christine gow professional introduction

Christine GOWB A F A S H I O N P R O M O T I O N A N D C O M M U N I C A T I O N , C E N T R A L S T M A R T I N S

+86 1872 133 [email protected]

11A, 281 Wulumuqi South Road Shanghai, China 200031

Christine Gow for Mary Ching ShanghaiFASHION PROMOTION

Coordinated opening of Mary Ching’s FLAGSHIP STORE in Shanghai’s prestigious French Concession and maintained merchandising standards weekly.

Conceptualized, coordinated and wrote all promotional material, in-cluding company BLOG, LOOK BOOKS and PRESS RELEASES; liaised with national and international press. Coordinated events in-cluding fashion SHOWS and promotional activities in conjunction with luxury properties and brands, including Swarovski and Bulgari.

P R E S SS A L E S

Managed stock, inventory and forecast sales. Responsible for national and in-ternational sales activities and regularly contacted buyers with product presenta-tions. COMPANY REVENUES have doubled since the beginning of 2010.

This page: MARY CHING’s flagship store; ‘Mary’s Chingdom’ in Footwear & Accessories Magazine; actress Zhang Ziyi wearing MARY CHING; MARY CHING with BULGARI fashion show, 2010; model Sun Fei Fei wearing MARY CHING as Shanghai Fashion Week’s Ambassador, 2010

This page: a post from the MARY CHING blog; MARY CHING in Harper’s Bazaar China Bag & Shoe Guide 2010; Gallerist Elizabeth de Brabant wearing MARY CHING in Harper’s Bazaar China 2010


P R E S S

‘THE ADULTEROUS EMPRESS’AUTUMN/WINTER 2011 COLLECTION

SEDUCTIVE ELEGANCE

(Shanghai, February 2010) “I’ve never been a slave to fashion, and MARY CHING is a reflection of my multi-cultural back-ground,” says Alison Yeung, founder of MARY CHING, China’s first luxury accessories brand. Half Chinese, half English, her trademark purple locks hang down the back of her cashmere leopard twin set and grey tights paired with grey suede A/W ’09 MARY CHING platform stilettos make her voluminous gold and silver silk skirt look modern.

In September 2009, VOGUE China called MARY CHING ‘the next big thing’, an accolade she is incredibly proud of. “The concept of luxury made in China is new. People do not associate China with high-end fashion and I saw this as a challenge. My mission is to change the world’s perception of Chinese crafts-manship.”

Alison obtained a BSc in Business management at King’s Uni-versity in London before completing a BA in Fashion Communi-cation and Promotion at Central St. Martins. A stint at a private equity firm specialising in the luxury fashion sector inspired her to start her own business and she founded MARY CHING in 2006. Alison moved her studio and boutique to its current loca-tion in Shanghai’s chic Ferguson Lane in April 2009. “The French concession has had a rich Euro-Chinese history, so it was the obvious choice,” she explains.

Four years in Shanghai has not dulled the edginess intrinsic to her St. Martin’s training, and her A/W 2010 collection features her signature platform stilettos in glamorous shades of chocolate, ruby, and emerald in water snake, patent leather, pony skin and lush jacquards and lace trimmed with mink. Matching day and evening bags, as well as a chic travel carryall for her jet-set clien-tele, completes the MARY CHING look. The range also includes a line of luxurious cashmere and leather slippers with laser-cut snakeskin appliqués for men and women.

“The ‘Adulterous Empress’ collection is inspired by Diaghilev’s production of ‘The Emperor and the Nightingale’ with Les Bal-lets Russes. The MARY CHING woman is a seductive temptress – elegant and graceful, someone who stands out in a crowd.”

One of China’s most successful crossover actresses, Zhang Ziyi, is a recent convert, and her celebrity clientele include gallerist Pearl Lam and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Elton John and David Furnish loved their custom-designed leather slippers so much that Alison launched a men’s slipper range at the end of 2008.

MARY CHING shoes and slippers can be found at Shanghai’s prestigious Younik Boutique at 18 on the Bund and Beijing’s UCCA Store. The cashmere and leather slippers are stocked at leading hotels throughout Asia and Margaret Dabbs in Lon-don. Alison is now poised to expand her presence in Europe and North America. “I’m proud to be a part of the new movement of Asian designers who intend to make an impact in fashion on a global scale.”

Opposite page: MARY CHING A/W 2011 Look Book, conceptualised and styled by Christine Gow, photographed by Bernard Starck. This page: MARY CHING featured in ELLE CHINA’s ‘New Individual-ists’; The Adulterous Em-press press release; MARY CHING featured in MANIC Magazine’s ‘Burned Out’, styled by Asanti Austin, photographed by Melissa Rodwell.


P R E S S

‘The Innocent Temptress’The Spring/Summer 2011 Collection

Dangeriously Romantic

(Shanghai, August 2010) MARY CHING’s fifth footwear collection fuses boudoir-inspired romanticism with exotic urban elements.

The MARY CHING ‘Innocent Temptress’ collection features delicate snakeskin in nude, pastel, and metallic shades, soft, faded denim and two-tone leopard. Topped with decadent feather details, the result is luxuriantly street wise. All shoes are finished with the signature MARY CHING purple sole and are produced in Shanghai with only the finest locally sourced materials.

