Claro Arena by Idom
Monocle Design Awards 2026: Best civic renovation, Chile
A good work of architecture should enhance the landscape that it’s in – and that’s exactly what the Claro Arena does, framing a striking view: the distant peaks of the Andes. Located in Santiago’s northeastern foothills, it has been the home of football team Club Deportivo Universidad Católica since the 1980s and has hosted concerts for the likes of Andrea Bocelli and Oasis. But the ground’s former 12,000-seat capacity needed expanding and modernising. “We maintained 95 per cent of the sightlines,” says Borja Gómez Martín, a lead architect at Spanish architecture firm Idom, which was tasked with transforming the brutalist and beloved sporting landmark. “By approaching the project like a tailor, we elevated and extended the ground, rather than tearing it down, expanding capacity to 20,000 spectators.”
The stadium originally sat low in the terrain but Idom introduced a lighter frame that hovers above the concrete base. A new upper level incorporates dressing rooms, press centres, technical areas, premium hospitality spaces and viewing galleries. Central to this is the 360-degree perimeter boulevard, a concourse that operates as the ground’s circulation system. It connects all areas of the site and choreographs the movement of visitors while offering them panoramic views of Santiago and the landscape through its slatted wooden façade.
Gómez Martín and fellow lead architect, César Azcárate Gómez, resisted the generic steel and glass used in most modern stadiums. Instead, Idom opted for laminated Chilean radiata pine slats that tilt and extend to offer shade, open to allow ventilation and can be narrowed where sound needs to be kept in, amplifying the atmosphere created by spectators.
For architects, modern football stadiums are a difficult proposition: how do you create a lively atmosphere in residential neighbourhoods that are averse to too much noise; make matchgoers feel welcome while striking fear into the opposition; and adapt the space for dual use, while maintaining a place that devoted fans have adored for generations? “We approached it sensitively,” says Gómez Martín. “We collaborated with local firms and we sought to understand how locals in the Los Condes neighbourhood interact with the stadium.” The renovation shifts the space from a single-purpose venue into a multipurpose one with better hospitality, commercial and event infrastructure. It ensures that the Claro Arena generates revenue beyond match days, embedding itself into the city’s economic fabric and corporate offering year-round. It’s a project that understands that a stadium is not just a container for sport but also a piece of civic architecture. Oh, and in this case, something that frames a famous view too.
Care to learn about the other beautiful buildings and architectural design that won a Monocle Design Award this year? Here are eight spaces that caught our eye this year – from a trade school to a revived waterfront.
The mood in Dubai’s hotel lobbies has shifted. For much of the past three years, there has been little room to breathe. Occupancies were high, rates were higher and the city’s hospitality machine – one of the key engines of the emirate’s non-oil economy – appeared unstoppable. Then came weeks of regional conflict.
Now, some of Dubai’s most famous hotels are using the downturn to shut their doors, including the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, which will close for 18 months for a major restoration. Its owner, the Jumeirah group, has brought forward plans that had long been in the works. (In February, authorities confirmed that debris from an intercepted drone caused a minor fire on the Burj Al Arab’s outer façade.) According to industry reports, nearly 2,000 hotel rooms across the city are set for refurbishments. Others are quietly accelerating renovation cycles, pausing operations over the summer and betting on a rebound by the fourth quarter.
The question is whether this is strategic opportunism or a sign of deeper anxiety. “It has been a slowdown, to say the least, in terms of travel patterns coming into the city,” the chief executive of Dubai’s Corporation for Tourism and Commerce, Issam Kazim, told Monocle Radio. Still, he insists that Dubai is already in recovery mode, not waiting for a “reset moment” but “aligning constantly with partners” and tracking demand in real time. “We’re always looking at it in a pragmatic but optimistic way.”
That optimism is a familiar Dubai reflex. During the 2008 financial crisis, the coronavirus pandemic and every regional shock since, the emirate has sold resilience as strategy. The playbook is well rehearsed: slash rates, stimulate staycations, pivot to regional markets and keep building. Hotels have revived the pandemic-era tactic of filling rooms at almost any price. “The old adage: bums in beds,” says Zacky Sajjad of property consultancy Cavendish Maxwell, which is headquartered in Dubai. “Let’s not worry too much about the revenue per room at the moment. Let’s just focus on the occupancy.”
That explains why some portfolios are still posting occupancy rates in the 80 and 90 per cent range, albeit at sharply discounted room rates. A full hotel at half price might keep the breakfast buffet running and the minibar stocked but it’s not the same as profitability. Dubai has a lot of beds to fill, with more than 155,000 hotel rooms and another 11,000 under construction. Roughly 180,000 rooms are expected by the end of the decade, according to Cavendish Maxwell. That target was made on assumptions of endless demand.
Will those assumptions still hold? Thomas Meier, the CEO of Jumeirah, frames the current slowdown as an opportunity. “We have fast-tracked all the projects we had for this year,” he told Monocle Radio from Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab. Rather than renovating 150 rooms a year over three years, some hotels are now tackling 300 in one go. “If we can accomplish that now, next summer… you already have the new rooms.” There is logic in that. Summer is traditionally soft in Dubai. Why not use the lull, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions, to refurbish ageing stock and emerge fresher for winter?
