The rumours are true: Lane Crawford has announced a collaboration with J. Crew that marks the American company's introduction into retail spaces outside the US.
'Our greatest hope is that we will resonate with the customers in Hong Kong and China,' says J. Crew Group's president and executive creative director Jenna Lyons. 'We would like to establish a personal relationship with our customers.'
Hong Kong fashion has been dominated by cheap market stall fashions and luxury Western labels for too long. So it's good to see the large void finally being filled as contemporary brands such as COS, Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap and J. Crew hit the city.
Fashion buyers in big retailers are also becoming more experimental. See Lane Crawford's Lab Concept store taking on Helmut Lang's diffusion line.
Founded in 1983, J. Crew has become one of those ubiquitous one-stop stores for apparel in the US, counting first lady Michelle Obama as a fan.
'We are offering customers everything from casual designs to high-end evening pieces,' says Lyons. 'We work with the best mills and fabric houses. People do not realise the level of detail we pour into our designs.'