today, I love that I went to work wearing a wafer thin black cashmere Rick Owens top matched with a pair of Stella McCartney well tailored pants and my newly purchased humongously big bowed LV shoes from the ‘God created women’ 2010 Autumn collection because only I would know how good it feels on the inside. So Carine, as much as I love you there are a minority of Chinese people out there that are just as snobby as the French.
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