ARTS & LIFE

Shanghai Lockdown

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STYLE RADAR P16 CITY SNAPSHOT P17

LISA SHIQI YU

Founder of China Brand Incubator GENLAB

Interview by Ned Kelly

German-born Chinese Lisa Shiqi Yu moved to Shanghai in 2016. With a career footprint in marketing and beauty, she founded brand incubator GĒNLAB in 2021. The firm invests in and incubates emerging beauty and consumer brands. We sat down with her to find out more.

What brought you to China? I was born and raised in Germany, but my parents are both from China. As a result, I’ve always had a close connection to the country, and Shanghai in particular.

What is your background? I spent five years at L’Oréal – in both Germany and China. As the youngest head of social transformation across the group, I built six digital influencer tools, including an analytic library of over 500 Chinese celebrities and 75,000 KOLs.

This experience allowed me to dive into digital and social strategies that determine the success of a brand. Applying such strategic knowledge and insight, I went on a mission to help foreign beauty brands enter the Chinese market in 2020.

I found that Chinese beauty brands have a lot of expertise in the early stages of their growth cycle, such as initial market expansion. However, in the later stages, factors like branding become more crucial – this is where many Chinese brands fail to thrive globally.

In contrast, Western brands are incredibly skilled at story-based branding. By leveraging deep-rooted values that do not change with market expansion, they are able to present a consistent consumer experience across the globe.

So, I always aim to apply a ‘best-ofboth’ strategy, leveraging lessons I’ve learned from both Chinese and Western markets and brands. For example, I led the China expansion project for Germany’s biggest cosmetic group, Cosnova GmbH. Within one year, their China business grew at a rapid 216%.

How did GĒNLAB come about? GĒNLAB is an extension of my consulting business; it is the investment and incubation arm. During my consulting projects for more established brands entering China, I realized that there was a gap in the market for supporting emerging beauty and consumer brands. With GĒNLAB, we use mixed methodologies and new business models to customize brand growth and effective road-to-market strategies.

How do you choose who to support? I look for authentic founders who are building brands that exist to serve a meaningful purpose and not just serve profits to shareholders. For me personally, purpose defines the ‘why’ – a reason for which the brand or organization exists. This is crucial as a strong purpose is like a promise or the fuel to constantly strive for something better – be it a better world, a better product for the people around you, or a better way to do something.

Which brands have you invested in so far and why? We have invested in ZEYA and Electro X.

ZEYA’s mission is to create ‘better-foryou’ drinking options, giving an alternative to beer. I personally don’t drink beer and very rarely finish alcoholic drinks. But when I tried ZEYA for the first time, I had three at once! I could finish them easily with no feeling of guilt because the hard seltzer is 0 sugar and tastes great.

With Electro X, I was immediately in love because it has electrolytes (minerals that carry an electrical charge when dissolved in water). These minerals, such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium, are distributed throughout your body and are crucial for your health.

When I moved to China, I reacted really badly to the water. My body couldn’t take it. Then a friend of mine, who owns a water production facility, educated me about the importance of minerals in water; it balances your body and moves nutrients into your cells.

What does ‘Made in China’ mean to you in the 21st century? I think there is a significant shift happening right now; there is a transformation from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China.’

It is true that China comes from a very industrial background and that ‘Made in China’ is being perceived as cheap and low quality in some categories. But what I see from today’s Chinese entrepreneurs makes me believe in a sharp shift for the better, especially for brands that stand for innovation and quality.

Any more projects lined up? With my multicultural background, I want to add value in other ways, like helping Chinese brands go global.

I recently published a book on Amazon, Chinese Cosmetic Brands Going Global. It got an incredible amount of feedback and shared interest. I truly believe that there is and will be a vast amount of need for expertise.

I am currently in the launch process of a China brand accelerator in Europe aiming to make Chinese brands global. For more on GĒNLAB visit www.genlab. group or scan the QR code:

OVERHEARD Jackson Wang’s “Festival Devouring” Coachella Performance

On April 16 Jackson Wang became the first-ever Chinese singer to perform on Coachella’s main stage.

His unannounced appearance at the festival was a surprise addition, which many Chinese fans watched on streaming platforms throughout the country.

With his silver-blue hair and all-black attire, Wang performed three tracks, including ‘100 Ways’ and ‘Blow’, the latter of which will feature on his new album, ‘Magicman’.

The pinnacle of his ten-minute show was a Michael Jackson-inspired dance. Moments after he ripped off his vest and screamed: “This is Jackson Wang from China.”

Wang, who has 27.6 million followers on Instagram, is part of 88rising, a record label and music platform primarily for Asian American artists. Wang is also a talented rapper, dancer and fashion designer.

As of press time, the hashtag #JacksonWang’sCoachellaDebut has over 17 million views on Weibo. Here’s what Chinese netizens had to say:

“Jackson Wang has really carved the Chinese soul into his DNA, not only did he shout: “This is Jackson Wang from China!” on the Coachella stage, he even has ‘China’ engraved into his earbuds. Feel the pride!”

“S***, Jackson Wang. I’m so proud of you. You broke it, okay? That’s my boy!” “The first Chinese solo artist to grace the main stage at Coachella! Coachella magic man! This guy is a god on stage, he’s killed it one million times!”

