Is Vintage big in China?
In the land where the trend is to tear down everything old and build shiny new towers, is there any place for lovers of all things vintage?
The answer, as I found when I visited KTGA’a Vintage Winter Fest in my new home town of Shanghai last December, is clearly yes. KTGA (www.kickthegongaround.com) organize several vintage events each year including fairs, music and a spectacular retro NYE party.
Once inside the Winter Fest and focused on the stalls and merchandise, you would not know you were in China. There were vintage clothes that would not be out of place at Ruby’s, mainly from the US and Europe, jewellery (although more craft than vintage – maybe an opportunity for Ruby’s Vintage Treasures here?) and items for the home.
There were also stalls specializing in upcycling and repurposing and I particularly liked some decorative lamps made of chunky vintage biscuit tins and metal vacuum flasks
Food options included the ubiquitous cupcakes and other western delicacies but Chinese tastes for savoury snacks were respected as well. Music was an eclectic mix of old style jazz, a raunchy burlesque performance, US folk and roots and a flashmob ukulele troupe!
Check out this website for some rather unexpected hot music
Shanghai vintage hounds are blessed with many specialist shops and markets to explore as well as some fabulous Art Deco buildings to admire. More of this next time but you can be sure that any vintage lover visiting Shanghai will find plenty to enjoy and may even pick up some bargains.
Yvonne Hockey