But there is another reading. Closing to renovate can also stem losses. Landmark hotels might have government or quasi-government backing and can weather months of downtime. Smaller, independent operators and restaurants might not be so lucky. Sajjad acknowledges that some F&B outlets simply “may not survive”. Then there is the question of labour. Hospitality in Dubai runs on vast workforces. Renovation periods might mean unpaid leave or reduced shifts. The impact is not immediately visible in the polished marble lobbies – but it’s real.
For international visitors, perception matters as much as reality. While life in Dubai might have remained largely functional, global headlines have been harsher. “What we’ve seen on the ground is very different to what is reported in certain places around the world,” says Sajjad. But tourism can be emotional. If travellers associate the Gulf with instability, discounts alone might not be enough. Kazim argues that Dubai is already segmenting its messaging market by market and targeting “resilient” audiences first. Real-time data, AI tools and search sentiment help the tourism authority gauge who is ready to return and who remains cautious. It’s sophisticated but marketing can only do so much.
Ultimately, Dubai’s tourism machine has always bounced back because it offers certainty: reliable sunshine, service and spectacle. This current wave of closures and refurbishments might prove a clever tactical move – using crisis to upgrade the product. If peace holds and winter bookings return, hoteliers will look prescient. But if instability lingers or if consumer sentiment shifts more permanently, the emirate might discover that resilience has limits. Dubai has spent decades selling itself as the city that never stops. For the first time in a long while, some of its hotels have decided that stopping (albeit briefly) might be the only way to keep going.
Inzamam Rashid is Monocle’s Gulf correspondent. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.
US president Donald Trump doesn’t usually do well under fire. That’s why when a gunman entered the Hilton hotel in Washington this weekend, during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner, Trump was joined by a magician on stage rather than a comedian. Ducking behind a table during the secret service’s presidential disappearing act was one Oz Pearlman – aka Oz the Mentalist, a 43-year-old, third-place finisher on America’s Got Talent and good guesser of pin numbers. His booking for the evening was rather telling.
The century-old event has been televised since the early 1990s, with a comic traditionally hosting a cadre of DC journalists, White House staffers and the commander in chief for an evening of raillery. Every president since Calvin Coolidge in 1924 has attended the WHCA dinner at least once in their term. That was until Donald Trump, who avoided the evening during his first term. So, why did he go this year? Because he has spent years successfully curtailing press freedom – and he still can’t take a joke.
Pearlman was the perfect guest for a president who prefers his room read, not roasted. A mentalist’s act is built on making his subject feel seen, understood and flattered. For a White House that has spent two years dismantling the independence of the press corps, a mind reader who tells you what you want to hear was a white flag of a booking by the WHCA – practically hiring the court jester.
The WHCA did not capitulate in a vacuum, it has been curtailed by an administration that resents an outspoken press pack. In February 2025 press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the White House, not the WHCA, would decide which reporters gained access to the president – whether in the Oval Office or on Air Force One. For more than a century, that function had belonged to the WHCA, an independent nonprofit established under Woodrow Wilson. The Associated Press famously learned what non-compliance cost. After refusing to adopt Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, its journalists were barred from press-pool events. The Wall Street Journal was later restricted after publishing stories about Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The message to the remaining press corps was plain: play along or lose your seat. On Saturday night, the WHCA played along. The night, as we knew it, was already over.
No matter your opinion on magicians – or mentalists, as Oz may prefer to be called – Pearlman is a surprisingly apt metaphor for the times. He described his act to Washington Monthly as being built on “partial truths”, concluding that “in essence, all we’re doing [us magicians] is cheating.” The WHCA, a press-freedom organisation, at its flagship annual gala, chose to platform a performer who openly describes deception as his trade. Trump would have loved Pearlman’s show: naff, a little pandering and entirely devoid of face-to-face mockery.
And now, Trump has been spoiled again with exactly the kind of company he prefers, swapping the court-approved jester for King Charles III, who touched down in Washington on Monday. All pomp, no politics. A king, like a mentalist, does not ask awkward questions – he reads a room and works a crowd.
The president has eagerly insisted that the dinner will be rescheduled. Trump has already stressed the need for a safe space to host such functions and dignitaries. Few would bet against it ending up somewhere he can glance at the guest list. A White House ballroom, perhaps? Whoever hosts, expect the same trick that the Trump administration has been performing for two years: making the free press disappear.
It’s safe to say that Bert Bos, a sod farmer in British Columbia, would rather be watching grass grow than doing whatever you have planned this weekend. That is because, in fewer than 50 days’ time, the turf that has been growing since last June at his family’s farm in a verdant valley an hour-or-so inland from Vancouver will have been rolled out at BC Place. After a full year of meticulous cultivation, the city’s World Cup stadium will be ready for players from the likes of Australia, Belgium, Egypt, New Zealand, Qatar and, indeed, Canada, who will all recast it as the field of their respective dreams.
“The pitch is the thing,” BC Place’s general manager, Chris May, told a reporter from the Vancouver Sun newspaper last weekend, noting how exacting a customer Fifa is when it comes to its World Cup pitches. But much like Fifa’s choice of honoree for its inaugural prize for peace, being bestowed with the top job in World Cup grass-growing was something of a surprise.
