Hong Kong Calling

New York Design Diva Marcia Sherrill sends dispatches from her most recent travels.

Having been to Japan I thought I was prepared for the magic and mystery of this former British Isle but nothing could have prepared me for the inscrutable Orientalism of Hong Kong and China. And the best part? It seems as if there is one Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton store for every 200 people—they are ubiquitous in the city that sports giant skyscrapers like Atlanta does trees.

Every squre inch of this hilly atoll sports either a mall (and I mean mega-mall, like Lenox on steroids) or a hotel or a giant office building. In between lurk the tiny shops and market streets and warrens of restaurants, Chinese and Western, that feed these affluent hordes. The Peninsula Hotel is magnificent and tea there is de rigeur for the weary traveler but try to get off the beaten path of stores, stores, stores and head to the tiny local markets for silks and other yummy fabrics—and trust me, they can make you that Balmain Dress in Vogue in the three days that you will reside in Hong Kong.

It was all I could do not to launch The Marcia Sherrill Couture Collection right then and there. The main attraction is the city’s nightly light show that has all of the massive buildings lining the harbor lit up in a 4th-of-July style extravaganza that lasts a full 15 minutes. The Gateway Mall across from the Sheraton is not as super mod as the newly opened Elements Mall but it does house Japan’s IT shop, where all the natives shop and upstairs on the third floor is their incomparable outlet store with all the big European labels. Go native and buy scads of make-up from Japanese Cosmetics, FACES.

Seems as though the younger Hong Kong shoppers want all things Japanese, and why shouldn’t you at half the price of the European Brands we can get at Phipps!

—Marcia Sherrill

Add comment October 22nd, 2007