Blakk: Shop The Space Age Hutong Art Portal

As you mosey down Jiadaokou Beisantiao hutong in flâneur fashion, trudging through the goo goo muck of Dongcheng, you eventually happen upon Blakk, the new cat in the clowder specializing in handmade clothing and art paraphernalia from Beijing’s creative elite.

The facade of this sleek, space age boutique is black, just like the name would suggest. Breaking up the absence of color are tessellating, obsidian tiles and a sliding glass door that whips open anytime someone scurries past.

While Blakk’s owners’ main objective is to provide emerging artists and designers an opportunity to display their work, the store itself does not specialize in any one thing. Their inventory traverses many disciplines including, but not limited to fashion, art, and music.

They have a nicely curated selection of blouses, jackets and hand-printed T-shirts. These exquisite threads are mainly for the ladies, but possibly unisex, depending on how fashionably adventurous a dude might be. Lining the walls are various accessories including beautiful silk scarves, bracelets, chic loafers and art books. They also have a decent selection of LPs, though not all are for sale.

Every month Blakk highlights a designer and next up is Carsick Cars frontman Zhang Shouwang, who plans exhibit to a collection of photographs.

There seems to be a lot of potential with the space, though part of me wishes they had more for the guys in the clothing department. That seems to be a common problem, or perhaps I’m just looking in all the wrong places.

BLAKK
Daily 3-10pm. 34 Jiaodaokou Beisantiao, Dongcheng District (139 1100 6765)
东城区交道口北三条34号

Also try: Concertino, Jiali Gallery