COVET Incognito Is ‘In’ This Spring Season

Shanghai, once referred to as the ‘Paris of the East’, has become a source of pity and concern to onlookers from abroad. The beleaguered metropolis has inspired many around the country to stockpile canned foods and other supplies in case their district follows the path of Pudong. With zero selfies being taken on the Lujiazui pedestrian overpass or at café tables in the French Concession alleyways, Shanghai’s influence on Spring 2022 fashion trends might be slipping. However, there is one item that has been popping up in the recommendations of shopping APPs as the must-have regalia for anyone planning a ‘night on the town’ — or an escape of any kind. For an affordable RMB53, you can pick up a white single-use medical worker onesie with sky blue accents with matching shoe covers included. They come in a range of sizes including those suitable for squirrelling one’s children out the door.

> Scan the QR code to view the product on Taobao

UNDER THE LENS

Popular Talk Show Panelist Accused of Wearing Pajamas to Work

‘Informal Talks’ is a popular talk show having returned April 15 for its seventh season on Hubei Satellite TV and the Bilibili streaming platform. The premise of the show is a group of foreigners from around the globe discuss different topics like popular culture and current events in exceptionally well spoken Mandarin. In the second episode of this season, which aired on April 22, the Spanish Argentinean representative caught netizens’ attention for a particularly bold wardrobe selection. Brian González, known as 功必 扬 (gōng bìyáng) in Chinese, is a seven-year veteran of the show. He sprang for a baggy turquoise suit jacket, pants and matching button-up shirt. All the items were emblazoned with brightly colored female faces in the style of late 19th and early 20th century French Art Nouveau poster ads. Although all the young panelists unsurprisingly demonstrate strong fashion sense on TV, González took the spotlight for being the most extravagantly dressed — at least so far this season. A reoccurring observation in the comments section was that the relaxed fit and loud colors of González’s outfit resembled pajamas.

CITY SNAPSHOT @annnndddyyy_f

Having wanted to for years but lacking the time and a catalyst, Andy Feng took up photography at the beginning of the pandemic. When he goes out searching for a shot, he looks for urban areas with the classic Hong Kong elements like neon signs, trams, red taxis and old architecture. He tells That’s, “it gives an ‘identity’ to the image, a Hong Kong identity,” and evokes memories people might have of the city. He also searches for scenes with intense contrast where “borders between shadow and light are clearly and very harshly defined.” At night, he enjoys snapping pictures in Central, where the skyscrapers and purple and blue lights give it a futuristic feel, like “walking around on another planet.” Feng believes that photos are stories that a photographer is trying to convey. Distinguishing a great photo from the rest requires that the story is easily identifiable, there is depth and complexity, and the colors accurately depict the story being told. “In the photo containing the red minibus turning left at an intersection, it was pure luck that I captured that photo. I had been standing on an overpass overlooking the intersection for around 15 minutes, waiting for the perfect shot of a red

minibus to enter the frame. I had given up and started packing up when, right then, a minibus came hurtling around the corner, with no other cars blocking it.”

“Hong Kong is a street photographer’s paradise,” he says adding that “In districts with older architecture, such as Sham Shui Po or Sai Ying Pun, there is always something to take a photo of. Be it the hustle and bustle of a wet market or the beautiful facades of old Hong Kong buildings, it makes for an easy photo that has depth and a clear subject.”

Feng uses a mirrorless Sony a7R IV and loves its quick autofocus capability which allows him to capture such stunning street scenes with movement and detail in low light situations.

SHANGHAI LOCKDOWN

Drone Photographer Tim Chambers Captures the Empty Streets

Interview by Ned Kelly

Tim Chambers is a British engineering manager for an industrial manufacturing company who has been in China for over a decade. In his spare time, he takes to the skies with his drone to capture stunning images and footage of Shanghai. We caught up with him to find out more.

How did you get into photography? I have always been interested in areas where technology and creativity meet, like architecture, graphic design, photography and drone photography. Some years ago, I met with a Shanghai-based Flickr group who would regularly go on photo walks, and I am still in touch with many of them today around the world.

How do you choose where to shoot? With the Flikr walks it was often in neighborhoods we knew were disappearing or being developed. When shooting with my drone, there are limiting factors such as automatic geofencing that extend some way out from the airports and other spots in the city, but the majority of the city center is available, as long as you are sensible and follow flying guidelines.

What’s also important, especially with the drone, is when to fly, taking in factors like the time of day and the weather. On those few really crystal-clear days, it’s time to grab the drone for a really big citywide shot. And also the blue hour in the evening, when the city lights are on but there is still some light in the sky to give the buildings some structure. What do you look for in a photograph? I have never been good at portraits, so I tend to go for landscapes and cityscapes and try to get something a little abnormal, or something that stands out, like a vast Shanghai vista, a road shot at night or a boat on the Suzhou creek.

Where is your favorite place to shoot? That’s a tough one. There are some classic places in Shanghai that are unavoidable, such as the ‘drone bridge’ on Suzhou creek that gives you the classic Pudong skyline shot. But what I really like is when you can capture a ‘Shanghai life’ moment in a little-known alleyway.

Where have you been shooting over lockdown? In my apartment, I have started photographing my young son much more. But for now, it’s really only drone flights around the local community.

Any more lockdown shoots lined up? If possible, I will continue to try and fly the drone once every couple of days to continue to capture this strange moment in the city’s history.

Scan the QR code to watch Tim’s lockdown drone videos of Shanghai.