Bos and his three adult children (also sod-farmers in the family firm) hadn’t even submitted a proposal to Vancouver’s call for World Cup turf growers. Despite his sod-sowing pedigree, Bos was nervous about the high-pressure prospect of producing a perfect pitch. But before he knew it, his farm, which he established in 1993, had scored the top job.
The challenge for growers of the World Cup’s pitches this time around is to ensure that the surface in contrasting climates, such as Miami, San Francisco or Guadalajara, is on a level playing field with those in Seattle, Toronto or Monterrey.
So, what’s the secret? Well, the blades of glory are a hybrid of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and synthetic fibres, which reinforce the natural turf and constitute about 5 per cent of the finished pitch. Another varietal – Bermuda grass – was trialled last year during the Club World Cup in the US. But that was given the chop when players complained that the pitches felt more like putting greens underfoot.
The mix is bedded into a base of peat and sand (sourced from British Columbia, to avoid US-imposed tariffs), then grown, watered and tended to in a way that allows the natural grasses’ roots to cluster as they grow – this strengthens the sod and allows it to withstand the rigours of an international football game.
So, when you tune in to the World Cup this summer, think of Bert Bos and his family – and the other sod farmers across North America – who gave life, long before the first kick, to these level playing fields.
Further reading? Fifa’s shamelessness is its superpower – it only has one goal in mind
Shanghai remains the primary hub for any major brand with serious ambitions in China’s vast market. The giant ship-shaped space unveiled by Louis Vuitton last year is just the latest example. While much of the attention this century has been on the ups and downs of European luxury, consumer trends in China’s commercial capital are fast-moving with increased competition from domestic brands.
The best in class embrace a broader view of luxury and modern lifestyles to deliver international looks that reference Eastern traditions. They also invest more in their offline shop windows, notwithstanding the significance of Tmall, Xiaohongshu and other e-commerce channels.
Shanghai’s retail scene is sophisticated, full of confidence and less mall-centric than other Asian megacities. Heritage houses are being transformed into monobrand maisons, while art deco architecture by László Hudec and the like are being restored and put to use as shopping compounds and public spaces (Robert Ho Tung’s former residence at Shaanxi Road 457 has just opened to the public after nearly a century). Zhangyuan’s historic shikumen (traditional stone-gate houses) are opening in stages, a quarter of a century since the Xintiandi district was pedestrianised, setting the bar for developers to do better.
So if you’re in town, touching down or planning a trip, here is a selection of 15 must-visit addresses across six districts that offer Shanghai’s singular take on fashion, design and the future of retail. Here’s one to get you started.
Icicle
Icicle has been at the forefront of Chinese sustainable fashion for almost three decades, using natural fabrics from ethical sources and incorporating eco-friendly pigments such as pomegranate peel and pu’er tea. Married owners Ye Shouzeng and Shawna Tao continue to run their understated brand, which now operates in two timezones. Global expansion started 13 years ago with a design studio in Paris and the label has since grown to include four shops in the French capital and ownership of couture label Carven. The first Garden Store concept debuted in Shanghai in 2024, combining the two brands with a restaurant and café in a restored 1920s villa.
icicle.com.cn
James Chambers is Monocle’s Asia editor. For more opinion, insight and analysis, subscribe to Monocle today.
Milan Design Week wrapped up today – an event that’s almost impossible to fully absorb. Across seven days, new furniture was launched, global project deals were struck and conversations about the future of design filled the Salone del Mobile fairground as well as the city’s showrooms, cafés, restaurants and bars. It was a collision of creativity and commerce which we unpack in this weekend’s special newsletter. Here are a few key takeaways from my week in the Lombard capital.
Sunday
Landing at Linate first thing Sunday morning almost always makes you feel as if you’re behind the eight ball during Design Week. Thankfully my first appointment was with Sophie Lou Jacobsen at Disco Aperitivo (see “The Treat” below). The designer is renowned for looking at the importance of using well-designed objects to ground us in daily routines. “The point for me is to create something that is a little bit out of the norm,” says Jacobsen. “When people are using them, they’re really paying attention to what they’re doing, a forced engagement and ritual are created from that.”
Monday
On the eve of the opening of the Salone del Mobile trade fair – an event whose participants, events and connected activities generated €278m in 2025 – its organisers welcomed a delegation of designers, journalists and industry leaders to a performance at La Scala. Kicking off the evening was Maria Porro, Salone del Mobile’s president, who addressed the current global political, security and trade turbulence. “Design can contribute to peace as a daily practice,” said Porro, evoking 13th-century Persian poet Rumi. “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field – and this week, let that field be design. Let’s build a better world together.” A reminder that Milan Design Week is as much about giving meaning as it is about making money.
Tuesday
USM, Snøhetta and artist Annabelle Schneider offered a critique of culture with their installation “Renaissance of the Real” (pictured). The work aimed to draw visitors away from the digital world by creating a womb-like structure with sunlight streaming through bulbous, permeable white walls. “It’s about critiquing the feeling of how we use technology,” said Schneider. “The installation looks great on the phone but it feels different in person. We’re used to navigating flat, perfect, digital images but this is about tactility and the imperfect, and the moment of surprise that you can’t capture in the digital.”
