The renaissance man

Formerly a creative director at specialist website Only-Lady, owned by American television powerhouse CBS, he's also been an editor of a Japanese music magazine, a radio DJ and an acclaimed author of fiction, on top of being a prolific writer for numerous publications. But he's best known for being one of the most-followed fashion bloggers in China, with 2.4 million fans on Sina Weibo and half a million subscribers on WeChat, where he posts the latest looks, trend-based news and his roundup of "Who Wears What".

When did you start blogging and how did you end up writing about fashion?

I started writing a blog on (the now-defunct) MSN Spaces around 2006. My blog was among the first batch that had more than a million views. I officially became a fashion blogger as I transitioned from MSN to Weibo, in 2010. At that time, Chinese netizens were just exploring Weibo out of curiosity－"the Twitter of China" and the 140-word limit were a new thing.

What was the first time you worked with a fashion brand?

In the MSN era. Some brands found me and gave me their products to try. Then, if I found them to be good, I'd recommend them. The commercial sense was very much lacking at that time, though; the brands didn't really know how to do these types of collaborations. But I did realize that I was given some sort of attention.

The first brand I collaborated with was a cosmetics line, I think under L'Oreal. At that time I was also writing a beauty column for a magazine, so I took the article from the column over to my blog and added a new facial cream. But it was cheaper than the rest of the products, so I remember there were a few followers who suspected me－nothing serious, people were just curious.

As far as the first larger-scale collaboration, that was in my Weibo era. I was invited by Gucci to their show in Italy, and I wrote some pieces and tweets on the way. We didn't know anything about increasing fans or boosting sales at that time; fashion blogging in the West was already quite mature then, but not in China. So I was selected as a representative of fashion bloggers coming from China.

In 2009, you published a fantasy novel and in the next two years, you published two novels that are collections of love letters. Where did you get the inspiration?

I like to imagine what life stories the people around me are having. I was inspired by my experience in Beijing as a bei piao (Beijing drifter)－many prototypes came from my neighbors in the same building and the little restaurants downstairs.

For the first book, I was an editor for an animation magazine then, so there are many things people who love ACG (anime, comics and games) can relate to. It's a book for young people, perhaps aged from middle school to university.

In the two love letter collections, I wanted to talk about the preservation (of love). Vegetables can be preserved in the frozen section, but preserving love is difficult for human beings.

I used daily-life objects to create love metaphors. It's not addressed to anyone specific; I just hope to be a person who can tell love stories that others can relate to.

Who's the most interesting celebrity you've ever interviewed?

Gwyneth Paltrow. I was invited by Boss to interview her in New York when she was the face of the brand's perfume.

It was held in her hotel room; she was in a very luxurious velvet robe, lying on a sofa looking extremely rich and laid-back. I asked her, "Why were you chosen as the spokesperson?" She said in a very lazy tone: "I don't know." The Boss PR person was right next to us, so it was quite embarrassing. So then I tried to talk about something else, like "Your husband (Chris Martin of Coldplay) loves you and we all envy your marriage." She instantly became excited and began to talk a lot, like about that her husband had just released a new album and so on. The funny thing is, the next day I went back to China and I read about her divorce in a newspaper.

Some fashion bloggers only post and repost information from brands. But you're also a critic who doesn't hesitate to give your opinions－so in your mind, who has the best style in China?

Liu Wen. She can make every fashion item look effortlessly chic on her. I don't normally think that Erdos is a fashionable brand, but those sweaters look very chic on her. Also Xiao Song Jia, Liu Tao－she matches the watches with her outfits.

What's your personal style like?

I'm pretty slouchy in private. With friends, I wear hoodies. At fashion shows, I wear suits and the latest fashion items. I have a collection of more than 200 jeans. When I was younger, I tended to collect and maintain them, but now I just can't wait to wear new jeans.