Cold cement benches swathed in woolly pelts. Asphalt floors offset by bronze and mirrored walls. Sleek leather couches made unpretentious by lovingly worn creases. One feels very small at Alexander Wang’s second store in the world, a 4,000sqm space that perfectly captures the brand’s aesthetic contradictions: austere but natural, functional but flattering, and trendy but timeless.

The word that comes closest to capturing its essence is confidence. Short for “swagger,” “swag” is determined by the way you carry yourself: your speech, your gestures and of course your style of dress.

Big shoes to fill – so does this shop make the cut?

Unless you’ve already tied the knot, you’re likely unaware how starved for options Beijing is for wedding apparel. Overseas returnee Violet Li (and wife of Ed Hung, founder of NLGX Design Store) hopes her first Beijing shop can finally fill the gap between fashion and bridal wear.

While Western luxury brands are currying favor from Chinese consumers left and right, China Fashion Week always serves as a stark reminder that we still have a long way to go. Still, CFW Fall/Winter 2012 – again sponsored by Mercedes-Benz – kicked off to more public interest than ever before on March 24 and concluded with a lavish closing party last Sunday, April 1. A total of 41 fashion shows took place during that time; we have rounded up photos from all the top fashion shows and parties below.

Plastered T-shirts’ Nanluogu Xiang branch shut down for renovations last month. When it reopened a couple weeks ago, it unveiled a shiny new stage.