The cement floor and walls are cold and sleek. There are few decorations to detract from its drabness, with the exception of a dark wooly rug, a wooden stage and the words “medium rare" emblazoned behind it via a video projector. Right away, your eyes are drawn to the clothes, which at first glance appear equally unadorned – until you take a closer look at the nuances in fabric, texture and shape.

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.

High-fashion and fast-fashion designer collaborations have enjoyed much success over the last year, but few are as well-received as Jil Sander’s +J collection at Uniqlo.

Lucky for us, the spring collection is about to hit stores this week. The official launch date for the rest of the world was Wednesday (Jan 26), but our Beijing contact tells us they won’t arrive here in Beijing until today, January 28 – and even then only at the Sanlitun Village South location.

The pop-up phenomenon has just hit Beijing. Haven’t a clue what that means? According to the Sunday Times, “pop-ups are the epitome of our high-speed, short-attention-span culture”:

“Nowhere can be the hottest place to be seen in for more than six months, so by pulling it down and starting again, businesses can be constantly reinvented. Because they are temporary, pop-ups can take risks. They don’t need as much polish, so they don’t need as much investment – perfect for recessionistas.”

Enter Noveau Riche, a pop-up store in Sanlitun Village South that will run from today until February 5, 2011. The store is a collaboration between Chinese Finnish designer Shumeng Ye and a group of her designer friends from China and abroad, including popular Shanghai-based label The Thing.

"Sanlitun Village" is no more. Just as we all got used to saying the name after it was changed from "The Village at Sanlitun," Swire Properties goes and changes it again. From today onwards, Sanlitun Village will be called Tai Gu Li (太古里), or Taikoo Li, if you prefer the Wade Giles spelling. The Opposite House came out with an official statement on Weibo today about the name change. Swire Properties apparently wants more credit for their Sanlitun behemoth, so they decided to brand it with the Chinese version of their company name. A bit narcissistic perhaps, but we'll see how quickly it catches on.

In the history of name changing, Tai Gu Li certainly isn't the worst. In 1990, Marathon changed its name to Snickers, in 1980s Britain Opal Fruits became Starburst (to match their American name) and the Sci Fi channel changed its name to Syfy in 2009.