Wednesday
Meaning was also invoked by Deyan Sudjic, who curated an exhibition for Rosewood called Objects that Speak, a conversation continued with Andrea Branzi. The showcase celebrated the late Branzi, a pioneer of the Italian radical design movement, who challenged mass production’s erasure of individuality, and championed the notion that design is not just about form and function but about creating objects that carry meaning, tell stories, and reflect and critique culture.
Thursday
Design can provide the backdrop for life to play out. This year a host of musicians took to stages across Milan to embody this, including Honey Dijon, James Blake and a stellar line-up at the Miu Miu Literary Club that featured London-based Ider and French-Senegalese singer-songwriter Anaiis.
Friday
Jil Sander’s “Reference Library” offered a moment of reflection. The installation presented a curated list of books selected by leading creatives, which visitors could leaf through (if they wore the elegant white gloves provided). I’m going to be reading The System of Objects by Jean Baudrillard. “It’s probably the best book about furniture ever written,” said architect Jack Self, who selected it for the collection. “It describes the home as an exotic ecosystem where things and people coevolve in space over time.”
Saturday
As I headed for home, I reflected on L’Appartement, an exhibition imagined by Antoine Billore for L’Artisan Parfumeur. The Paris-based Billore created a Lombard home for himself in a Milanese apartment, importing his own furniture and dotting the space with personal artefacts. Despite its temporary nature – it closed today – it was a residence filled with memories, personality and humanity.
Nic Monisse is Monocle’s design editor. For more reflections on Salone del Mobile, tune in to this week’s episode of ‘Monocle On Design’.
More from Milan:
– Milan Design Week thinks outside the box as the industry reacts to a fractured zeitgeist
– How Milan’s central Brera neighbourhood became a premier creative hub
– A photographic tribute to Milan’s sciure: Icons of style, power, and cultural legacy
Independent, design-led hotels are booming in China thanks to strong demand for domestic travel and a growing number of visa-free international arrivals. Many of these properties are next to postcard lakes and mountains but not all require boarding an internal flight or high-speed train.
An hour’s drive from downtown, the 65-key Muh Shoou Zhujing hotel opened earlier this month in Zhujing, a scenic water town in Shanghai’s southwestern Jinshan district. It’s a quiet escape among rice fields, waterways and forest paths, where each room boasts its own garden. It’s a far cry from the country’s commercial hub up the road, with the highest building being a modest two-storey teahouse and a neighbouring flower park sitting beyond the walled compound.
For general manager Alex Li, a 23-year veteran of Aman, Four Seasons and Hyatt, this is his first time working for a local brand. Why the change? “The project and the owners,” he tells Monocle during a tour. Muh Shoou Zhujing is the second hotel under the Muh Shoou brand. The first, Muh Shoou Xixi Hotel, is in the wetlands of Hangzhou. Both were designed by Group of Architects (GOA), which is headed up by Zhang Xiaoxiao, who is also the co-founder of Muh Shoou.
According to Zhang Xiaoxiao, chief architect on the project and co-founder of Muh Shoou, the design philosophy is a “way of seeing the land”. Replicating a successful template isn’t in their remit – GOA and Muh Shoou want to celebrate the hotel’s unique surroundings. He compares the “wild, cold, seclusion and quiet” of the award-winning Hangzhou property to the “misty rainforest and marshland” of Shanghai’s new outpost.
Zhujing might be distinct from Shanghai’s Bund-era glamour but “the contrast is the charm,” says Xiaoxiao. “It’s the hinterland for a global metropolis – an answer to urban nostalgia.” The architecture at Muh Shoou Zhujing avoids literal Chinese motifs, drawing instead from the classical garden tradition. From the courtyard to the lobby, guests can meander as the architecture conceals and reveals pockets of nature. “Changing scenery with each step,” adds Xiaoxiao.
Private courtyards and standalone bathhouses invite guests to reconnect at a slower rhythm but Muh Shoou Zhujing isn’t intended for the reclusive city dweller. The emphasis here is on conviviality, from the tea lounge and poolside bar to the eight private dining rooms for family and friends to gather. Common areas are deliberately compact, eschewing the expansive lobbies popular in many international resorts. After all, “small spaces bring people closer,” says Xiaoxiao.
This design ethos extends to service. For the founders, the term “Chinese hospitality” translates to a respectful, equal exchange between guest and host. Service corridors sit alongside guest paths, shunning the stark hierarchies found in traditional luxury hotels, while the restaurant is sunken below the manicured garden to give diners the sense of sitting on the ground. The kitchen’s menu changes with the harvest, drawing on premium ingredients from nearby farms.
Just as independent luxury hoteliers are attracting talent such as Alex Li, they are increasingly enticing China’s wealthy urbanites and international travellers craving a quieter stay.
Known for masterful craftsmanship, high-quality materials and attention to detail, Japan has earned its reputation for having one of the world’s most influential fashion scenes. But while many street-level trends and luxury brands are well documented, the country’s more under-the-radar brands are well worth knowing. Whether you’re looking for minimalist tailoring or streetwear-inspired silhouettes, here are eight Japanese brands that we recommend.
