Line between galleries and malls blurs as art blossoms in Hong Kong

Imagine shopping at a boutique and after selecting the latest fashion pieces - a Stella McCartney dress, a Phillip Lim 3.1 sweater - you go to the cash register and also ring up a contemporary art piece that was hanging by the clothes.

This is possible at high-end fashion boutique Joyce. It recently sold artworks from the German artist duo Herakut that were on display at its Lee Gardens outlet.

Art and fashion have a long history of colliding, but they usually do so in the form of product collaborations - think Louis Vuitton bags that incorporated the psychedelic polka dots of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama in 2011.

But with contemporary art taking on a high profile in Hong Kong, upscale brands and retail malls are attracting shoppers with art pieces beyond a few visual merchandising windows. They are setting up exhibitions within stores or in mall atriums.

It's retail therapy with a side of art.

One of the Joyce customers, who bought a chair, drawing and customised Herakut plate, is a VIP-card holder. He mainly shops at Joyce in Tsim Sha Tsui but had heard about the exhibition and came to the Causeway Bay store to check it out.

Most fashion labels and malls don't expect to get a commission from selling the artworks, seeing them mainly as an effective marketing strategy.