Garance Dore.
Look at that light! It is truly, truly glorious.
Two cities very close to my heart have been getting a bit of attention on the streetstyle blogs lately - Sydney, first of all, because of the recent RAFW fashion weeks, and Shanghai, second of all, because it is where Galliano is staging his resort collection for Dior. Two cities that are polar opposites. Sydney is breezy and carefree, Shanghai is very, very Chinese. I'm not sure how to explain that outside of that kind of paradigm, my experience of it has always been shackled to the side of a my aunts and grandparents, without their knowledge and experience I would have been lost. That's the thing about these great Chinese cities - they are flooded with people, and so busy. Teeming with life, is how I always describe Hong Kong. It is easy to get lost in a crowd, which sometimes, I suppose, is what you want. Sydney, on the other hand, is just too damn relaxed. I like to think of it as a purposeful relaxation though - we go about our business, but we do it with a head filled of the weekend, of picnics, of the beach, of brunches and bike riding and long, long, dinners and everything else. I always have a head full of my next girly outing or my next day off that I'll occupy with things like chai lattes and lying on couches. Maybe that's just me, though.
Garance Dore has been travelling to both these cities and having a very different experience of both, I imagine. She said at the Winter with Westfield launch that she could really picture herself living in Australia, that the way we live - healthy, happy and wise - is something that she herself has at heart. You can tell that in her pictures of Sydney. When someone really loves a place their pictures take on a new level. Everything glows with the light of a lover's lense. The light will absolutely shine.
With Shanghai it seems a little different. You can't travel to China and not be over-awed, and Garance is clearly over-awed. She has taken so many photos of tall skyscrapers, which is always the first thing you notice, the next thing is the hoards and hoards of people. I bet you anything her next picture is of them. The difference between the Australian girl and the Chinese girl, however, is their dedication to fashion. I find that while we Aussies love our fashion, we can't take it too seriously, as with anything. We're always thinking of something else - how that skirt will look when riding a bike, whether that white dress will get grass stains when you sit down at the picnic, how fast you can run in those heels. This is my experience of Sydney - and this is my experience of Shanghai (and Hong Kong); those who love fashion not only love it, they LIVE for it. They are the type of girl who frequents Lane Crawford and has immaculately kept hair (often in a sheeny bob) and an unmarked car to drive them around. You see them sipping on the green tea cocktails at the rooftop Westin Bar and having perfect chocolate afternoon teas at the Peninsula.
I love both girls, and can't wait to see more from Garance!
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