The cream of Shanghai
- Source: Global Times
- [10:20 August 31 2010]
- Comments
From Two Girls in 1930s to Shanghai Vive in 2010. Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Jahwa
By Mao Jiayu
According to many style commentators, 2009 was the start of "retro" in China, inspiring in designers and fashionistas alike a love of nostalgia and pastiche in clothes. And it's a trend that has since moved beyond the rag trade and into other consumer fads, most notably that of once-loved cosmetics brands. Perhaps the most high profile example of this has been the recent "revival" of Shanghai Vive, the premier cosmetics line of the company Shanghai Jahwa that was founded in the city 112 years ago. These creams, perfumes and shampoos were originally marketed under the English name Two Girls (the original Chinese name, Shuang Mei, has been retained) the brand's restorative cream won a Gold Medal at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in 1915. After enjoying commercial success since its beginnings in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the company stopped producing on the Chinese mainland after 1949. However, under the Two Girls name, the brand continued to be sold in Hong Kong. Today, Two Girls still sells in Hong Kong as the low-end product it always was in both cities. Shanghai Jahwa, however, is rebranding its new Shanghai Vive at the top end of the market and it will sell at prices only slightly lower than already well-established Western marques. The company's Radiance Restorative Cream retails for 680 yuan ($100) while a silk scarf will set you back 880 yuan.
"It seems like a brand that is being marketed purely for rich people," said one consumer Dou Dou, who admits to being a huge fan of retro cosmetics. Dou, a Shanghai secretary who is in her 30s, points to the fact that her dressing table is full of such domestic products, most of which are still affordable to the majority of people. Another of China's homegrown brands, Peh Chao Lin face cream, was launched in 1940 and today still only costs 3 yuan a pack.
"My Zhao Gui's aloe vera toner is made in Beijing, and my Mi Chi cream only costs 45 yuan," she said. Writer Cheng Naishan, now in her 60s, told the Global Times that it might take some time for people to accept such a formerly accessible product being remarketed as a luxury brand. "But I'm happy to see this name back again, because I was so familiar with it when I was a child. Obviously today many young people are more enthusiastic about brands from Europe and America such as Christian Dior and Coco Chanel. It's not their fault, because we didn't make an effort to protect or develop our own brands over the last few decades." For Ge Wenyao, president of Shanghai Jahwa, the hope is that the traffic will ultimately be in the opposite direction. "Yes, we will definitely take Shanghai Vive to those countries one day," he said.