Auralee
A decade after launching his Tokyo-based brand, Auralee, Kobe-born designer Ryota Iwai is hitting his stride. Auralee has earned a reputation for its masterful use of colour, meticulous tailoring and made-in-Japan quality. This is elegant, modern luxury – all made to Iwai’s exacting specifications – that is a delight to touch and wear. It’s an alluring mix of Tokyo edge with wearable sophistication, crafted by factories that have been working with Iwai from the beginning. With stockists around the world and a flagship in the Japanese capital, the label is now attracting global attention after having secured a regular slot on the Paris Fashion Week calendar.
Setchu
Japanese designer Satoshi Kuwata expressed surprise at how many people were in attendance at his label’s recent show at Milan Fashion Week, held in his new offices in the Lombard capital. The LVMH Prize-winner is establishing a loyal following for his brand, Setchu, by virtue of his ability to tell stories through unexpected details.
A case in point is his latest collection, inspired by a fishing trip to Greenland. “I planned to visit a long time ago,” he says while styling models wearing quilted pieces informed by Arctic conditions. And, in what is perhaps the most unexpected accessory of the season so far, Kuwata designed a fishing rod to accompany his clients on their next angling mission.
A Presse
Vintage furniture from the 1950s and 1960s captures the spirit of Kazuma Shigematsu’s fashion collections for A Presse, the label that he founded in Tokyo in 2021. “I spent years consulting for larger companies and I was tired,” he says, referring to the ever-increasing pace of the fashion industry.
A Presse’s model is the antithesis of mass manufacturing, with limited-edition items designed to improve with age. Shigematsu believes that fashion shoppers should think of themselves as collectors. When it comes to quality, there’s little distinction between a handcrafted wooden chair and one of his leather jackets or workwear-inspired trousers. Silhouettes are executed to perfection, the stitching is done by hand and even the garments’ hangers are hand-carved. “The market has become too much about marketing and logos,” says the designer. “My concept is about understatement and not dressing for others. These clothes are for you.”
While Japan is known for its commitment to craft, this level of artistry is still unusual. The label has attracted an international clientele of connoisseurs (the US is one of the brand’s strongest markets) and larger retailers are knocking on its door. But distribution remains limited. A Presse has a few global partners, including e-commerce site Mr Porter, but the best way to access its wares is to visit its Shibuya flagship, where concrete interiors meet thoughtfully selected furniture and meticulously crafted wardrobe classics.
Kaptain Sunshine
To those in the know, Kaptain Sunshine is simply one of the best brands to come out of Japan, having mastered the kind of smart-casual wardrobe that Tokyoites are celebrated for. Kobe-born Shinsuke Kojima started the brand in 2013 to indulge his relentless eye for detail and his passion for vintage uniforms.
Every piece is connected to a different region in Japan. Denim comes from Okayama and Hiroshima, leather purses and belts are made in Tokyo and Kamakura, and hand-finished silk squares are made with fabric from Yamanashi. The detail in the denim is something else: a 13.5oz selvedge, dyed with pure indigo and woven on an old-fashioned loom to give the uneven texture that Kojima likes. “We give the factories highly detailed sewing instructions to ensure a one-of-a-kind line-up that we take pride in,” he says.
Kojima is not in the business of radical shifts between seasons. “We are not seeking dramatic changes; our goal remains to pursue uncompromising creativity,” he says of the new season’s line-up. “For spring/summer, natural fibres such as cotton, linen, silk and wool take centre stage. These are blended with select synthetics to create materials and silhouettes that feel comfortable in Japan’s humid summer climate.” The Kaptain Sunshine look is put-together but effortless and it can go in the washing machine too.
Ssstein
Self-taught designer Kiichiro Asakawa learnt his craft through years of deconstructing vintage garments and running Carol, his multibrand boutique in Tokyo’s Shibuya neighbourhood. More recently, he has been enjoying the success of Ssstein, which he founded in 2016. Japanese customers are well versed in its collections of classics elevated by expert cutting techniques. Now the rest of the world seems to be catching up: the label was on many international buyers’ lists at the latest edition of Paris Fashion Week Men’s.
Highlights from his new collection include oversized flight jackets made from military khaki Olmetex and track jackets featuring a cotton-nylon knitted fabric sourced in Japan, as with all of the label’s materials. “The level of craftsmanship is high here,” he says. Asakawa works with understated colour palettes and silhouettes that look good on both men and women. “I’m always thinking about cuts and fabrics that will feel comfortable,” he says. “We want to create a relaxed elegance that isn’t flashy. It’s about beauty and quality for the everyday.”
Soshi Otsuki
The 1980s get a bad rap when it comes to style: too much hair product, too much shoulder padding – just too much. But there’s another side to the decade’s fashion. Step forward up-and-coming Tokyo designer Soshi Otsuki. “I love the look of the bubble era so the question was how to create the mood and mentality of that time,” says Otsuki. “It was when Japan started importing suits from Italy.”
The silhouettes and the styling fit the 1980s brief, while being thoughtfully updated. The tweaks are subtle: the shirt with an inner-chest pocket in which to tuck a tie (as salarymen used to do) or the bust darts that are deliberately not quite seamless to create more of a drape. There are oblique references to traditional garments too.
