Mochi Studios: Uber Cute Alert!

[Flickr/Ritapizza]

In honor of Black Friday – AKA national shopping day for crazy Americans who enjoy camping out in front of stores after eating their turkey dinners - I’m writing a five-part series dedicated to the cute stuff made by Asian/Asian American crafters that would make awesome gifts.

To kick off this series, this post is dedicated to my dear friend, Rita of Mochi Studios. I don’t know how she does it, but she comes up with the cutest plush (not to mention, green) toys. Case in point: check out the eco-friendly felt rice babies (e.g., they’re made from recycled post-consumer plastic bottles). If you’re still not convinced, then I dare you to not say awe at these cutie patuties…

So where can I get my own ninja bean, shroom and pea pod you ask? Check out the Mochi Studio Etsy Store. You can also meet Rita when she makes her craft show debut next month:

Bazaar Bizarre Holiday Craft Show
Sat., 12/12 to Sun., 12/13, from 12 to 6 p.m. daily
San Francisco County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park

Renegade Holiday Craft Show
Sat., 12/19 to Sun., 12/20, from 11 to 7 p.m. daily
Fort Mason Center Herbst Pavilion

Filed under: Crafts, Retail, Asian-American, Craft Fairs, Crafts, Designer, Event, Plush Toys, Retail, San Francisco Bay Area, Toys

YesStyle Opens San Francisco Store

It’s not Uniqlo, but it’s start. Earlier this week, PSK gave me the heads up that YesStyle.com – the fashion/beauty/accessories spin off to YesAsia.com – is launching it’s first brick and motor store in San Francisco’s Stonestown Galleria today at 2:00 p.m. PT. If you’re in the area and are free – you should check it out and pick up some free gifts:

The first 10 customers who make a purchase on opening day will receive a free Momoko Doll valued at $139*. The following 100 customers who make purchases receive a free Green Banana Beanie (value $25).

As an FYI to everyone who’s not familiar with YesStyle.com, it’s an online store where you can buy FOB style clothes (e.g., the latest styles and fashion trends in Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan). I’ve never shopped on the site, but I have friends that love the site.

Filed under: Beauty, Breaking News, Fashion, Retail, Asian, Beauty, China, Designer, Fashion, Retail, San Francisco Bay Area, YesStyle

Asian America’s Rising Stars in Fashion

Desfiles Alexander Wang, originally uploaded by ladylikeliving.

I just read an interesting article in The Wall Street Journal today by Ray Smith about the rise of Asian American designers in the U.S. fashion world. Names like Alexander Wang, Jason Wu, Philip Lim, Doo-Ri Chung and Derek Lam are rising among the ranks and their rising fast.

What I appreciate the most is that these designers do not rely on their heritage for inspiration. There are no East-meets-West themes where everything looks like a funky kimono or qipao. Instead they are making modern clothes that have universal appeal. Here’s my favorite part of the story:

Today’s Asian-American designers don’t wear their “otherness” on their sleeves as did the wave of Japanese designers like Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto, who took the fashion world by storm in the ’80s with avant-garde designs. Many young Asian-American designers’ clothes, such as Jason Wu’s blend of modernity with the intricacy of couture and Phillip Lim’s modern takes on classic looks, are generally aimed at a broad mainstream audience.

Do you have a favorite Asian American designer?

Filed under: Fashion, Alexander Wang, Asian-American, Derek Lam, Designer, Doo-Ri Chung, Fashion, Fashion Week, Jason Wu, Philip Lim

Jolin Tsai’s San Francisco Fashion Debut

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to see Jolin Tsai in person when she made her first SF appearance as part of her press tour for her new fashion line, Seventy Two Changes (see previous post here). So how close did I get? Well, that photo you see above this paragraph was taken by yours truly with my iPhone. All I have to say is that she’s is T-I-N-Y (in weight and height).

Now don’t get the wrong idea, I wasn’t invited to the event as a “fashion blogger” (Ha! I wish). I just happened to be at the right place, at the right time. My good friend @TommyKTse got the invite on Facebook about the event at 5:00 p.m. on July 21, 2009 that Jolin would be at Nordstrom at 6:00 p.m. – since we happened to be in the neighborhood, we decided to head over to the mall and check it out. The actual meet-n-greet took place in a special room on the top floor of Nordstrom. Us non-VIPs had to wait in line for wrist bands in order to go upstairs, while the press and movers/shakers went directly through the express lane. Fortunately for us, we got into the line as it was forming so the wait wasn’t too bad – we made it into the second group that was allowed upstairs.

To sum up the event, there were two models (see photo below) on a platform wearing the new line and a bunch of people mingling. After about maybe 5-10 minutes, Jolin made an appearance to pose for photos by herself against a logo backdrop (e.g., typical red carpet pose). She also made a quick speech (see video below) and left as quickly as she came. I suspect that this “appearance” repeated itself multiple times for each group of fans that were allowed upstairs. Although SF Chronicle’s Carolyne Zinko, who was probably at the event longer than I was, says that she only made one appearance.

As for the fashion line, I must say that I was a little disappointed by the lack of variety. You see, the clothes on those two models pictured below pretty much sum up the whole line that was displayed at Nordstroms at the time. The items were trendy and took on a hipster street-wear feel, which may do well, but come on….two outfits?

Filed under: Fashion, Retail, 72 Changes, Asian, Designer, Fashion, Jolin Tsai, Retail, Seventy Two Changes, Taiwan

Jolin Tsai Partners with L.A.M.B. to Launch “Twenty Seven Changes”

Looks like Jolin Tsai is following Gwen Stefani‘s paved path into the fashion world. Taiwan’s reigning queen of pop launched her very own own fashion line, “Seventy Two Changes,” through a partnership with L.A.M.B. Clothing (i.e. Gwen Stefani’s label). Like her American counterpart, Jolin has named her line after her 2003 album, “See My 72 Changes – Magic.” The sportswear collection will feature both street and club wear (as if the market hasn’t had its fill of that) and will be hitting stores in seven cities worldwide including New York, Shanghai and New York. The announcement was made during New York Fashion Week on Monday (2/9) by Jolin and L.A.M.B. president and co-founder, Ken Erman.

Here’s a fuller description of the new line as reported by WWD:

A mix of club-appropriate and streetwise items such as a black T-shirt dress accented with bright blue and silver sequin details, structured tuxedo jackets and vests with beading details at the shoulders, lightweight wool plaid tops, leather leggings with zipper details at the ankles, silk chiffon printed tops and dresses, a taffeta motorcycle jacket and an asymmetrical bomber jacket.

Based on what I’ve read, it sounds like Jolin is not really the designer behind the brand (no surprise there), just the face of L.A.M.B.’s new global push into the Chinese speaking world. This line is based on Jolin’s style and image and will be priced lower than L.A.M.B. – so while it isn’t being positioned as a diffusion line, it certainly sounds like it is one. No doubt, building this brand in a depressed global economy is going to be tough, but it will be interesting to see if her fans will buy regardless or spend their money on a more reasonably priced copycat.

Filed under: Fashion, Asian, Designer, Fashion, Fashion Week, Jolin Tsai, L.A.M.B., New York