Highlights of the collection include the Miss Mei, a leopard pony skin pump featuring strappy cut-out details and a saucy peep toe, is boldly defined with nude snakeskin piping that would delight the most discerning fashionista.

The Miss X-Ting is MARY CHING’s take on the marabou-trimmed boudoir slippers popularized by Hollywood starlets in the 1950s. The strappy nude snake stiletto with matching lace platform is topped with cascading ostrich plumes that make the wearer appear to float through the air.

“It’s the ultimate red carpet shoe,” says the brand’s founder, Alison Yeung. “I’m going to wear them with a barely-there bandage dress at the Hong Kong Film Festival next spring!”

The MARY CHING package comes complete with luxurious royal purple satin pouches and glossy boxes with elegant rope handles. MARY CHING is a luxurious and unique accessories brand based in Shanghai, China. Founder and designer Alison Mary Ching Yeung was trained at Central Saint Martin’s before embarking on an adventure to launch her label and introduce her brand of luxury goods made in Shanghai. MARY CHING: a brand that is Proud to be Made in China, ‘Created in Shanghai’.

Opposite page: Press release for MARY CHING’s S/S 2011 collection; excerpts from MARY CHING S/S 2011 look book. This page: Excerpts from MARY CHING’s luxury slipper books.

Managed TREND RESEARCH and FORECASTING. Assisted design director with collection concepts and brought spec sheets to production level. Responsible for develop-ment of a commercial range suitable for both INTERNATIONAL buyers and local CHINESE market. Attended national tradeshows. Managed materials and supplier sourcing, production, and QC. Maintained seasonal production timelines.

D E S I G N & P R O D U C T I O N


Clockwise from left: Look book and mood boards for MARY CHING S/S 2011, with the Miss Lin and the Miss Gao; look book and mood board for Mary Ching A/W 2011; mood board for Mary Ching A/W 2012.

S T Y L I N G P R O M O T I O N

Christine Gow for Elite Model Management, IndiaSTYLING

In-house faculty in charge of various modules for both mod-eling and corporate grooming programs. Trained teals of models in GROOMING, PRESENTATION and STYL-ING skills for the international fashion industry; trained corporate groups in grooming, presentation and styling skills for international business relations.

Represented by the agency; regularly styled fashion features for national magazines including L’OFFICIEL; styled and provided hair/make-up for commercial and fashion cam-paigns. CHOREOGRAPHED high-profile fashion shows for designers including Suneet Verma and Rhina Dhaka in conjunction with corporate sponsors.

Conceptualized and main-tained in-house promotional initiatives for both the agen-cy and school including the ELITE annual calendar and

T R A I N I N G

A S S I S T A N T

for Vogue Australia, Justine Gilbert & Ghost

S A L E SAs an intern at VOGUE AUSTRALIA, assisted Fashion Director Gabrielle Mihajlovski, Style Director Victoria Col-lison, and Fashion Editor Fiona Lane on photo shoots.Com-pleted research for fashion writers, sourced looks, managed returns and oversaw daily administrative duties.

While working as a part-time assistant to Stylist Justine Gilbert for THE INDEPENDENT and EVENING STANDARD newspapers, organized model casting, sourced locations and looks, and managed returns.

Maintained a part-time retail sales position through-out BA degree within the iconic British luxury brand GHOST WOMENSWEAR. Gained a thorough un-derstanding of luxury consumer behavior and effective merchandising techniques at their two freestanding boutiques in London’s West End and concessions in Lib-erty of London, Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridg-es Department Stores.

Y A C H T I N G

EVENT MANAGEMENT

N I G H T C L U B SHeld a front of house position as Chief Stewardess on M/Y Lady Ann Magee, 50m, Monaco. The busy bilin-gual French/English charter yacht demanded excellent managerial and interpersonal skills. Managed a team of three stewardesses and all aspects of interior mainte-nance, provisioning, and entertaining.

Offered the highest level of service to high-profile guests including heads of state, celebrities and royalty with ef-ficiency and enthusiasm.

Regularly coordinated large, high-profile receptions in-cluding the owner’s annual Monaco Grand Prix Party.

Held a front of house position at the RBC and RAIN LOUNGE CLUBS in Mumbai, India. Managed the club’s launch and coordinated weekly events at two high-end properties including fashion shows, album launches, and film premieres with corporate partners such as FTV, MTV, and ITC.

for Lady Ann Magee, RBC & RainThis page: ELITE Model Carol Gracias in L’Officiel In-dia, 2006, styled by Christine Gow and photographed by Vishesh Verma; ELITE Newsletter January 2006; ELITE 2006 Calendar, styled by Christine Gow.

newsletter.

W E B C O N T E N T

Christine Gow for The Bergstrom GroupWRITING & EDITING

The Bergstrom Group aims to provide authentic, insightful visual narratives that connect clients with consumers in today’s China. Edited Newsflash and Brandlove stories to achieve an impeccable and coherent style.

C R E A T I V E

for Freelance Projects

Completed a fictionalised memoir about the fashion in-dustry in India, currently under consideration by U.K. publishers.

christine gow professional introduction

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