Otsuki makes his clothes in specialist factories in Japan, is self-financed and wants to continue producing his collections independently. His designs are available for purchase online as well as through about 20 stockists in Japan and overseas.
Sans Limite
Yusuke Monden started his menswear label Sans Limite in 2012 after cutting his teeth in shirt design and production at Comme des Garçons. His concept is simple: wardrobe classics made well. He began with a tight edit of six shirts, and has since expanded to ready-to-wear and accessories collections. “We don’t try to sell items for a specific season or drastically change fabrics for each collection either,” says Monden.
Monden is committed to “made-in-Japan” quality. “We do the patterning and planning internally, and then work with domestic factories,” he says. “When it comes to one-off items, such as patchwork shirts, hand-knit sweaters or even rugs, we work on them in the studio and then send them off to the factories for completion.”
Sans Limite’s Tokyo flagship is on a busy shopping street by the railway tracks that was home to a black market for US goods after the Second World War. It’s a world away from the neighbourhoods usually favoured by fashion brands.
ESC
Before he set up his lifestyle company Elephant Street & Co (ESC), Shinji Komine had been working in brand marketing for some of the world’s biggest corporations, including Apple, Nike and Dyson. “I knew that when I set up my own company, it would have to have a strong ethical dimension,” he says. Four years on, ESC has released its first capsule collection: an easy-to-wear line of T-shirts, hooded waterproof jackets, painter trousers and totes.
Komine works collaboratively with a small group that includes a fashion-loving doctor, a designer with experience at top brands, and small, Japanese producers. They make garments using natural materials and artisanal techniques. The brand’s core fabric is a traditional Takashima canvas made in Shiga prefecture using unbleached organic cotton, while the dyes come from natural herbs and minerals. Boxy cotton T-shirts are manufactured on shuttle looms in Shizuoka, while the Anthracite nylon collection uses a technical fabric (with a plant-derived coating), developed by Japanese fabric maker Seiren. ESC’s ethical credentials are impeccable but Komine’s streetwear-inspired silhouettes keeps fashion central to the project.
Confirmed: 05.25 is an ugly number set of numbers – especially when it has “am” tacked on the back followed by the words “boarding” and “time”. That was how the week started in Lisbon. It was an 03.45 wake-up call for mom and me, a last-minute review of three bags to check, a couple of coffees and then down to the car for a 04.15 pick-up. Thankfully it’s only nine minutes to the airport at this time of day and the Air France (AF) handling agents were ready for us. Onboard, mom napped, I stayed on top of emails from Asia and the Gulf and after 90 minutes in the air the captain announced our approach to Paris-Charles de Gaulle – neatly ahead of schedule.
At the aircraft door, an AF agent was on hand to meet us with a sunny “bonjour”. She took my mom’s too heavy purse (I thought I did a final edit before we set off but mom has a habit of sneaking at least another five kilos of print, tech and toiletries in her bag before she leaves the apartment), led us along the airbridge, down the stairs and to a waiting car below. “Well, this is quite special,” mom remarked while buckling up. I confirmed that this was indeed special treatment and that mom should savour the moment. “Very spoily-pants,” she agreed. “Thank you.”
After a few roundabouts, lots of passing luggage and cargo containers, and many AF Airbuses (brand new and nearly vintage) we pulled up at the terminal, showed our passports and were taken through to the La Première arrivals lounge. The connection to Ottawa wasn’t the shortest (three-and-a-half hours), so we settled in with the weekend newspapers, coffees, and plenty of retailers and dealers heading home from Watches and Wonders in Geneva. A table of Texans (they seemed to own a group of jewellery stores) gave a full forecast of how they saw the market performing till year-end and I’m happy to report that, at least when it comes to Dallas and Houston, they were feeling very good about things and would be ordering “big” for 2027.
Thirty minutes before departure, our agent returned and said that she was ready to take us to the plane. A trip outside the lounge to stock up on mags meant that mom’s purse now needed wheels and I took charge of her movable library as we made our way to the car. The crowd in the front of one of Air France’s more elderly 777-300s seemed to be a mix of African diplomats and Canadian military types heading back to the nation’s capital. I consulted the menu while firing up the screen and started to scroll through the various films and boxsets on offer. The plan was to catch up on lingering emails and get some marching orders sent while crossing the Atlantic but while in the new releases section I noticed French actress Léa Drucker pop up in a promo for a film that I hadn’t heard of. I was about to click on the description for Dossier 137 but decided it was best to order lunch and get on with my work. Or maybe not? While drinks were being poured I got on with my correspondence but also decided to watch the trailer of Drucker’s film as we crossed what must have been the western coast of Ireland.
Without giving too much away, it’s a gritty cop film about the internal affairs investigation division and the complexity (bureaucratic and otherwise) of a case from a gilets jaunes protest. I hit play and can highly recommend it if you’re looking for something to watch at your local review cinema or on the sofa this eve. As the credits rolled, I was reminded that it has been Air France and not Apple TV, Amazon or Netflix that has offered up some of the best films that I’ve watched over the past three years. Hokkyoku Hyakkaten no Concierge-san (The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store), Novembre and Pas des Vagues (The Good Teacher) should all be on your viewing list if you’ve not managed to catch them yet.
People crisscross the world to attend film festivals, design biennales and art fairs but, if you choose the correct carrier, some of the best in contemporary culture can be found in the seatback in front of you. Happy viewing dear reader.
Enjoying life in ‘The Faster Lane’? Click here to browse all of Tyler’s past columns.
Shanghai remains the primary hub for any major brand with serious ambitions in China’s vast market. The giant ship-shaped space unveiled by Louis Vuitton last year is just the latest example. While much of the attention this century has been on the ups and downs of European luxury, consumer trends in China’s commercial capital are fast moving with increased competition from domestic brands.
The best in class embrace a broader view of luxury and modern lifestyles to deliver international looks that reference Eastern traditions. They are also investing more in their offline shop windows, notwithstanding the significance of Tmall, Xiaohongshu and other e-commerce channels.
Shanghai’s retail scene is sophisticated, full of confidence and less shopping-mall centric than other Asian mega cities. Heritage houses are being transformed into monobrand maisons while art deco-era architecture by László Hudec and the like are being restored and put to use as shopping compounds and public spaces (Robert Ho Tung’s former residence at Shaanxi Road 457 has just opened to the public after nearly a century). Zhangyuan’s historic shikumen (traditional stone-gate houses) are opening in stages, a quarter of a century since Xintiandi first opened, setting the bar for developers to better.
On the eve of our sold-out Shanghai conference (and first pop-up shop and café in China), here is a selection of must-visit addresses across six districts that offer Shanghai’s singular take on fashion, design and the future of retail.
Boutiques
Icicle
Icicle has been at the forefront of Chinese sustainable fashion for almost three decades, using natural fabrics from ethical sources and incorporating eco-friendly pigments such as pomegranate peel and pu’er tea. Married owners Ye Shouzeng and Shawna Tao continue to run their understated brand, which now operates in two timezones. Global expansion started 13 years ago with a design studio in Paris and the label has since grown to include four shops in the French capital and ownership of couture label Carven. The first Garden Store concept debuted in Shanghai in 2024, combining the two brands with a restaurant and café in a restored 1920s villa.
icicle.com.cn
2 Hengshan Road, Xuhui
Ficus
Shanghai is known for its heritage tailoring and Ficus is one of several modern ateliers keeping up the city’s clothcutting tradition. The decade-old menswear label fuses Western tailoring with Eastern aesthetics in a direct nod to Shanghai’s “Red Gang” tailors, a school of skilled clothiers in the early 20th century who blended Saville Row silhouettes with intricate Chinese detailing. Its ready-to-wear items include a diverse range of styles including French workwear jackets and linen-knit polos with mandarin collars.
ficusshanghai.com
1F-W18, Infinitus Mall, No. 168, Hubin Road, Xintiandi
La Maison by Anthology
Hong Kong’s menswear specialists The Anthology opened its first Shanghai outpost in January. The three storey house in the tree-lined former French Concession opens with the label’s ready-to-wear selection on the ground floor, featuring suits, jackets, knitted T-shirts and denim. The second-floor shoe salon displays original footwear and collaborations with, among others, Crockett & Jones, alongside a wider selection courtesy of Hong Kong shoe specialists Tassells. Custom tailoring takes place under exposed wooden beams in the well-lit attic.
theanthology.net
193 Wulumuqi South Road, Xuhui
Multibrand shops
Labelhood
There’s no better place to take the pulse of China’s fashion-design industry than at Labelhood, an incubator and retailer that has supported independent designers for a decade. Co-founders Tasha Liu and Justin Peng have helped scores of talented fashion graduates from top design schools find firm footing in the domestic market before catapulting them across the globe. Highlights include feminine fashion line Shushu/Tong, cross-cultural label Samuel Guì Yang and quiet luxury purveyor Ruohan. Be sure to also check out Norlha, a Tibetan luxury yak wool brand.
labelhood.com
796 Julu Road, Jing’an
Maison Dongliang
Chinese multi-brand retailer Dongliang was conceived by Tasha Liu before she left to focus on Labelhood. Her former partner Charles Wang has continued with the business and opened its Shanghai destination shop in 2024. Maison Dongliang carries a mix of fashion, beauty and homeware items across three storeys of a colonial-era family home. International brands from The Row to Lemaire, Phoebe Philo, Casey Casey and Perfumer H sit alongside Chinese designer Junwei Lin and Jingdezhen ceramist Jingwen Wu. A tea room was added last year in an adjoining villa.
No 174 Villa, Wuyi Road, Changning
Maison Uma Wang
Chinese designer Uma Wang is no stranger to the global fashion scene, having shown collections at London, Paris and Milan fashion weeks. The Central St Martins graduate established her namesake brand in 2009, and currently operates luxury boutiques in every major city along with an international outpost in Milan. Wang opened her first Maison Uma Wang in 2025 in the former French Concession to showcase her full ready-to-wear mens and womenswear collections. Displayed alongside are pieces by brands she enjoys, such as eyewear brand and regular collaborator Rigards, Chen Lu jewellery and French porcelain brand Astier de Villatte.
umawang.com
299 Fuxing Xi Road, Xuhui
Zzer
China’s leading pre-owned luxury retailer Zzer might have started as an online platform but today the Shanghai-based business is firmly anchored with a handful of giant, IKEA-style warehouses in major cities. Designer handbags (specifically Louis Vuitton) are by far the biggest category but jewellery, clothing and footwear are all growing in popularity. The number of international customers has also exploded in the past two years with the introduction of visa-free travel and an English-language app.
zzer.com
01-05 B1, No. 52 Shaohong Road, Minhang
Shopping malls
Jing An Kerry Centre
Made-in-China brands have been moving into Shanghai’s best shopping malls in recent years and the Jing An Kerry Centre is a well-appointed destination to take in this trend. Shanghai menswear label Nice Rice specialises in elevated essentials, with shops across the country. Local fragrance brands are also well represented, including Melt Season, Documents and Handhandhand. Monocle will also be joining the commercial complex’s sharply dressed crowd for a six-week retail and café pop-up – our first in Shanghai. Drop by for a range of limited edition products and prints, including several Made-in-China specials.
jingankerrycentre.com
1515 Nanjing Road West, Jing’an
Columbia Circle
What was once a collection of residential garden villas, and a country club for Shanghai’s American community in the 1920s, has been transformed into a salubrious public space boasting open courtyards, restaurants, art exhibitions and shops. Notable retailers include Shanghai-based outdoor brand An Ko Rau, slow-fashion label Klee Klee and Japanese bookshop chain Tsutaya Books. The compound is also home to Shardaa’s flagship shop and café – a “living room” that celebrates Tibetan culture. Nomadic wisdom is woven into modern innovation for a range of handcrafted products, such as outdoor camping chairs and clothing, all made by Tibetan artisans.
1262 Yan’an West Road, Changning
Eyewear, footwear, accessories and more
Songmont
Founder Fu Song founded leather-goods label Songmont out of dissatisfaction with the dearth of handbag options suited to her lifestyle. The former user-experience designer has created a range of functional and well-made bags anchored in the nation’s craft traditions. The Song bag references bamboo-framed swallow kites while the Luna bag – as its name suggests – draws inspiration from the moon, a motif that holds deep meaning in Chinese culture. Founded in 2013, Songmont has established a retail presence in most major Chinese cities (including four shops in Shanghai) and with its sights now set overseas.
songmontofficial.com
817-819 Huaihai Middle Road, Huangpu
Pane
Shoe shopping in China has come a long way from the days of buying a pair of Feiyue trainers (a 1920s-era martial arts shoe that was given a French marketing makeover). Pane was established in 2022 by Chen Ning, a finance executive with a decade’s experience in menswear. The footwear brand is grounded in archival styles and refined construction. Its signature silhouette takes cues from the German Army Trainer but with evocative colourways and premium materials. The fact that its online styles are often sold out gives you even more reason to visit its Shanghai flagship.
paneshoes.com
22 Yongyuan Road, Jing’an
Haus Nowhere Shanghai
Gentle Monster’s founder and CEO Hankook Kim is known for his highly engineered and budget-smashing shop windows. Kim’s new Haus Nowhere concept takes his passion for in-person retail to the next level by combining his three brands – Gentle Monster eyewear, Tamburins perfume and Nudake desserts – in one expansive space. The four storey, roadside Shanghai outpost is one of the clearest expressions of Kim’s vision and the future of retail: surrealist kinetic installations and video art rubbing shoulders with fragrance bottles, edgy frames and kettlebell-shaped croissants. The only non-Chinese shop on this list is worthy of a visit for its sheer scale and eye-opening ambition.
798-812 Huaihai Middle Road, Huangpu
Furniture, design and books
Design Republic
Established in 2004, architecture studio Neri&Hu has become synonymous with Shanghai’s design scene. Founders Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu conceived their retail concept shop Design Republic at the same time as the studio to introduce the Chinese market to an elegant edit of products by the world’s best talents. The flagship opened in 2013, stocking a broad selection of furniture and lighting, ranging from Artek and Maruni to Louis Poulsen. The space is set in a pre-war, red-brick police headquarters and also includes a gallery, restaurant and event space.
thedesignrepublic.com
511 Jiang-Ning Road, Jing’an
Stellar Works
Furniture brand Stellar Works moved production to the outskirts of Shanghai last year – a by-product of the city’s continued gentrification. Its new location in the Jiading district, which is about an hour’s drive from downtown, combines the flagship showroom, head office and factory. The Japanese-owned and operated business produces most of its furniture for hotels, restaurants and other high-end hospitality projects around the world. It regularly collaborates with notable designers, including Nendo, Yabu Pushelberg and Space Copenhagen.
stellarworks.com
1058 Huifu Road, Waigang Town, Jiading
Ziwu
Ziwu is a three-storey cultural complex housing a towering bookshop, gallery, café and event space. Photography exhibitions and talks, which are regularly held at the restored factory, are complemented by a selection of international magazines and vinyl records. Founder Thomas Shao is a former columnist and publisher-turned-media owner; Modern Weekly is among several titles from his group. Also an art collector, Shao launched the Yuan Link art space last year in Jing’an’s renovated 19th-century shikumen compound, Zhangyuan.
Building 1, 10 Jianguo Middle Road, Huangpu
